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| One count dropped; six others added |
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Wednesday, December 27, 2006
By AMANDA BUCK - Bulletin Staff Writer
A federal grand jury has issued a new, six-count indictment against former Henry County sheriff’s sergeant Robert Keith Adams in connection with alleged corruption in the sheriff’s office, court records state.
As a result, Senior U.S. District Judge James C. Turk dismissed Adams’ original charge of making a false statement, records show.
In an order signed Dec. 21, Turk dismissed the charge of false statement at the request of U.S. Attorney John L. Brownlee, according to court records. That was the only charge Adams had faced.
In his motion, Brownlee said the charge should be dismissed because it was incorporated in a new indictment returned Dec. 19, court records state.
That indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in Abingdon, alleges that Adams, who worked as a school resource officer and as sergeant in charge of investigations in the criminal division of the sheriff’s office, helped cover up the crimes of former sergeant James Alden Vaught and lied to FBI agents who were investigating alleged drug and racketeering crimes at the sheriff’s office, court records state.
Thirteen then-current and former sheriff’s office employees, including former sheriff H. Frank Cassell, were charged in a 48-count indictment unsealed Nov. 2.
The new indictment returned Dec. 19 alleges that in 2001, Vaught stole about two kilograms of cocaine from a drug dealer and distributed the drugs through William Randall Reed, Wilbert Herman Brown and Rayfield Moore.
“Adams learned of the drug crime and believed that James Alden Vaught had stolen two kilograms of cocaine and $40,000 in drug money,” the indictment states. Instead of turning Vaught in, it alleges that Adams “requested that James Alden Vaught pay him $20,000 of the drug money.”
Vaught refused to pay Adams, the indictment states.
Later, in January of this year, Vaught asked Adams to help him locate Brown so Vaught could sell Brown about 1/2 kilogram of cocaine, the indictment alleges.
Adams allegedly encouraged Brown not to talk to Vaught because Adams believed Vaught was “wearing a body recorder and working as an informant in a federal investigation,” the indictment alleges.
It further alleges that on March 24, Adams “falsely stated to a federal agent that he had not received payoffs and that he did not know why (Vaught) was looking for (Brown)” on or about Jan. 23.
The indictment alleges that between 2001 and 2006, Adams assisted Vaught “in order to hinder and prevent the offender’s apprehension, trial and punishment.”
It also charges him with concealing a felony, attempting to obstruct an official proceeding by encouraging a potential witness to withhold and/or present false evidence to federal investigators, making false statements and attempting to mislead federal investigators, and alleges that he lied about payoffs he received from Moore, whom the indictment describes as “a large-scale cocaine dealer in Henry County,” court records state.
Moore died Nov. 3 in a car accident in Franklin County. He was helping federal authorities in their investigation of the sheriff’s office, his attorney, Robert Rider of Roanoke, said in earlier reports.
Reed pleaded guilty in November to racketeering conspiracy on condition that the government dismiss other charges against him, which included false statement, drug conspiracy and attempted drug distribution.
According to court records, Adams is scheduled for a pretrial motions hearing Friday in Roanoke. |
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