DEPUTY IMPOSTERS RIPPED OFF SUSPECTED DRUG DEALERS

A Fulton County deputy sheriff is accused in a federal indictment of
providing sheriff's uniforms and inside information to accomplices who
barged into the homes of suspected drug dealers, stealing narcotics,
jewelry and cash.

According to the indictment disclosed Tuesday, a dozen members of a home
invasion ring have been arrested and charged with breaking into at least 11
homes in the metro area in the last year, posing as sheriff's officers.

Deputy Brenda Wiggins, 33, provided the uniforms and information about the
targets --- data she acquired from the national computer crime network that
is supposed to be used exclusively by law enforcement officials, the
indictment says.

Wiggins has been suspended with pay and is free on $25,000 bond.

Her lawyer, Akil Secret, said Tuesday that Wiggins "denies being involved
in the distribution of narcotics or any direct involvement in home invasions."

Sheriff Jackie Barrett declined to comment, saying she had been asked by
the FBI not to discuss the case.

Federal authorities said the investigation is continuing. They wouldn't
comment when asked if other deputies might have been involved.

Wiggins participated in the conspiracy from April 2001 through December,
charges the indictment, which was issued in June and only recently unsealed.

The indictment alleges Wiggins provided the uniforms that Johnathan Dale
and others wore them to trick unsuspecting victims into letting them enter
their homes. Dale gave Wiggins money for the uniforms and for information
on the suspected drug dealers the gang targeted, the indictment claims.

In some instances, according to the federal charges, Dale and his
associates physically assaulted and tortured the suspected drug dealers and
later sold some of the narcotics they stole from them.