EX-OFFICER RELIVES LOSS OF HIS JOB

Man Accused In Plot To Set Up Ex-Girlfriend

MONCKS CORNER - Jerry Reynolds chafes at the suggestion that he might
have committed a crime when he and former colleagues at the Moncks
Corner Police Department discussed planting evidence in his
ex-girlfriend's car. Reynolds, 58, was charged in the fall with
official misconduct by a police officer. A warrant accuses him of
approaching fellow officers with a plan to put illegal drugs or
possibly a stolen gun in his ex-girlfriend's Jeep. Reynolds and the
ex-girlfriend, Nichole Maynard Kelly, have a 23-month-old son
together. She could not be reached for comment.

In his recounting of events, Reynolds said the idea of planting
evidence came up in passing, as something of a joke. He wasn't the
one who brought it up, he said.

"There were just several of us sitting around talking several times.
. My biggest complaint was that I couldn't see my child," said
Reynolds, during a recent interview at a Waffle House. "That was just
my biggest gripe. Everybody was always giving me ideas."

Reynolds and Maynard Kelly, 29, never lived together or married. They
had a bitter parting in 2004.

Reynolds swore out a burglary warrant against Maynard Kelly in June
of that year, accusing her of breaking into his home. A judge later
dismissed the warrant. Last year, Maynard Kelly swore out a warrant
against Reynolds, accusing him of violating a restraining order.
Reynolds said that charge was dismissed and later expunged.

On Oct. 28, 2005, State Law Enforcement Division agents arrested
Reynolds on the misconduct charge at Maynard Kelly's mother's home in
Ladson as he went to pick up their son for a weekend visit. He was
released from Berkeley County's Hill-Finklea Detention Center on a
personal recognizance bond. The charge was based on statements by
other Moncks Corner police officers that Reynolds approached them
"about planting evidence in the car of his ex-girlfriend," according
to the arrest warrant.

Reynolds said that isn't true. There was no plan, he said. A stolen
gun and illegal drugs, however, were found in Maynard Kelly's Jeep,
according to a police report.

A Berkeley County sheriff's deputy responded to Maynard Kelly's
Ladson home on the morning of April 19, 2005. She told the deputy she
found a handgun and a bag of what police later determined to be
marijuana under the seat, after having cleaned out the car the night
before, an incident report states. The deputy wrote that the items
appeared staged, but he did not specify how. The deputy retrieved the
marijuana and the semiautomatic handgun, as well as bags with white
powder that tested positive for cocaine, the report states. He
notified the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
because the gun's serial number had been removed. The sheriff's
office, SLED and ATF have declined to comment on the investigation.
"Why would I be singled out as the only person who would put things
in her car?" Reynolds asked. "I don't have a key to her car. I don't
go around to her car." No one has been charged with planting
evidence; the charges relate to a plan that was discussed, not carried out.

From the warrant, it isn't clear whether SLED began its
investigation because of the items found in the Jeep. The warrant
refers to conversations that took place between February and May, a
time frame extending before and after the April incident.

Before joining the Moncks Corner Police Department, Reynolds was a
Berkeley County sheriff's deputy. He entered law enforcement in his
40s, after retiring as a boiler operator for Amoco Chemical, he said.
After retiring, he opened a convenience store in Moncks Corner, which
he has since sold, and began working for the sheriff's office in 1996
as a reserve deputy. He started working full time in 2000, according
to state records. He resigned in August 2004, and then joined Moncks
Corner about six weeks later, the records state.

His resignation from the sheriff's office came after supervisors
suspended him from working off-duty security assignments. They
accused him of working at a Waffle House without permission,
sheriff's documents state. All off-duty security work must be
approved by a supervisor. In his resignation letter, Reynolds wrote
that he didn't want to leave but would have been terminated if he
didn't. Berkeley County officials have declined to comment on the
paperwork relating to his departure. Reynolds resigned from Moncks
Corner 10 days before his arrest by SLED. He said he knew the state
agency was investigating him and thought it would be best to resign
before any arrest.

Moncks Corner Police Chief Chad Caldwell has said Reynolds had an
"excellent" record with the department.

Reynolds maintains he never did anything wrong and said he sorely
misses the camaraderie of law enforcement.

"I did an honest, straight-up job for the sheriff's office, and I did
for Moncks Corner," he said.

Last week, Reynolds said he hoped his day in court would arrive soon.
Deputy Solicitor Blair Jennings said Reynolds' case is scheduled to
go before a grand jury next month.