DEPUTY INNOCENT IN DRUG THEFT

After testifying in his defense Saturday, a former Escambia County
sheriff's deputy was acquitted of charges that he stole marijuana from an
evidence room.

Jerry West, 29, was found not guilty after the Escambia County jury
deliberated just minutes during a rare Saturday court proceeding. Circuit
Judge Linda Nobles ordered the weekend session because she had a conflict
in her schedule for next week.

In the third and final day of the trial, West testified for about two hours
under questioning from his attorney, Nobles reported after the verdict.
Prosecutors cross-examined West for about 45 minutes.

At the end of a full day of work, the six-member jury deliberated for about
30 minutes before finding West not guilty of possessing less than 20 grams
of marijuana and tampering with evidence.

West, who was arrested in April 2000, was accused of swapping a higher
grade of marijuana for a lower grade. He also tested positive for drug abuse.

Defense attorney Jerry Allred argued that the amount of the drug found in
the test was less than what counts as a positive test. He suggested West
might have inhaled the marijuana while handling evidence.