COLE COUNTY DEPUTY CHARGED WITH PERJURY

Sheriff's department changes procedures as deputy faces jury.

A mid-Missouri law enforcement agency is changing its reporting procedure
after one of its deputies was charged with three counts of perjury last
week.

All Cole County Sheriff's Department deputies who respond to a call will now
have to fill out a report and sign it, said Cole County Sheriff John C.
Hemeyer. In the past, it was acceptable for one person to write the report
for everyone, he said.

If deputies do not follow the new procedure, Cole County prosecutors will
not file charges against the suspects of the investigation, Hemeyer said.

"That gives us an audit trail," Hemeyer said.

Prosecuting Attorney William M. Tackett and Hemeyer are looking into other
cases that Cpl. Michael Isenberg, the deputy charged with perjury, was
involved in, Hemeyer said.

"We've got no reason to believe that anyone else was involved with the
deception," said Hemeyer, who has been sheriff since 1986.

Isenberg, who had worked for the Cole County Sheriff's Department for about
five years, resigned from the department on May 9, Hemeyer said. A warrant
for his arrest was issued the same day. Isenberg surrendered to Hemeyer that
afternoon and was placed under arrest.

Isenberg, who was also a member of the Mid-Missouri Unified Strike Team and
Narcotics Group, or MUSTANG, was charged May 9 with three counts of perjury,
a Class B felony. In court documents, Cole County Prosecuting Attorney
William M. Tackett said there is probable cause to believe Isenberg lied
under oath during three trials.

Tackett said Isenberg testified that he witnessed the distribution of
controlled substances on several occasions when he was not actually in the
building. The disputed testimony occurred at the trials of Roy G. Chism on
April 8, Quentin R. Williams on May 7, 2002, and Randall Robinette on Sept.
5.

The prosecutor's office filed the charges after interviewing a confidential
informant who was involved in the case, according to the probable cause
statement. They also interviewed another officer who was assisting Isenberg,
the statement said. Both testified that Isenberg was not in the building
when he said he was, according to the probable cause statement.

Sgt. Curt Wirths of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said he worked with
Isenberg on the MUSTANG task force, but refused to comment on any details
until after he testifies at a grand jury hearing scheduled today.

Wirths said the task force might make minor changes in response to
Isenberg's arrest. But he emphasized that the nine local law enforcement
agencies involved in the group follow their own protocol.

MUSTANG participates in narcotics search roundups based on extensive
undercover investigations, Wirths said. MUSTANG was created in 1996 and is
funded by federal grants through the Missouri Department of Public Safety,
Wirths said. It is run by a board composed of the sheriffs and police chiefs
of its nine member agencies, he said.

Each member agency assigns one or two people to the task force, Wirths said.
This gives them multi-jurisdictional authority.

Isenberg's preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. June 16.