HEGE PROBE MAY SPUR CASE DISMISSALS

LEXINGTON -- Davidson County sheriff's deputies say they were directed to
stop drivers based solely on their race and ethnicity -- a revelation that
could lead to some criminal cases being dismissed in court.

Deputies were instructed by Sheriff Gerald Hege to stop anyone "darker than
snow," and "every Mexican or black guy," according to sworn affidavits from
a half-dozen deputies.

Those affidavits were unsealed last week in court after Hege was charged
with embezzlement and obstruction of justice. He has been suspended from
his duties.

So far, at least one defense attorney is asking the courts to drop a
criminal charge against her client because of allegations that the Davidson
County sheriff's department engaged in "racial profiling."

"Every stop becomes suspect," said Mocksville-based attorney Lori
Hamilton-DeWitt, who filed the motion to dismiss a charge against a
Hispanic client Monday. She is reviewing all her files to see if any other
cases could be affected.

State law says officers must have a reason for stopping a driver. Stopping
people solely based on their race or skin color, not on their behavior or
driving, meets the criteria of racial profiling, said Sgt. Everett
Clendenin, a Highway Patrol spokesman.

Though not specifically outlawed by state law, racial profiling is
prohibited under the federal Civil Rights Act. Plaintiffs are able to sue
under the act and recover monetary damages. Federal authorities also can
charge a law enforcement officer with a felony for violating the act,
though no such charges have been filed.

The affidavits, which also contain other allegations that Hege's
administration abused its power, will be considered during a hearing Oct.
27 to determine whether Hege should be removed from office.

On Monday, Hege returned to Superior Court for his initial appearance on
the 15 criminal charges filed against him. He made no statements in regard
to the charges. Hege posted a $15,000 secured bond last week and was
ordered to have no contact with potential state witnesses.

In sworn affidavits to the State Bureau of Investigation, Hege's employees
described scenarios where Hispanics, in particular, were targeted on busy
thoroughfares through Davidson County.

Capt. Christopher Coble recalled Hege riding with him on Interstate 85 when
they came across a Hispanic man driving a small Honda.

"Hege instructed me to stop the car," Coble told the SBI. "I followed the
Hispanic male and observed his driving. I told Sheriff Hege that I did not
see the driver do anything wrong and Sheriff Hege told me to pull the car
because he saw the car weave in its lane. I stopped the car even though I
did not see the driver do anything wrong."

Coble later determined the man didn't have a driver's license.

Deputy Todd Nifong told the SBI that he believed that members of the
department's TAC unit were stopping and targeting "anything transporting
Hispanic drivers with out-of-state license plates," according to his
affidavit. The TAC unit is responsible for stopping drug traffickers on the
major highways. Nifong added, "Sheriff Hege has come to me in the past and
told me to write tickets to whites, blacks and Hispanics to offset the
profiling that he had the TAC Team doing."

Capt. Jody Shoaf, a Davidson sheriff's spokesman, said he's talked to
members of the TAC Team and none said they engaged in racial profiling
while making traffic stops. Though they might have been encouraged to stop
those of specific races, "I've had no indication the officers did that," he
said Monday.

Davidson District Attorney Garry Frank said his office is not doing a
wholesale review of cases involving traffic stops to see if any should be
dismissed in light of the affidavits. Instead, they will deal with claims
and motions for dismissal as they come up.

"We'll just have to weed through them and deal with them straight up,"
Frank said.

In the case that Hamilton-DeWitt wants dropped, her client, Fermil A.
Vargas, was the passenger in a car driven by another Hispanic man. They
were stopped on Interstate 85 in March.

Though the driver wasn't issued a traffic citation, the officer asked to
search the car and eventually found cocaine hidden inside, she said. But
Hamilton-DeWitt questions why they were stopped at all. The officer, she
said, claimed it was because the driver was unable to maintain his lane.
She doesn't buy that reasoning after learning of the information in the
affidavits. She instead believes the car was stopped because two Hispanic
men were inside.

"It just appeared to be obviously made up," she said.