DTF OFFICER CHARGED WITH FELONY THEFT

BLOUNTVILLE - A 12-year veteran of the Sullivan County Sheriff's
Department was arrested Friday after a state investigation left him
charged with felony theft. Sheriff Wayne Anderson said Cpl. Jeff
Tabor, a member of the 2nd Judicial Drug Task Force and one-time
resource officer in the county's school system, is charged with theft
over $500.

Tabor had been on paid suspension for about three weeks, Anderson
said, as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation looked into missing
Drug Task Force funds at the request of Anderson and District Attorney
Greeley Wells.

The TBI investigation was prompted by a visit to Anderson by the
director of the 2nd Judicial Drug Task Force a few weeks ago, the
sheriff said.

Tabor was along for the visit, and the two told Anderson some money
was missing and Tabor "wanted to pay it back," Anderson said.

Anderson conferred with Wells, and the two agreed to call the
TBI.

The 2nd Judicial Task Force has a certain amount of money called
confidential funds, Anderson said. It is used in undercover drug buys,
and each task force agent is assigned some of the funds.

"It is alleged he took $888.61 and had not replaced it," Anderson
said.

The arrest is the first negative in the task force's roughly 15-year
history, Anderson said.

"There's never been a problem," Anderson said. "It's always run really
smooth and been very professional. They've made a lot of arrests and
taken a lot of major drug dealers off the streets. So we've had a good
run of 15 years before this happened, and I'm sure we will continue to
have a good Drug Task Force."

Tabor's colleagues in law enforcement and in the county were shocked
by the allegations, arrest and charge, Anderson said.

"We constantly got letters of how good he was doing his job from
members of the public," Anderson said. "We'd never had any problem out
of him. It was a total shock. But things like that happen. Anytime you
deal with humans, you deal with human problems. And I think that's the
case ... he had problems and to deal with them he made some wrong choices."