COLUMBUS (Terri Sullivan) -- Federal charges were filed against former Columbus police officer Steven Dean, who is already the target of a criminal investigation.
Dean was arrested in November for aggravated menacing but, even after the charges were dismissed, was kept behind bars on a federal detainer.
The reason was sealed in federal court.
Now, the former cop faces a federal indictment accusing Dean of threatening his attorney Mark Collins over the phone.
According to police reports, the conversation went as follows:
Dean
: You don't want to upset me today, today is not the day.Collins:
I'll be courteous and professional to you.Dean:
Shut your mouth and don't interrupt me.Collins
: Don't talk to me this way.Dean:
If you don't do what I want I will come down there with a gun and shoot you or a knife and stab you.SWAT officers arrested Dean at his home and found an arsenal of 20 guns, including shotguns, semiautomatics and handguns.
Dean's wife, Sharon, has long claimed her husband is a scapegoat.
"I don't feel like he's done anything wrong," she said. "I mean, not from what I've been told. That's all I have to say."
She was referring to an incident in June 2012, when Dean and another officer were relieved of their duties during an investigation into the handling of surplus military equipment.
Detectives were looking at evidence from scrap yards to determine if those officers were ordered to have a janitor sell the military gear to scrap yards.
They also tried to determine that, if they were sold, where the money went.
Former Deputy Chief Jeffrey Blackwell, now the Cincinnati police chief, was in charge of the program at the time.
He has never responded to ABC 6/FOX 28's requests for comment. Columbus Police Headquarters would only say that no guns are unaccounted for.
Dean is scheduled to return to court Wednesday for a detention hearing. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison on that charge.