NewsHound
06-21-2008, 11:21 PM
DAYTONA BEACH -- A former Volusia County sheriff's deputy was cleared by a jury Friday of charges that he conspired with another man to rob a drug dealer.
Now, Eugene Walton -- a 13-year-veteran of the department and married father of three -- wants his job back. He says he was caught up in a trap devised by others.
"I shouldn't have had to go through this," Walton, 40, said after the verdict was announced in Circuit Judge R. Michael Hutcheson's courtroom. "I have split feelings, that someone in (my) line of work would go and try to get me."
There never was a real drug dealer. But, when an informant facing criminal charges reported the deputy's involvement in criminal activity, state authorities said they had an obligation to start an investigation. Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents used wiretaps to tape conversations between Walton and the informant to gather evidence against Walton and Harry Gladstone Cooke of Palm Coast in the alleged scheme.
At the time, Walton was working as a school resource officer at Campbell Middle School.
The jury, though, found the evidence -- and testimony from Cooke and the informant -- wasn't enough to convict Walton of participating in the plan last August to rob a drug dealer of $250,000.
The informant, Arthur Hall, was facing counterfeit charges when he went to police with information about a "sheriff in Volusia County," said Walton's attorney, Gayle Graziano. Walton testified the conversations he had with Hall and Cooke about a robbery sounded like a set-up and that he never intended to participate in the crime.
"I thought as long as I don't participate, it's not going to happen," Walton said.
The jury of three men and three women took just 11 minutes to find prosecutors did not prove Walton agreed to participate in the set-up robbery, which was supposed to occur outside Ormond Beach, on State Road 40. Walton was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery and unlawful compensation, which could have sent him to prison for up to 20 years.
The verdict was met by hushed cheers from Walton and a small gathering of friends and supporters, including his wife, Tranesha.
Prosecutors Shannon Peters and Chris Miller presented evidence of 29 phone calls.. There was also testimony that Walton used a law enforcement database to gather information about the drug dealer, which was actually information on an undercover officer. Cooke, who has already pleaded to his charges and awaits sentencing, said the deputy suggested the robbery should occur in a quiet area, outside Ormond Beach.
Walton, however, told the jury he thought the scheme the other two men spoke of was "just talk," and that what he was heard saying on tape was "just b-s-ing."
Graziano said in her closing argument that Walton never obtained information from the police database and never agreed to any compensation for the crime.
After the verdict, Graziano said Walton, who was fired in September, should be given his job back.
But sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said the agency stands by the firing.
He pointed out that the burden of proof in the administrative process is different than the state's burden in the courtroom.
"We're comfortable with our decision," he said, "and we have no intention of hiring him back."
Source (http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/newEAST01062108.htm)
Now, Eugene Walton -- a 13-year-veteran of the department and married father of three -- wants his job back. He says he was caught up in a trap devised by others.
"I shouldn't have had to go through this," Walton, 40, said after the verdict was announced in Circuit Judge R. Michael Hutcheson's courtroom. "I have split feelings, that someone in (my) line of work would go and try to get me."
There never was a real drug dealer. But, when an informant facing criminal charges reported the deputy's involvement in criminal activity, state authorities said they had an obligation to start an investigation. Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents used wiretaps to tape conversations between Walton and the informant to gather evidence against Walton and Harry Gladstone Cooke of Palm Coast in the alleged scheme.
At the time, Walton was working as a school resource officer at Campbell Middle School.
The jury, though, found the evidence -- and testimony from Cooke and the informant -- wasn't enough to convict Walton of participating in the plan last August to rob a drug dealer of $250,000.
The informant, Arthur Hall, was facing counterfeit charges when he went to police with information about a "sheriff in Volusia County," said Walton's attorney, Gayle Graziano. Walton testified the conversations he had with Hall and Cooke about a robbery sounded like a set-up and that he never intended to participate in the crime.
"I thought as long as I don't participate, it's not going to happen," Walton said.
The jury of three men and three women took just 11 minutes to find prosecutors did not prove Walton agreed to participate in the set-up robbery, which was supposed to occur outside Ormond Beach, on State Road 40. Walton was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery and unlawful compensation, which could have sent him to prison for up to 20 years.
The verdict was met by hushed cheers from Walton and a small gathering of friends and supporters, including his wife, Tranesha.
Prosecutors Shannon Peters and Chris Miller presented evidence of 29 phone calls.. There was also testimony that Walton used a law enforcement database to gather information about the drug dealer, which was actually information on an undercover officer. Cooke, who has already pleaded to his charges and awaits sentencing, said the deputy suggested the robbery should occur in a quiet area, outside Ormond Beach.
Walton, however, told the jury he thought the scheme the other two men spoke of was "just talk," and that what he was heard saying on tape was "just b-s-ing."
Graziano said in her closing argument that Walton never obtained information from the police database and never agreed to any compensation for the crime.
After the verdict, Graziano said Walton, who was fired in September, should be given his job back.
But sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said the agency stands by the firing.
He pointed out that the burden of proof in the administrative process is different than the state's burden in the courtroom.
"We're comfortable with our decision," he said, "and we have no intention of hiring him back."
Source (http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/newEAST01062108.htm)