by Phillip Smith
Last week may have been slow on
the police corruption front, but we make up for it this week. A Washington SWAT
team member goes bad, an NYPD officer pays for going bad, a former Colorado
sheriff also pays a price, an Arkansas cop gets nailed for protecting what he
thought were dope loads, and, of course, more jail and prison guards get in
trouble. Let's get to it:
In Seattle, a King County
sheriff's deputy was arrested last Thursday for stealing and reselling
ammunition from his SWAT team, peddling dope, and pimping out his wife. Darrion
Keith Holiwell, 49, went down amidst a broader investigation into corruption
among King County deputies, and the department says more arrests could follow.
Holiwell may have sold as much as $45,000 worth of brass bullet casings, which
he allegedly used to buy expensive guns for himself and other SWAT team
members. He came under investigation after another deputy told the department he may have been
physically abusing his estranged wife, and she told investigators he suggested
she work as a prostitute and helped her post online ads. He is also charged
with selling testosterone to a civilian, and the department says he was likely
selling it to other members of the department. Police also found prescription
drugs, steroids, and ecstasy when they searched his home. He's in jail under
$150,000 bond and awaiting a court hearing next week.
In Ada, Oklahoma, a Pontotoc
County jail guard was arrested last Thursday after he was caught trying to
smuggle contraband, including marijuana, tobacco, and rolling papers into the
county jail. Guard Devin Adams has pleaded not guilty and is out on $50,000 bond.
In Little Rock, Arkansas, a
former Little Rock police officer was convicted last Wednesday of charges
related to escorting a van he thought was filled with marijuana. Randall
Robinson was found guilty of lying to investigators, but acquitted of other charges,
including conspiracy to distribute marijuana and attempting to possess
marijuana with the intent to distribute. He went down in an FBI sting. No word
yet on his sentencing.
In New York City, an NYPD
officer was convicted last Thursday of committing a series of violent drug and
money rip-offs with a gang of no-gooders. Jose Tejada, 46, a 17-year veteran of
the force, was convicted of armed robbery and drug trafficking for
participating in three robberies of drug dealers in the Bronx in 2006 and 2007
in which the robbers scored thousands of dollars in cash and cocaine. Tejada
was in uniform for at least one of the robberies and used it to gain access to
a home where he thought drug dealers were, but which actually belonging to an
innocent family. He's looking at up to life in prison.
In Albany, Georgia, a former
Pelham jail guard was sentenced last Wednesday to 15 months in federal prison
for taking bribes from inmates to smuggle contraband, including marijuana, into
the Mize Street Detention Facility. Christopher Cox, 35, is the second jail
guard there to be sentenced for contraband smuggling in two weeks. He copped to
one count of conspiracy to smuggle contraband into a detention facility in
exchange for bribes.
In Centennial, Colorado, the
former Arapahoe County sheriff was sentenced last Thursday to 15 months in
prison for repeatedly violation his probation after he was convicted of
swapping meth for sex with young men. Patrick Sullivan, 71, had been sentenced
to two years, but jail time had been in abeyance while he was on probation. He
repeatedly tested positive for meth while on probation. Sullivan was the
National Sheriff's Association "sheriff of the year" in 2001. He
retired the following year, and then went over to the dark side.
