DEPUTIES ARRESTED; OTHERS RESIGN

Polk Jail Employee Is Charged With Conspiracy in Prescription Drug
Inquiry That Snares Co-Workers

BARTOW - A Polk County Jail deputy was arrested Thursday and other
employees, including the jail's second-ranking administrator and two
other supervisors, took early retirement after an investigation into
allegations the deputy offered money and sex for prescription
painkillers.

Detention Deputy Lena Reeves, 37, was charged with conspiracy for
unlawful compensation involving official behavior. Reeves posted
$1,000 bail and was released from the jail.

Eight employees, including Reeves and Maj. Dale C. Tray, the head of
the jail's security division, have retired.

'This is the first time in the 34 years that I've been with the
Sheriff's Office that I can recall an investigation of this
magnitude,'' Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Thursday night.

Besides Tray, others who decided to retire early are Lt. Rickey Grice,
Sgt. Randy Kremann, Detention Deputy Stacy Garrison, Detention Deputy
Belinda Yarborough, Deputy Malcom Kneale and a department secretary,
Jackie Lanfair.

Also named in the investigation are former Capt. Mark DeComo and Sgt.
Raymond Bryant, who has been suspended from duty while an
administrative investigation is under way, according to Judd.

Brad Copley, an assistant state attorney, said in a letter to the
Sheriff's Office that he could find 'no probable cause'' that Tray
committed a crime.

As for the others, Copley wrote in a letter to Sheriff's Office
investigator Consuelo Galleogos-Bias, there is ``probable cause to
believe they each committed at least one felony. . .''

But he declined to prosecute because he could not prove their guilt
beyond a reasonable doubt.

Although prosecutors concluded Tray hadn't committed a crime, the 26-
year jail employee chose to move up his retirement to Nov. 17. He had
originally planned to retire in December. In a letter sent to
sheriff's officials Thursday he gave this explanation:

'My reason for retirement is that too many situations have occurred
while I was in command that I was not aware of but should have been.
As a Division Commander, it was my responsibility to ensure that the
people under my command were acting properly. I failed to do this.
Although I was not involved in their actions, it was my responsibility
to detect or prevent them. Failure to do so indicates to me that my
time is up.''

Tray told investigators he once accepted a prescription pill from
Reeves but didn't swallow it.

Although Reeves admitted to investigators that she pressured other
employees to give or sell her their prescription medications she
denied offering sex in exchange for drugs.

However, Lt. Rickey Grice told detectives Reeves had offered him sex
for drugs, an offer he declined, and that 'he was aware of of Reeves
offering other male employees'' sex, according to a report by
sheriff's detectives.

A detention deputy told investigators of an occasion about four years
ago when Reeves began 'bugging him to death'' for medication he would
receive for an upcoming tooth extraction. At one point, she offered
sex for his prescription, but he declined.

The deputy told detectives he didn't report the incident to Reeves'
supervisors 'because he felt they were encouraging and enabling her
behavior,'' the report said.

The investigation began Sept. 22 after an anonymous caller claimed
Reeves was addicted to prescription drugs, obtained painkillers from
other jail employees and was involved in a sexual relationship with a
supervisor.

Judd said he 'strongly suspects'' the anonymous caller was a Sheriff's
Office employee.

In a 14-page summary of the investigation, sheriff's Detective
Consuelo Galleogos-Bias detailed interviews she and Detective Larry
Ashley conducted with Reeves' co-workers.

Detention deputies passed on what they said were widespread rumors
within the department that Reeves was addicted to prescription drugs
and used her relationships with supervisors to receive special treatment.

Two detention deputies said she was known as 'Untouchable' and the
'Puppetmaster'' because of the special treatment she received.

And her co-workers told investigators Reeves 'displayed bizarre
behavior, mood swings and sometimes appears to be in a drug induced
state while on duty.''

When the detectives interviewed Reeves on Oct. 19 at the office of her
lawyer, Mark Taylor, of Bartow, she told them how in 1991 she started
taking Staydol, a narcotic painkiller she used to ease the pain of her
migraine headaches, and became addicted.

When her doctor limited her use of the drug, Reeves said, she sought
out other detention employees to help her get prescription drugs.
Reeves said Sgt. Randy Kremann was the first to help her.

'He went to a doctor to get me a few pills just to get me through
because I was in extreme pain,'' Reeves told the detectives.

The investigative report said 'Reeves admitted being involved with
Kremann sexually at the beginning of their seven-year relationship.
However, she denied exchanging sex with Sgt. Kremann for prescription
narcotics.''

Kremann was interviewed and told investigators he and Reeves had been
roommates '`on and off' for seven years, the report said. He
acknowledged giving her prescription medications.

When investigators asked Kremann why he aided Reeves' addiction he
said 'She didn't take `no' for an answer very easily. You know she is
very persistent.''

Reeves related to investigators how she received drug rehabilitation
treatment for her addiction but continued to take painkillers. 'Reeves
advised after her rehab in 2001, she obtained written permission to
take medication on duty...,'' the investigative report said.

Reeves told the detectives she again turned to other employees for
prescription drugs. She said she bought medication for treatment of
migraine headaches from a secretary, Jackie Lanfair. Lanfair confirmed
to investigators that she had provided prescription drugs to Reeves.

Reeves said on a few occasions she traded pills with

Grice, who, like Reeves, had a prescription for Vicodin. 'Reeves
denied any exchange of money or sex for the Vicodin,'' the
investigative report said.

The arrests and retirements were the latest black eye for the jail
system.

DeComo was arrested Sept. 8 after he was accused of stealing
ammunition from the Sheriff's Office.

In August, the head of the jail, Willie Hall, resigned after admitting
to sheriff's officials that material he submitted as part of a
required college course had been copied from Tray.