OFFICERS HELPED TOPPLE HEGE

LEXINGTON -- Gerald Hege's downfall started with a whistle-blower who was
fed up.

A trusted high-ranking deputy decided he'd seen enough after three Davidson
County Sheriff's Office vice officers were arrested on drug-conspiracy
charges in late 2001.

Hege pleaded guilty Monday to two felony counts of obstruction of justice
and was forced to resign as a result of an investigation that snowballed
after Maj. Brad Glisson came forward with evidence in sworn affidavits
against the controversial leader.

In his first public statements on the Hege investigation, Glisson said
Thursday that he began talking to the FBI after the drug arrests because he
believed Hege's lack of leadership and oversight had allowed Lt. William
Rankin, Lt. David Woodall and Sgt. Douglas Westmoreland to go astray of the
law and ruin their lives. The officers in the high-profile unit reported
directly to Hege -- without higher-ranking officers to monitor their
actions, Glisson said.

It was the missing element that could have prevented the three deputies
from falling into a drug scandal, Glisson said. The men were arrested on
charges that they sold tens of thousands of dollars worth of cocaine,
marijuana, steroids and Ecstasy. They later pleaded guilty.

"They clearly broke the law ... (But) I also condemn the atmosphere they
were allowed to operate in," Glisson said.

It was an atmosphere that allowed officers to bend the rules and fostered
an anything-goes mentality, he said. Part of that stemmed from Hege's own
actions that Glisson recalled in court documents, like taking cash
designated for undercover drug purchases without accounting for its use.

Glisson said Hege had asked him during the years to engage in illegal
conduct as well: Faking receipts. Trying to cover up missing money from a
vice unit safe.

After the vice officer arrests in 2001, Hege then asked Glisson to gather
all the receipts from special vice funds. If there was ever a question
about misuse of those funds, he could use Rankin, Woodall and Westmoreland
as "scapegoats," Hege told him.

Glisson decided he couldn't follow those orders anymore.

Though Glisson gathered the receipts and records, he told Hege he couldn't
find them.

Instead, he took them to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Throughout 2002, the FBI gathered evidence from Glisson and the three
convicted deputies, who cooperated with investigators. But federal
authorities needed something more concrete, and the investigation stalled,
he said.

In late 2002, Glisson decided he needed another witness to strengthen the
case. He took a calculated risk and went to then-Maj. Danny Owens, Hege's
second in command, telling him about the missing vice funds and his
discussions with the FBI.

He trusted Owens, but still feared Hege might find out. He could count on
being fired if word spread.

"At that point in time, I didn't care," Glisson said.

Owens agreed to help, though he feared the possible consequences from Hege.

"You don't know how somebody like that is going to react when they find out
you are telling the truth on them," Owens said.

Soon after, Owens overheard Hege telling Glisson to get $600 in special
vice funds to pay for a celebratory Christmas dinner for the department's
command staff.

In affidavits, Glisson said Hege even had a way to justify the expense.

"Write it off to snitches," Hege told him.

During the spring of 2003, the deputies brought Capt. Jody Shoaf into the
fold. The trio decided that the best way to stop the sheriff was an
infrequently used state law for removing an unfit officer. They believed it
would be easier to make a case to prove willful neglect or misconduct in
office -- two of several reasons to remove a sheriff -- rather than any
specific criminal charges.

Several publicized mishaps that spring persuaded the men to come forward
rather than wait for more evidence to mount. In March, deputies fired at a
loose bull in Tyro more than a dozen times in an incident that some
neighbors called unnecessary. Then in April, deputies shot into an occupied
minivan they had stopped after a chase on Interstate 85.

District Attorney Garry Frank cleared the deputies involved in the chase of
criminal wrongdoing. But Shoaf, an internal affairs officer, told the
sheriff that he needed to send a message: The shooting was not acceptable.

Glisson said Hege didn't want an investigation because of the negative
publicity.

"Instead of condemning it, he embraced it," Glisson said of the shooting on
the interstate.

The trio worried that another officer would find himself in a heap of
trouble because of Hege's failure to manage the department, Glisson said.

It was time to act.

Glisson went to Frank and told him what he knew. He didn't know that Frank
was already compiling a case against Hege.

Frank had requested an investigation into another county employee in
October 2002 -- and that led to the discovery of evidence against Hege.

After Glisson's visit, Frank sent a letter to the SBI on April 23, 2003,
requesting an investigation into Hege's conduct and activities. Glisson,
Owens and Shoaf gave statements to state investigators in May before the
SBI probe became public knowledge in June.

The trio didn't know what information other deputies would tell investigators.

"I just had faith in the guys that worked there that they'd do the right
thing and tell the truth," Owens said.

Weeks after Frank announced the SBI probe, Hege told members of his command
staff that he wouldn't resign and that he was going to fight the investigation.

But he became more mistrustful of his staff, telling other deputies he
would find out who was talking and "they are going to be gone," according
to an SBI affidavit. A grand jury indicted Hege on 15 felony counts on
Sept. 2. After the indictments were unsealed Sept. 15, Hege was suspended
from office.

On Monday, when a hearing was finally set to begin to determine the
sheriff's fitness for office, Hege took a plea deal that guaranteed him no
jail time. He remained unrepentant this week, blaming his downfall on the
top staff who ultimately turned on him.

The three deputies remain employed at the sheriff's office but their future
is uncertain.

Frank has said he is considering whether to charge any of the deputies
based on information from the SBI probe. No deputies received immunity for
their aid in the investigation.

Despite the possible repercussions, Shoaf and Owens both call Glisson a
"hero" for coming forward.

"What happens in the future is all moot," Glisson said. "It's what happened
Monday that matters."