MISSING EQUIPMENT ADDED TO POLICE NARCOTICS PROBE

Gwinnett police say they can't account for thousands of dollars' worth
of equipment assigned to the narcotics unit, the same unit being
investigated by the Georgia Bureau Investigation because of some
missing cocaine.

Equipment that disappeared from the department's narcotics unit was
worth about $13,000 new, and about $5,000 after depreciation,
according to Gwinnett police spokesman Officer Brian Kelly. Most is
computer-related, such as external CD drives, recording equipment and
portable memory devices.

"Nobody can say with any kind of certainty whether this is stuff that
has been stolen or if it is stuff that has been mislaid and not
properly accounted for," Kelly said.

Police say there is no immediate cause for concern.

"I can't get into the specifics of what is missing, but the nature of
the equipment isn't anything that would give rise to concern," Kelly
said. "There is no covert surveillance equipment or weapons."

Police discovered the equipment losses several months ago during a
detailed audit that was part of an internal investigation, ongoing
since March, when an unspecified amount of cocaine disappeared from
the narcotics unit. The cocaine was intended to be used by
investigators for undercover drug buys.

The police department asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to
look into the missing cocaine. GBI spokesman John Bankhead said agents
have questioned about 40 people so far. He offered no timetable on
when the investigation would conclude.

The narcotics unit has been dogged by controversy ever since a former
supervisor and a former investigator were arrested last fall on
charges related to tampering with funds used for drug
investigations.

Former investigator Vennie Harden is charged with three counts of
first-degree forgery and one count of violation of oath of office.
Harden forged a supervisor's name to obtain funds on three occasions,
according to arrest warrants.

Former supervisor David Butler is charged with three counts of
financial transaction card fraud and one count of theft by taking. He
stole $4,000 from a safe at police headquarters, according to arrest
warrants.

Arrest warrants also state that Butler used a department credit card
to book a motel room and buy items at an adult novelty store.

Butler and Harden resigned from the department last
summer.

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said Monday that he is
waiting for the GBI to conclude its investigation before he seeks a
grand jury indictment for Butler and Harden.

Porter said Monday he had not heard about the equipment
losses.

"Missing equipment could result in criminal charges, or there could be
a perfectly innocent explanation," Porter said. "In the past, my
experience with the [narcotics] task force has been that they are
careful about handling the evidence, they are careful about handling
the equipment."

Gwinnett County audits equipment or "fixed assets" belonging to
various departments on a rotating schedule. Matthew Whitley, the
director of the Performance Analysis Division, which handles the
audits, said he would look at adding the police department to this
year's schedule of audits. Police assets have not been audited in the
three years that the Performance Analysis Division has been in
existence, Whitley said.

"Obviously, assets belong to the citizens as well," Whitley said.
"We'll definitely look at adding [the] police department to this
year's roster."