SIX MEN COULD CHANGE THEIR PLEAS IN DRUG TRAFFICKING CASE

The three former Davidson County deputies and three co-defendants accused
of drug trafficking are scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in
Greensboro on Thursday morning for change of plea hearings.

The men, former deputies William Rankin, 32, David Scott Woodall, 34, and
Douglas Edward Westmoreland, 50; former Archdale police Sgt. Christopher
Shetley, 41; and Lexington-area residents Wyatt Nathan Kepley, 26, and
Marco Aurelio Acosta-Soza, 26, were scheduled to go to trial on Monday
morning in Greensboro.

All except Rankin, who will appear before U.S. District Judge William
Osteen at 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon, will appear before Osteen at 9:30 a.m.

Lynne Klauer, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Greensboro,
said a change of plea hearing must be requested.

"At a hearing like this, the judge will ask the defendants a long list of
questions that are used to determine if the defendant's plea was made
willfully, without undue influence, and under advice of counsel," Klauer
said Monday.

The defendants, who have all pleaded innocent, may or may not change their
plea.

"They may just answer the judge's questions and keep their plea of not
guilty," Klauer said. "It's their choice."

If the defendants do not change their plea, Monday's trial would proceed as
scheduled. But if they do change their plea to guilty, Klauer said Monday's
trial would be cancelled and that it would be three or four months before a
sentencing date is set.

After an investigation by the FBI and the State Bureau of Investigation, a
federal grand jury indicted the men on Dec. 7 on charges of distributing
cocaine, marijuana, steroids and Ecstasy. The men were arrested on Dec. 11
and 12.

Another indictment was issued on Jan. 25 that superseded the one issued in
December and added several new charges to the list. The January indictment
charged Woodall, Rankin and Westmoreland with civil rights violations for
an alleged illegal search of Kepley's home.

The defendants face life in prison and $4 million - or more - in fines. The
superseding indictment seeks $2 million from Kepley and $250,000 from
Woodall and Westmoreland.

Smaller amounts of cash or property are also sought from Rankin and
Shetley. In addition, the defendants may have to forfeit the proceeds of
their illegal drug activity.