SANFORD POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED

SANFORD - A city police officer was arrested Wednesday and charged
with stealing drugs out of a department evidence room in March, police
said.

James Ed Gregory, 37, of the 2700 block of Pebble Brook Drive, was
charged with felonious larceny. He was released on $1,000 bail.

Gregory is accused of taking about 2 pounds of marijuana sometime
around March 1, according to a department news release. The drugs had
a street value of more than $2,000.

Gregory is no longer employed by the city, said Capt. Kevin Gray, head
of internal affairs for the Sanford Police Department. He would not
say whether Gregory resigned or was fired.

Gregory was reinstated as a full-time patrol officer Aug. 8. He had
been serving on a part-time basis since March 2000, when he began
working as a Lee County probation officer.

Work History

Gregory was hired by the Sanford Police Department in March 1990 and
worked full time until he started with the probation department four
years ago.

The stolen drugs were being held as evidence in a pending court case,
the news release said. When they were stolen, they were no longer
being used and were scheduled to be destroyed.

It is unclear how investigators linked Gregory to the missing drugs,
but the news release said police made the arrest after they received
information from the Harnett County Sheriff's Office.

Gregory was working as a part-time officer assigned to a joint
city-county narcotics unit at the time the drugs were stolen.

Gray said he could not comment on the case because it is an ongoing
investigation.