It's a rough end of the week for the local law enforcement community, as three of its members are under arrest.
Durham Police Sgt Lester Rhodes, a 15 year veteran, is accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a Hispanic male -- age unknown -- while on duty. Fired? Nope. Paid administrative leave.
On Thanksgiving day, 1999, Rhodes answered a 911 call of a man shot in the head -- only to find his brother seriously wounded. How this occurred is rather muddled.
In a September 2000 profile in The Herald Sun, Rhodes said the experience left him particularly sensitive to the rights and sensitivities of victims and their families.
In Raleigh, Sheriff's Deputy Balinda Manley was charged with helping herself to the department's evidence: 80 grams of marijuana and $6,433 in cash. No word on her employment status or if the trials of any suspects will be affected. If you need to know, there are 28 grams in an ounce; do your own calculation on value.
And closer to home, at Dear old Duke, a former employee of the Police Department, 36 year old Shawn Michael Flaugher, is under arrest for a string of 33 burglaries at medical offices around Cary and Clayton. Needless to say, the goal was narcotics.
The manager of one large building with several offices that were hit said the burglar often successfully disabled security systems. When not busy freelancing overnight, Flaugher was the manager of crime prevention and security systems for Duke police.
He began working as a civilian employee of the department in February 2003 and left last month. It was unclear whether he resigned or was fired.
His first project was to upgrade the blue light telephones around campus.
About a year later, the university announced it was greatly expanding its video surveillance at dorms, academic buildings and places where students gather.
The suspect was quoted in the Chronicle: “When it comes to dorms and buildings, if you have cameras covering those areas, you have a concrete resource for investigating incidents.” Yep, and doctors offices too.
Captain Scott Davis, Cary Police: The crimes were "more sophisticated than just busting the glass and going in. It's a little bit more than your average break-in."
