Post by WaTcHeR on Oct 16, 2006 11:35:37 GMT -5
Officer Johnathon Bradley Myers
10.16.2006 - A federal grand jury has indicted a Clark County deputy sheriff on charges of drug trafficking and other illegal activities.
Officer Johnathon Bradley Myers was indicted after an investigation by state and federal authorities, Sheriff Ray Caudill said in a news release yesterday.
Myers, 25, is the son of Clark County Judge-Executive John Myers, the top elected administrative official in the county. John Myers had no comment yesterday after his son made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Lexington.
Johnathon Bradley Myers was released on his own recognizance after that initial appearance in federal court. He was formally arraigned before U.S. District Judge Joseph Hood.
Two counts of the indictment unsealed yesterday said Myers distributed Lortab pills, which contain hydrocodone, on July 23 and 28.
The indictment says Myers carried a Glock .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol "during and in relation to the drug trafficking," in violation of federal law.
Sheriff Caudill's statement said he learned information "through the normal course of our law-enforcement duties that suggested possible illegal activities involving a deputy."
"I immediately contacted the state police," Caudill said in the statement. "Federal authorities were then contacted, and I cooperated fully in the ongoing investigation of this alleged conduct. This has been one of the most difficult matters that I have had to deal with in my law-enforcement career."
Caudill said Myers was "terminated" Monday afternoon after he was arrested by state police and federal authorities at the sheriff's office.
No other deputies are involved, Caudill said.
"Everybody's disappointed," Caudill said. "It's a bad thing."
The investigation is continuing, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Hydee Hawkins declined to say whether any other charges might be forthcoming.
During his initial appearance in federal court with defense attorney James Lowry, Myers was granted conditional pretrial release by U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Todd.
Myers is to continue living in his parents' home, where he will be monitored with an electronic ankle bracelet.
Todd told Myers to refrain from contact with or possession of firearms or other weapons. If any weapons are in his parents' home, they are to be removed as well, Todd said.
Todd also told Myers to refrain from the use of alcohol or other controlled substances, except those prescribed by a physician. He also must submit to periodic drug tests, and must receive drug-abuse counseling if a probation officer deems it advisable.
www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/15617481.htm