EX-COP GUILTY IN DRUG CASE

A retired Berkeley police sergeant pleaded guilty to grand theft and
two felony drug charges Friday in Alameda County Superior Court.

Cary Kent, 53, pleaded guilty to the charges -- which included
possession of heroin and methamphetamine -- after an internal probe
of missing drugs from department evidence lockers.

Kent was an 18-year veteran of the department before retiring in
January rather than submit to questioning during the internal
investigation, Berkeley police officer Ed Galvin said.

Police Chief Doug Hambleton and the Alameda County District
Attorney's Office conducted a joint criminal investigation in January
after a semi-regular audit of the department's evidence lockers
showed that more than 100 envelopes containing confiscated drugs had
been opened and the evidence removed.

Prosecutor James Panetta said that as part of Kent's plea deal, he
would not receive prison time. Instead, Kent will be placed on five
years of felony probation and serve up to one year in county jail.

Kent's sentencing is scheduled for May 12.

Berkeley police have contacted the California Commission on Peace
Officers Standards and Training to review the department's
evidence-handling procedures, Galvin said. The last audit of
narcotics evidence at the department was last summer. Police say Kent
was a member of the department's narcotics unit and the supervisor
entrusted with handling drug evidence booked into police custody.