DRUG OFFICERS FACE MORE CHARGES

New federal charges have been filed against four local law enforcement
officers and two other men arrested on drug offenses last December.

A federal grand jury returned a new indictment in the cases, U.S. Attorney
Anna Mills Wagoner announced Friday. Among those named in new charges,
including civil rights violations, are three Davidson County Sheriff's
Office deputies: David Scott Woodall, 34, Douglas Edward Westmoreland, 49,
and William Monroe Rankin Jr., 32. An Archdale police patrol sergeant and
former vice officer, Christopher James Shetley, also faces a charge of
extortion.

Two other men, Wyatt Nathan Kepley and Marco Aurelio Acosta Soza, also are
named in the new indictment, although Soza does not face new charges. The
two were not in law enforcement.

The six were charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine hydrochloride,
marijuana, anabolic steroids and MDMA (ecstasy) in December. They all have
pleaded not guilty to those charges.

In addition to the criminal offenses, Friday's new indictment said the
Davidson deputies are charged with civil rights violations based on
allegations they performed an illegal search of Kepley's apartment.

Kepley, a son of Davidson County Commissioner Billy Joe Kepley, was named
as a source of anabolic steroids for the officers in the federal documents.
According to the indictment filed in December, the deputies were accused of
breaking into Kepley's apartment four times to take drugs and money - once
by using a false search warrant.

The December indictment said Rankin had accompanied Woodall in robbing
Kepley's apartment of cash and drugs after serving Kepley's girlfriend with
a false warrant July 10 while Kepley was in California for a court appearance.

The December affidavit said Rankin, Westmoreland and Woodall had stolen
more than $160,000 in cash from Kepley's residence on three earlier break-ins.

In Friday's indictment, Woodall was charged with two counts of extortion,
while Westmoreland and Shetley each face one.

In the allegations listed in the December indictment, the officers were
accused of routinely robbing drug dealers for cash and drugs that they
reportedly resold.

In one reported instance, Shetley allegedly drew arrest warrants for
possession of marijuana on a suspect. He is said to have later offered to
"make the warrants ... disappear" for $1,500.

An informant told investigators Shetley used $3,000 he seized from a
suspect as a down payment for his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

The informant also said Woodall kicked in the door of a Rowan County
residence known to house drug dealers and used a false search warrant to
convince one to give him money.

The officers also took marijuana found in a search of the residence.

Woodall also is charged with using a firearm during a violent crime. That
charge stems from the Rowan County incident.

Kepley was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was
convicted of a drug charge in California last year, and police found a
handgun among his possessions when he was arrested.

The defendants, excluding Soza, were also ordered to forfeit property they
own which was purchased with money gained from or used in committing their
crimes.

Forfeitures for Woodall include $8,696 in cash, an American IronHorse
motorcycle and a truck.

Shetley's 2000 Harley Davidson is listed as a forfeiture. Rankin's 1988
Chevrolet truck and $9,700 in cash also is listed, while $22,500 in cash is
listed for Westmoreland.

Rankin was the only one to be released on bail. He was released on a
$50,000 bond Jan. 7 after a hearing in U.S. Middle District Court in
Winston-Salem.

Rankin, a former sergeant with the Davidson sheriff's office, was ordered
to obey a curfew, allowing him to work, and his movements are monitored by
an electronic ankle bracelet. He was to live with his sister and her
husband in Davidson County.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Russell A. Eliason said at the hearing that Rankin's
involvement in the drug ring was not as extensive as the other officers.
And he said that Woodall and Westmoreland had at one point planned to kill
Rankin because they were afraid he was cooperating with police. Eliason
said that spoke well of Rankin's character.

All the officers were arrested by investigators from the FBI and the State
Bureau of Investigation Dec. 15. The December indictment followed the
arrest of another local police officer on drug charges.

Thomasville police Sgt. Russell Earl McHenry Jr., 32, was arrested Nov. 5
by State Bureau of Investigation officials on charges of trafficking and
conspiracy to traffic in ecstasy and marijuana.