DETECTIVE OFF POLICE FORCE, CHIEF SAYS

HIGH POINT -- The High Point police detective accused of using false
information to obtain a search warrant in a drug case is no longer employed
with the police department, Chief Jim Fealy confirmed Friday.

Scott M. Gordon's employment with the force ended Friday, the same day an
internal investigation into his actions ended. Fealy would not say whether
Gordon, 34, was fired or resigned, citing personnel rules.

"The bottom line is he is no longer employed by the High Point Police
Department," Fealy said.

Gordon had been on paid administrative leave since the investigation began
in late May.

The special prosecutor division of the N.C. Attorney General's Office will
determine whether criminal charges are warranted against Gordon, who joined
the force in 1997.

The Attorney General's Office agreed to handle the criminal investigation
after being contacted by Guilford County District Attorney Stuart Albright,
who said Friday that his office asked out of the case to avoid an
appearance of impropriety. Guilford prosecutors have worked closely with
Gordon over the years, Albright said. Suspicions of misconduct by Gordon
came to light last month when a group of High Point officers reported
inconsistencies in a report filed by Gordon, Fealy said.

Fealy informed Forsyth County District Attorney Tom Keith, since the search
warrant in question was used to arrest three people in Forsyth County.
Keith then dropped cocaine trafficking charges against the defendants;
court papers stated that an "invalid search warrant" was the reason. There
was no other evidence to support a conviction, the papers stated.

High Point police and the Guilford County District Attorney's Office have
spent more than two weeks examining past investigations involving Gordon.
Investigators gave particular scrutiny to cases involving search warrants
and confidential informants, Fealy said.

"What we found was that this was an isolated incident. It was our
procedures and policies and the integrity of other officers that brought
this out," Fealy said.

A full account of Gordon's actions will be given once the Attorney
General's Office completes its investigation, he said.

Earlier this week, the State Bureau of Investigation completed an
investigation of Gordon. The SBI's investigative file will be used by the
Attorney General's Office.