65 CASES DROPPED BECAUSE OF DAVIDSON DEPUTIES' LINK

Move Affects At Least 26 People -- 4 Freed From Jail

LEXINGTON -- At least 26 people charged with drug-related offenses won't
have to stand trial because three former Davidson County deputies who were
arrested earlier this month were involved in their cases.

District Attorney Garry Frank dismissed about 65 charges against those
people this week. All the cases were pending trial in Superior Court. The
charges range from trafficking in cocaine to manufacturing marijuana and
date back to July 1999.

The charges against two day-care center owners who were accused of growing
marijuana were dismissed, as were charges filed against two men accused of
being habitual felons.

"Anything involved with habitual felons or trafficking, where we seek big
time, when we have to dismiss those that's a very significant thing for
us," Frank said. "But the overwhelming element is the interest of justice."

At least four people were released from the Davidson County Jail, where
they were being held until their trial.

Former deputies Lt. David Scott Woodall, Lt. Douglas Edward Westmoreland
and Sgt. William Monroe Rankin investigated or handled evidence in all of
the cases as vice and narcotics officers for the Davidson County Sheriff's
Department, Frank said.

Federal and state agents arrested the three deputies, along with former
Archdale police Sgt. Christopher Shetley, on charges that they conspired to
distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine, more than 100 kilograms of
marijuana, steroids and Ecstasy. Wyatt Kepley and Marco Aurelio
Acosta-Soza, who are not in law enforcement, were also arrested.

All have pleaded not guilty. They are being held with no bond allowed in
the Forsyth County Jail. The investigation is continuing.

Court records simply say that these cases were dismissed because of the
unavailability of the witnesses. But it has been a complicated and
difficult process for prosecutors.

They started collecting cases Dec. 12, the day the deputies were arrested,
and began the review process soon after.

In many of the cases, the charges are serious and carried hefty penalties -
the habitual felons could have received as much as 21 years in prison if
they had been convicted.

Other cases, such as the one involving day-care center owners Deacon and
Belinda Begley, were high profile. The Begleys were charged with growing
marijuana.

After authorities found marijuana in a greenhouse behind the Begleys' home,
sheriff's investigators conducted a widespread inspection of child-care
providers in the county. Deputies spent a week in May checking for working
fire alarms, safe playground equipment and drugs at the more than 50
day-care centers.

Still, Frank said that he and his staff had little choice but to dismiss
many of the pending cases involving the deputies.

The former deputies are in jail and can't testify in court. They have also
been accused of intimidating witnesses, planting evidence and breaking into
homes, which muddies their reputations and puts their testimony in
question, prosecutors and defense lawyers said.

"He's probably forced to take some actions," said Jim Snyder, whose client
Sandra McNeair won't have to go to court next year and face charges of
possession with intent to sell or distribute cocaine and possession of drug
paraphernalia. "They were taken expeditiously. However ... they know how
difficult the jury verdict would come down if the witnesses have their own
problems."

Frank still has to review the district-court cases, but he estimates that
there may be up to 60 people whose charges will be dismissed.

The three high-ranking deputies were involved in many drug-related arrests
in the county and defense lawyers have yet to file requests for dismissals,
Frank said.

Some local residents may not agree with the dismissals, but Frank is doing
the right thing, Snyder said.

"There may be some who will criticize what's happening here," he said.
"Sometimes folks who may be guilty, I'm not talking about my client, but
they may be set free to protect the rights of all our citizens. It's a
reaffirmation of our American style of justice."