VERDICT, LAWSUIT CAST NEGATIVE LIGHT ON DRUG BUST

GRAHAM -- A man arrested in 2005 as part of a countywide drug bust has
been found not guilty of several drug charges.

Meanwhile, another man arrested as part of the same operation but
later released is suing the sheriff and a deputy.

Jeffrey Davis Stone, 43, was on trial last week in Alamance County
Superior Court charged with two counts each of possession with the
intent to sell and deliver cocaine, possession of cocaine, selling
cocaine and delivering cocaine.

Assistant District Attorney Lori Goins argued that Stone sold drugs to
an undercover officer with the Alamance County Sheriff 's Department
on two separate occasions. The incidents happened a week apart, on
Aug. 16 and Aug. 23, and were part of Operation Clean Sweep.

After buying the second time, deputy J. Rice, who was the undercover
officer in the case, said he identified Stone from a picture shown to
him by another investigator. Warrants for Stone's arrest were issued
on Oct. 15. He was arrested the following month.

Besides the testimony of the officers involved in the case, jurors
also heard a tape recording that detailed what was being said during
the transactions.

Defense attorney Robert Collins said the evidence in the case was
inconclusive. He said Rice's testimony contradicted some of the things
he had written in his original report, such as the address where the
drugs were sold, the age of the suspect, and the time he had been with
Stone. Collins said the jury didn't believe the confidence the
officers had in their evidence. Though we all make mistakes, he added,
"in this case (the investigators) made a mistake."

Collins also questioned the way the investigation was conducted and
the fact that deputies started the operation with a goal of arresting
100 people. He said Rice testified during the trial that Sheriff Terry
Johnson instructed deputies to arrest 100 people.

"We were told that if we could get a certain number of people in a
certain amount of time that would be good," Rice said during a phone
interview with the Times-News. He said the number was 100 people.

Johnson said that is not exactly what was said. He added deputies were
told that due to capacity at the jail, no more than 100 people could
be arrested. Department spokesman Randy Jones said that, in many
cases, the department has to put a cap on the number of people it can
arrest based on manpower and availability of space at the detention
center.

"When you do undercover (operations) you have to limit yourself with
the number you can handle logistically," he said. Unfortunately, he
added, many times "we have to draw some of these activities to a
close" because "we are unable to physically go out and handle everybody."

ANOTHER MAN, WHO WAS arrested as part of the same operation, Dee Ja
Jones, is now suing Rice and the sheriff for libel, slander, false
imprisonment and negligence. According to court records, the
29-year-old was charged in November 2005 with possession with the
intent to sell and deliver cocaine, possession of cocaine, selling
cocaine and delivering cocaine. He was accused of selling drugs to an
undercover officer on June 6 of that year. A month after his arrest,
investigators determined that Jones was not the person who sold the
drugs to the undercover officer who, according to warrants, was deputy
S. Sanderford. The prosecution dropped all the charges against him in
December 2005.

In the lawsuit, Jones contends that he lost his job, his home and
suffered other financial hardships because of his arrest. He is asking
for at least $10,000 in damages and a jury trial.

Though Rice was not the undercover officer in that incident, his name
appears as the officer who drew the warrants.

Johnson said the department has a policy in place to ensure that
suspects are correctly identified. After an initial identification has
been made, deputies are required to include a photo in the file.
Johnson added the undercover officer who assisted in the bust that led
to Jones' arrest was from Siler City.

Jones contends that if Rice and Johnson would have reviewed the report
of the officers involved in the buy they would have noticed that the
description of the suspect given there didn't match Jones. He also
contends he was denied several jobs because the offenses appear on his
record. In a response filed earlier this month, the defendants,
through counsel, denied the allegations. They contend they acted on
facts that were truth and are asking the judge to dismiss the complaint.

During the six-month drug operation, which started in April 2005, a
total of 118 people were arrested, according to Rice.

Johnson described the operation as successful. Other than the
dismissal and the recent not guilty verdict, all the remaining cases
have resulted in convictions, he said.