ALTAMONTE SPRINGS POLICE OFFICER, WIFE ARRESTED ON FEDERAL DRUG,
WEAPONS CHARGES

An Altamonte Springs police officer - recently kicked out of a
countywide drug task force -- and his wife have been arrested on
federal drug and weapons charges. Authorities said he also was
planning to kill a former drug unit supervisor.

Clay T. Adams, 36, a master patrolman, was arrested by a task force of
agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fireams and
Explosives; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; and the
Seminole County Sheriff's Office. His wife, Robyn, also was charged.

Adams has been suspended without pay, Altamonte Springs Police Chief
Robert Merchant said at a press conference held Tuesday.

"I am extremely upset," he said. "We work very, very hard to build our
reputation only to have it brought down by (Adams') actions."

Adams was arrested as he reported for duty at 7:30 p.m., said
Altamonte Police spokesman Tim Hyer. "It was shocking to hear," PFC.
Robert Pelton said. "It hit us out of left field. It's disappointing
that one of your own could do something like that."

At a brief bail hearing Tuesday afternoon in federal court, attorneys
for the couple asked that proceedings be delayed until Friday so they
could prepare their defense.

Throughout the hearing, Robyn Adams wept and covered her face with a
tissue. Her husband conferred with his lawyer and briefly answered
questions from the judge.

Assistant U.S Attorney Rob Bodnar asked that the couple be detained
without bail because the case involved weapons and that both
defendants had made threats against the informant and others in the
case. Bodnar said the couple faces up to life in prison, if convicted.

They are being held without bail at the Seminole County
Jail.

A complaint filed by ATF agent Timothy Gunning charges that Adams was
a cop gone bad, who ran a marijuana grow-house operation which
supplied distributors in Tallahassee and dealt illicit prescription
drugs. It also said Adams provided weapons to an informant who is a
convicted felon and who tipped authorities about the scheme earlier
this month.

The informant, who recorded numerous conversations with the couple,
said Clay provided him with driver's license photos, undercover and
real names of drug agents of Seminole's City-County Investigative
Bureau, their vehicle descriptions and techniques used by them.

Adams joined CCIB earlier this year to learn investigative techniques
used to detect marijuana growing operations, Gunning wrote. But he was
forced out of the unit last month.

"Clay was extremely upset a month ago when he was reprimanded by a
supervisor," Gunning wrote. "As a result of the reprimand, Clay was
removed from CCIB. Clay advised [the informant] that he will let the
issue cool off for a couple of months and then "take [the supervisor]
out" when he least expects it, utlizing a .308-caliber rifle equipped
with a silencer," Gunning wrote.

CCIB Capt. Sammy Gibson said Adams served in the unit from March to
June, when Adams transferred back to his agency. He referred inquiries
about the case to federal authorities.

The complaint gives this account of the investigation: On July 7, ATF
interviewed the informant, who had known Adams for years since he
joined the Altamonte force in 1999. The informant said Adams secretly
was addicted to OxyContin, a powerful pain reliever, and that he
observed Adams at an Orlando pain clinic. He said Adams feared his job
would be in danger if his employer discovered his addiction.

Adams' wife, Robyn, is employed by an orthopedic surgeon and obtained
OxyContin for him. She also had a mail box in her name to obtain
marijuana seeds shipped in her name over the Internet from the
Netherlands, Gunning wrote.

The informant said Adams approached him with an offer to "get rich"
from a $5,500 investment in a marijuana grow-house operation --
including $2,000 for the purchase of an assault rifle to protect the
grow-house. On July 9, the informant gave the money to Adams and was
instructed to find a home for the operation and steal a license plate
for vehicles driven to the site. Meanwhile, Adams went to various
stores to buy hydroponic equipment.

Adams, who carried multiple firearms, had a hidden room in his home
with several assault weapons, shotguns and grenades, the informant
said. He provided the informant an Uzi-type semi-automatic rifle for
$2,000.

Adams told the informant that "he would never lose his job and go to
jail without a fight and that he would kill anyone who [messed] with
him," the complaint said. Robyn Adams also told the informant she
would kill anyone who exposed the operation.

The officer bragged to the informant that he mastered the thwarting of
employment polygraph examinations by taking Valium pills to reduce his
blood pressure and avoid deceptive readings.

Eventually, the informant and investigators leased a home for Adams to
set up the marijuana growing site. On Sunday, Adams told the informant
he and his wife set up the growing operation over the prior few
nights. Police raided the home after the arrests.

The couple is charged with several firearms violations including
possessing firearms in a drug-trafficking offense, unlawful transferr
of a machine gun and conspiracy.