blueeyes76 - the article below is from the Washington Post from today. I am sorry if I upset you but there are a bunch of things going on behind the doors of our Sheriffs Dept that not everyone knows about. We need someone to come in and get this department back on track and I don't think that you will find that person from the ranks of the current department.
What is also strange is that EMA has the propert listed as retured on their books. Wonder how that happened?
Look I have friends on the department also and I hope that the charges are false. It would be sad to have spent 18years at a job and wind up in this situation.
By Michael Amon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 24, 2002; Page B04
The second-in-command of the St. Mary's County sheriff's office has been
suspended from his post and his police powers revoked as the Maryland state
prosecutor investigates whether he is involved in the alleged disappearance
of property worth as much as $80,000 that was seized as part of a theft
case.
Sheriff Richard J. Voorhaar (R) said he suspended Capt. Steven M. Doolan, an
18-year veteran of the department who has been his assistant sheriff for
three years, with pay Friday because of the seriousness of the allegations.
Voorhaar said he asked for the investigation of the missing property.
"It's just procedure when things like this happen, particularly because of
the position he's in," Voorhaar said. "He's in charge of the sheriff's
office when I'm not here. There's some seriousness to the investigation."
The suspension was first reported in Tuesday's edition of St. Mary's Today.
The state prosecutor's office, which probes cases of misconduct by
government officials, is investigating how the property of Wendell I. Ford
disappeared after being seized by sheriff's detectives during a search of
his Lexington Park home in 1999 when they were investigating Ford concerning
a series of alleged thefts.
Ford, 35, was charged with two counts of theft over $300 for the alleged
theft of a dishwasher and a door, but the charges were dropped in 2000 by
the St. Mary's County state's attorney's office, according to court
documents.
For two years, Ford was unsuccessful in informal attempts to get back his
property, which mostly included building materials such as lumber, as well
as the dishwasher, door and several firearms, said his attorney, A. Shane
Mattingly. This year, Ford filed a court motion, and District Court Judge
John F. Slade granted it March 25, ordering the sheriff's office to return
all the property to Ford except the firearms.
Law enforcement sources said the property was worth about $80,000, but
Voorhaar disputed that figure.
The amount of property seized from Ford was so large it had to be kept in
trailers separate from the department's property room, but the sheriff's
office has been unable to comply with Slade's order because it no longer has
the property, law enforcement sources said.
Doolan's alleged involvement in the disappearance is unclear. Voorhaar and
State Prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli declined to comment on the details of
the case. Doolan declined to comment when contacted by phone.
Veteran sheriff's deputies said Doolan is one of a few members of the
sheriff's office who had the authority to order seized property to be taken
out of custody.
Doolan has accrued more power in the sheriff's office this year as Voorhaar
readies for retirement. His suspension surprised many deputies because over
the past 7 1/2 years, Doolan had risen quickly through the ranks to become
commander of the criminal investigations division before being appointed
assistant sheriff in 1999.
Ford is facing charges in District Court of assaulting a 12-year-old boy and
writing bad checks. No one answered at a phone number Ford listed on court
documents as his home number.
"He's not looking to go on a crusade here," Mattingly said. "He just wants
his stuff back."