ATLANTA -- Ten law enforcement officers are charged with assisting
drug dealers around metro Atlanta.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia announced
the charges after a year-long undercover investigation of gang related activity.
The overall undercover operation uncovered officers from the
DeKalb County Police Department, Stone Mountain Police Department, the Atlanta
Police Department, MARTA Police Department, Forest Park Police Department,
DeKalb County Sheriff's Office and the Federal Protective Service. In addition,
one man, Alexander Hill, falsely represented himself to be a Clayton County
Police Officer.
US Attorney Sally Yates said, "This is a troubling day for
law enforcement in our City. The law enforcement officers charged today sold
their badges by taking payoffs from drug dealers that they should have been
arresting. They not only betrayed the citizens they were sworn to protect, they
also betrayed the thousands of honest, hard-working law enforcement officers who
risk their lives every day to keep us safe. We will continue to work with our
local law enforcement partners to pursue this corruption wherever it
lies."
According to the indictments, the drug deals didn't take place in
dark alleys, but often in very public parking lots in broad daylight.
Investigators say the officers often used their patrol cars, wore
their uniforms are carried a weapon as they observed the drug deals take place.
Some would sit in their car, others would walk the parking lot around the deal
as a backpacks with cocaine and money were exchanged.
But Yates says some did more than watch, some got involved in the
process, counting the bags of cocaine, setting up signals to communicate, even
discussing how and when deals should go down.
"Remarkably one of the police officers suggested that future
drug deals be made in parking lot of a local high school so they could exchange
backpacks there and that backpacks wouldn't be something that would cause
suspicion," said Yates.
Perhaps even more frightening, was how far the US Attorney said
some officers were willing to go to protect the dealers.
Dekalb county police officer Dorian Williams allegedly said if
things didn't go well, he couldn't just shoot the buyer, he had to kill him.
Monyette McLaurin's, a former Dekalb Sheriff's deputy, also
allegedly offered to shoot a buyer if necessary and discussed killing someone
he feared might snitch.
Mark F. Giuliano, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field
Office, said, "In recognizing the need for the criminal justice system and
those who work within that system to firmly have the public's trust, the FBI
considers such public corruption investigations as being crucial. The FBI will
continue to work with its various local, state, and other federal law enforcement
agencies in ensuring that the public's trust in its law enforcement officers is
well deserved."
The law enforcement officers arrested today were: Atlanta Police
Department (APD) Officer Kelvin Allen, 42, of Atlanta; DeKalb County Police
Department (DCPD) Officers Dennis Duren, 32, of Atlanta and Dorian Williams,
25, of Stone Mountain, Georgia; Forest Park Police Department (FPPD) Sergeants
Victor Middlebrook, 44, of Jonesboro, Georgia and Andrew Monroe, 57, of
Riverdale, Georgia; MARTA Police Department (MARTA) Officer Marquez Holmes, 45,
of Jonesboro, Georgia; Stone Mountain Police Department (SMPD) Officer Denoris
Carter, 42, of Lithonia, Georgia, and contract Federal Protective Services
Officer Sharon Peters, 43, of Lithonia, Georgia. Agents also arrested two
former law enforcement officers: former DeKalb County Sheriff's Office (DCSO)
jail officers Monyette McLaurin, 37, of Atlanta, and Chase Valentine, 44, of
Covington, Georgia.
Others arrested today were: Shannon Bass, 38, of Atlanta; Elizabeth
Coss, 35, of Atlanta; Gregory Lee Harvey, 26, of Stone Mountain, Georgia;
Alexander B. Hill, 22, of Ellenwood, Georgia; and Jerry B. Mannery, Jr., 38, of
Tucker, Georgia.
The undercover operation arose out of an ATF investigation of an
Atlanta area street gang in August 2011. ATF agents learned from an individual
associated with the gang that police officers were involved in protecting the
gang's criminal operations, including drug trafficking crimes. According to
this cooperating individual, the officers-while wearing uniforms, driving
police vehicles, or otherwise displaying badges-provided security to the gang
members during drug deals.
In affidavits filed in support of the charges, an FBI agent
described how drug traffickers sometimes recruit law enforcement officers to
maintain a physical presence at drug deals. The traffickers hope that the
officers' presence at the drug deals will prevent rival drug groups from intervening
and stealing their drugs or money, and also keeps legitimate law enforcement
officers away from the scene. In return for the corrupt officers' services, the
drug dealers often pay the officers thousands of dollars, according to the
affidavits.
Acting at the direction of FBI and ATF, the cooperator
communicated to gang members and their associates that the cooperator sought
police protection for upcoming drug deals.
