By Kathy Jefcoats
ATLANTA — A former Clayton
County police officer was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role
in a scheme to steal cocaine from a drug dealer for his own personal gain.
Dwayne Penn was assigned to the
U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force at the time of the scheme. He was
terminated Aug. 28, the day he was arrested by federal agents. He pleaded
guilty Jan. 21 to conspiring to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine.
Clayton County police Chief
Greg Porter said Penn was held to a higher standard as a police officer and
violated the public’s trust.
“It is the position of this
administration that, I along with the Clayton County community, will always
demand that every officer as well as each employee of the CCPD family, be held
to a higher standard when it comes to the oath each of us have passionately
sworn to uphold,” said Porter in a statement released Monday. “Our core values
of honor, integrity, transparency and professionalism must always remain at the
forefront of our minds. We owe a duty to ourselves and the Clayton County
community to ensure that we remain worthy of our community’s trust and do
nothing to tarnish the badges that we wear proudly on our chests.”
U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian
Yates said it was Penn’s job to serve and protect, not seek illegal business
ventures.
“The public rightfully expects
police officers to protect them from drug dealers, not go into business with
them,” she said. “The defendant crossed over to become one of the bad guys and
now he will suffer their fate.”
Yates, said evidence and
testimony showed that in August, Penn conspired with Adrian Austin, an
Atlanta-based drug dealer, to use Penn’s official position as a police officer
to stage a fake traffic stop of a car that he and Austin believed would contain
6 kilograms of cocaine.
Penn would conduct a fake
arrest of the car’s occupant, seize the cocaine for themselves and then sell
the cocaine, sharing their ill-gotten gains, she said. “Fortunately, the person
whom Penn and Austin sought to recruit for this corrupt endeavor was
cooperating with federal law enforcement and agreed to record meetings with
Penn and Austin,” said Yates.
In the lead up to the fake
arrest and seizure, Penn and Austin met face-to-face with the confidential
informant on two separate occasions to plan their operation. Penn drove his
police car to the planning meetings.
As planned, on the morning of
Aug. 28, Penn and Austin arrived at the appointed Decatur parking lot. Penn
drove his police car and parked it in view of where the drug deal was to occur.
Before the deal’s consummation, the confidential informant met with Austin in
Austin’s car in the parking lot.
Austin relayed information
between the confidential informant and Penn over his cellphone. The
confidential informant exited Austin’s car and shortly thereafter met with the
supposed drug dealer, who was also a law enforcement source, in the parking lot
in view of Penn.
The confidential informant received
a shopping bag containing 6 kilogram-size bricks of fake cocaine, walked back
to the vehicle, and placed the bag inside, placing 2 kilogram bricks in the
back seat and leaving the remaining 4 kilogram bricks in the shopping bag in
the front seat, said Yates.
After the confidential
informant emerged from the vehicle, Penn sped over in his police car with the
lights on and blocked the confidential informant from leaving.
“Penn jumped out of his car
with his firearm drawn and pointed it at the confidential informant,” said
Yates. “Penn was wearing a bulletproof vest, which read ‘Police,’ and a black
baseball hat.”
Penn and Austin were arrested
shortly afterward in the vicinity of the Decatur parking lot. Each had a loaded
firearm with a round in the chamber. The shopping bag with substituted cocaine
was recovered from Penn’s vehicle.
Austin pleaded guilty to the
same charge Jan. 14.
In addition to the 10-year term
of imprisonment, Penn was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg
to five years of supervised release, 120 hours of community service following
his release from prison, and was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment.
Sentencing for Austin is
scheduled for April 10 at 2 p.m., also before Totenberg.
