HEGE FACES 15 CHARGES

Sheriff Is Suspended; DA Files Papers To Have Him Removed

LEXINGTON - Sheriff Gerald Hege of Davidson County was charged with 15
felonies
and suspended from office yesterday after a wide-ranging state and
federal investigation into corruption and misconduct by the sheriff
and his allies.

Judge W. Erwin Spainhour issued an order for Hege's arrest about 10:15
a.m., after he opened 15 indictments that were sealed Sept. 2. Hege
appeared in Davidson Superior Court around noon and was suspended as
sheriff before posting a $15,000 bond and leaving the courthouse with
his family.

District Attorney Garry Frank immediately filed a petition to remove
Hege as sheriff, and the 67 affidavits he provided in support of that
motion paint a chilling picture of the sheriff as a law-enforcement
officer with contempt for the laws he is supposed to enforce. Frank
suggested that Hege might retaliate against deputies who the sheriff
felt had betrayed him and that the state could not risk keeping Hege
in office any longer.

'The whole matter (of removal) is not punishment of this man, but
protection of the public,' Frank said. 'And part of that is the
protection of this law-enforcement agency.'

Hege was indicted on five counts of embezzlement by a public officer
- -- five counts of obtaining property by false pretenses -- two counts
of obstruction of justice -- and one count each of endeavoring to
intercept oral communication, aiding and abetting to endeavor to
intercept oral communication and aiding and abetting to obtain
property by false pretenses.

Cindy Akins, a member of the Davidson County Board of Commissioners,
Ron Richardson, the former director of the county's public-buildings
and maintenance department and Kathryn Cartner Gentry, the county
director of senior services, were also indicted. By the time each
domino had fallen, all 36 sealed indictments were opened.

Maj. Dallas Hedrick was named acting sheriff.

Hege did not say anything publicly all day and spent most of the
morning secluded in his office.

With a throng of reporters and photographers swarming the county
courthouse, particularly in front of the sheriff's office, Hege took a
back route and made his first court appearance shortly before noon.

Agents with the State Bureau of Investigation, who had arrested Hege
in his office, escorted him to the courtroom. The SBI has spent months
investigating nearly every aspect of Hege's office, from how he spent
money to whether he used racial profiling in patrols.

The inquiry into Hege's office grew out of another investigation,
which began last fall into Richardson's actions as the director of
public buildings and maintenance. Richardson faces 19 felony counts,
most of which are related to using county resources for private purposes.

Much of the evidence against Hege was not made public - the SBI
investigation was continuing yesterday - but in the indictments he is
accused of embezzling $6,200 from the vice and narcotics unit.
According to the indictments, the money was used for, among other
things, a celebration dinner after Hege's 1998 re-election and for
personal travel for an unnamed employee of the sheriff's office.

Hedrick, who became the chief deputy yesterday morning, is in charge
of the department until Hege is reinstated or a new sheriff is
approved by county commissioners, who by law must accept the
recommendation of the county Republican Party's executive committee.

During the hearing in which Hege was suspended with pay, Frank told
Spainhour that Hege was guilty of negligence, misconduct and
maladministration - all of which are cause for removal of a sheriff
under state law.

Frank submitted 67 affidavits to support Hege's removal or suspension
until a hearing on the matter is held. The affidavits include 27 from
law-enforcement officials, including Maj. Danny Owens who was the
department's chief deputy until Hege demoted him at about 10:30 a.m.
yesterday.

'As you read these affidavits, you will see a thread of intimidation
. and obstruction that cannot be tolerated for one more day,' Frank
told the court.

Frank read aloud three affidavits in which deputies describe a Sept. 2
meeting at Randy's Restaurant on U.S. 64. There, they said, Hege said
that several deputies were cooperating with the SBI in its inquiry of
his office. The deputies quoted Hege as saying that employees who he
finds giving incriminating statements against him 'are going to be
gone.'

Hege and one of his sons, Gerald 'Keith' Hege Jr., are accused of
making similar threats in other affidavits read by Frank. Once, Frank
said, Hege made a throat-cutting motion with his hand while talking
about a plan to 'get rid of anyone who's made statements about me.'
Hege was also quoted as saying that no Superior Court judge would dare
remove him from office.

Owens, who as chief deputy was next in line to be sheriff should Hege
be removed, testified that retaliation might already have started.
Owens was the only witness called yesterday, and he said that two
captains, Christopher Coble and Jody Shoaf, informed him of a demotion
just minutes after Hege's indictment was made public.

William Hill, one of Hege's attorneys, argued that all the deputies
who submitted indictments are still employed and that Frank was making
too much out of 'idle chatter.' Hill said he and Walter Jones, Hege's
other attorney, needed more time to review the affidavits before any
decision to suspend the sheriff was made.

'The sheriff, under statute, is entitled to due process,' Hill said.
'I was handed (the petition for removal) literally as I walked through
the door.'

Spainhour disagreed, and he suspended Hege with pay as of 12:35
p.m.

'I think there is sufficient evidence from the affidavits I've read
and the testimony I've heard, all of which are very compelling reasons
at this point to suspend the sheriff until there's a hearing,'
Spainhour said.

The hearing on whether Hege should be permanently removed is set for
Sept. 29.

Spainhour ordered Hege not to return to his office and not to contact
anyone involved in the investigation. The suspended sheriff - who
earlier was fingerprinted and photographed - was given a $15,000
secured bond, which he soon paid at the criminal magistrates' office.

'He's got to be treated like everyone else,' Spainhour
said.

Spainhour was reassigned to this week's session of Davidson Superior
Court Aug. 25, after Davidson's resident judge, Mark Klass, requested
an out-of-district judge. Spainhour is the resident judge in Cabarrus
County.

Hege - dressed in his usual black, paramilitary uniform with a 'Team
101' hat - showed almost no emotion during court yesterday. He stared
straight ahead for most of the proceedings and rarely spoke with his
attorneys. It was a rare sight for the man who often called himself
'America's toughest sheriff,' and has often been a media magnet.

Upon taking office in December 1994, he immediately gained prominence
by stripping the televisions from the Davidson County Jail. He then
ordered the jail painted pink with blue teddy bears.

Hege reinstated chain gangs for prisoners and regularly set up
roadblocks around the county, stopping everyone from teen-agers
leaving school to N.C. Secretary of State Rufus Edminsten as he left a
fund-raiser.

Over time, he clashed with county commissioners over such issues as
the purchase of two Harley-Davidson motorcycles and, more recently,
the shooting of a bull that cost the county $5,000. Hege preached his
tough-on-crime gospel on a radio show and on Live from Cell Block F,
at one time the highest-rated original show on Court TV.

He could face six to eight months in prison for each charge brought
against him yesterday. After Hege had left the courthouse, his
attorneys expressed confidence that, once they have a chance to
examine evidence, they could prepare a defense.

'An indictment isn't a narrative of what happened. In many cases it's
just two or three sentences,' Jones said.

Hill described Hege as in good spirits, considering the
circumstances.

'When you're indicted and charged with a crime, it's tough for
everyone,' he said.

Richardson, Akins and Gentry were released yesterday after each posted
a $10,000 unsecured bond. Akins is accused of having Richardson
install locks on her apartment door while he was on county time, and
Gentry is accused of having him install a hot-water heater in her
home, also on county time.

Gentry has worked for the county since May 1989 and her current annual
salary is $50,450, according to county personnel records.

At the beginning of the investigation, however, was Richardson, who
resigned in January. He was charged yesterday with 10 counts of
obtaining property by false pretenses -- four counts of private use of
a publicly owned vehicle -- three counts of aiding and abetting the
private use of a publicly owned vehicle -- one count of aiding and
abetting obtaining property by false pretenses -- and one count of
intercepting and disclosing wire, oral or electronic
communication.

The indictments describe Richardson as repeatedly using county
employees and equipment to complete personal tasks. He is accused, for
example, of painting another person's tractor while on county time and
of directing two employees to help move an entertainment center
unrelated to county business. Four indictments accuse Richardson of
using county resources to purchase or maintain his personal fishing
boat.

The new chief deputy and acting sheriff, Hedrick, is a Lexington
native who started with the sheriff's office in 1977 as a deputy. He
said he spent much of yesterday meeting with deputies and department
heads, and that he hadn't spoken with Hege.

'I imagine each one has his own thoughts and opinions. I'm working to
get everyone in a positive frame of mind,' he said

? David Ingram can be reached in Lexington at (336) 248-2074 or at
dingram@ wsjournal.com

(Sidebar)

Sheriff Gerald Hege of Davidson County was charged with 15 felonies
and suspended from office 9/15/03 after a wide-ranging state and
federal investigation into corruption and misconduct by the sheriff
and his allies.

1. Endeavor to intercept oral communication 2. Aid and abet endeavor
to intercept oral communication 3. Aid and abet obtaining property by
false pretenses (2) 4. Obtaining porperty by false pretenses 5.
Obtaining porperty by false pretenses (2) 6. Obtaining porperty by
false pretenses (3) 7. Obtaining porperty by false pretenses (4) 8.
Obtaining porperty by false pretenses (5) 9. Obstruction of justice
10. Obstruction of justice (2) 11. Embezzlement by public officer and
trustee 12. Embezzlement by public officer and trustee (2) 13.
Embezzlement by public officer and trustee (3) 14. Embezzlement by
public officer and trustee (4) 15. Embezzlement by public officer and
trustee (5)