DRUG TASK FORCE DIRECTOR FIRED FOR COCAINE CHARGE

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - A misdemeanor cocaine charge against the top
officer in a four-county drug enforcement task force prompted his
oversight board to fire him.

The 10th Judicial Drug Task Force board headed by District Attorney
Jerry Estes fired Kenneth Don Wilson, 53, of Etowah on Thursday.

Wilson, a task force agent for three years before he was named
director in 1999, waived arraignment on the cocaine possession charge
Thursday and a judge set an Oct. 31 preliminary hearing.

Wilson was freed on a $2,000 bond after his arrest Tuesday night in
McMinn County.

Wilson's attorney, Don Reid of Athens, has declined
comment.

Estes has said he called state investigators after he "learned that
evidence might be missing from the drug task force's evidence lockup."

Sheriffs and police chiefs in McMinn, Bradley, Polk and Monroe
counties are appointed by Estes to the oversight board.

Jack Damoth, a veteran law enforcement officer, was named interim
director.