WALSENBURG PERSONNEL HELD IN ALLEGED POT THEFT

A Walsenburg police sergeant and two emergency dispatchers were arrested
after a month-long probe of the city department found they allegedly stole
more than 4 pounds of marijuana from an evidence locker.

Sgt. Gilbert Pedraza, 51, and dispatchers Mark Gomez, 42, and Thomas
Cordova, 51, were arrested and released on bond Tuesday. Pedraza, a 15-year
veteran, allegedly took bricks of marijuana and gave them to Gomez and
Cordova for their personal use, according to an arrest affidavit.

"It was for the personal use of the dispatchers, we were told," said
Assistant District Attorney Cathy Mullens. "We don't believe it was sold on
the streets of Walsenburg."

Gomez is the grandson of former Walsenburg Mayor George Turner, 91, who was
found murdered in his home last month. The drug investigation grew from the
murder probe, and Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents cracked the ring
after questions arose when interviewing Gomez, the affidavit says.

Turner's death was part of a summer crime spree that hit this southern
Colorado town of 4,200 residents. An armed robbery and a fleeing parolee
with a knife also jolted Walsenburg in the same three-week period.

"We've had about as much as we can take for one year," said Mayor Maurice Brau.

The three police employees face felony charges of embezzlement of public
property, theft and marijuana possession. All three are suspended and could
face five to 15 years in prison under sentencing guidelines.

The pot has a street value of more than $3,000, officials said.

Investigators say they believe the drugs came from a 1999 arrest in which
police seized more than 137 pounds of marijuana.