Friday, December 29, 2006
By SHAWN HOPKINS - Bulletin Staff Writer
ROANOKE Two former Henry County Sheriffs officers faced a federal judge Thursday and admitted their roles in a scheme to steal drugs seized as evidence and then profit from putting them back out on the street.
Both James Alden Vaught, 33, and David Allan King, 49, pleaded guilty in separate U.S. District Court hearings before Judge James Turk. They signed plea agreements that allowed them to plead guilty to some of the charges against them and have others dismissed.
Vaught is a former sergeant and King is a former deputy, vice officer and school resource officer with the Henry County Sheriffs Office.
King had faced a maximum of 70 years in prison and a $2 million fine on counts including racketeering conspiracy, drug conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making a false statement to a federal agent.
The plea agreement allowed him to plead guilty to only the racketeering conspiracy and drug conspiracy charges. The maximum penalty for those is a total of 40 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine.
Vaught was indicted on counts of racketeering conspiracy and drug conspiracy and faced a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine. Under the plea agreement, he was allowed to plead guilty to only the racketeering conspiracy count, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Turk ordered pre-sentence reports and said formal sentencing for both men would be scheduled later. Both will be sentenced according to federal guidelines, he said, but the judge may impose a sentence lower than those guidelines if the men cooperate with the investigation and prosecution of others charged in the case.
Turk told both men that it is up to the U.S. Attorneys Office to make a motion noting such cooperation, called substantial assistance, and whether it does so depends on the level of their assistance.
They are the third and fourth men to plead guilty in a corruption scandal that involves a 48-count federal indictment against 20 people, including 10 other former sheriffs office employees and former sheriff H. Frank Cassell.
Former deputy Bradley Scott Martin, 33, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and drug conspiracy as part of a plea agreement and William Randall Reed, 35, a furniture worker from Fieldale, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy.
Federal authorities allege that sheriffs office employees sold seized drug evidence, stole guns and other items from the police evidence room and took steps to cover up those actions.
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