SBI IS INVESTIGATING A DAVIDSON SPECIAL-UNIT DEPUTY, SHERIFF SAYS

LEXINGTON - A deputy with the Davidson County Sheriff's Office who worked
for one of the county's elite special-investigation teams is himself under
investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation.

Sheriff David Grice said yesterday that an investigation into one of
the members of the county's interstate criminal-enforcement unit, or
ICE, began about three weeks ago. The unit is under the
special-investigations division, which includes the vice and narcotics
and the special-response teams.

Its members patrol the county's major highways, including Interstate
85, stopping suspicious drivers who may be involved in drug
trafficking. As a result, the unit often handles large amounts of cash
and illegal drugs, including cocaine.

A spokeswoman with the N.C. Attorney General's Office, Noelle Talley,
said that the SBI began investigating Deputy Nathan Moser after a June
21 request by Garry Frank, the district attorney for Davidson County.

Frank declined to comment. Grice would not confirm that Moser was the
deputy in question.

However, John Dean, the county human-resources director, said that
Moser, 30, resigned Tuesday. According to county personnel records,
Moser began his law-enforcement career as a temporary relief deputy
with patrol in May 2000. He was hired full time in June and was
promoted in January 2003.

Grice received an allegation that Moser had done something wrong
shortly after he took office June 10. Grice would not specify what the
allegation was, but he said that it came from a person who doesn't
work for the sheriff's office. The allegation also involved one
incident, Grice said, not a pattern of behavior or several incidents,
and happened sometime during Maj. Dallas Hedrick's time as acting sheriff.

Moser's last day was Tuesday, but Grice said that he planned on
leaving even before news of the investigation became public.

Moser resigned to take a better-paying job with a military contractor
overseas, Grice said. He is the second deputy to leave for such work.

The investigation marks another public blow for a sheriff's office
beleaguered by rumors and actual police inquiry.

In May, the former sheriff, Gerald Hege, resigned after pleading
guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice.

Nearly a year before that, SBIagents questioned top deputies,
including Moser. In his affidavit, Moser accused Hege of racial
profiling by asking him to stop drivers of Hispanic or "ethnic" descent.

That same investigation led to unrelated charges that the county's
former director of public buildings, Ron Richardson, performed work
for two county commissioners and the county's director of senior
services while on county time and used county resources to maintain
personal property.

Commissioners Fred Sink and Cindy Akins and Kathryn Gentry, the
director of senior services, also face charges.

The sheriff's office was also investigated by the SBI after
high-ranking vice and narcotics officers were implicated in a
drug-trafficking ring. Lt. Douglas Westmoreland, Lt. David Woodall and
Sgt. William Rankin were arrested in December 2001. They were charged
with issuing fake search warrants and intimidating suspects to get
cocaine, steroids and marijuana and are now serving prison terms.

Grice said he expects SBI agents to complete their investigation by
the middle of next week.