DRUG INQUIRY BEGAN IN CALIFORNIA

Flight Plans Raised The Suspicions Of San Diego Officials

LEXINGTON -- A federal drug investigation that led to the arrests of three
Davidson County deputies and two police officers started when airport
officials in San Diego stopped the son of a Davidson County commissioner in
April.

Investigators found six receipts to private mailboxes in Wyatt Nathan
Kepley's pockets when they stopped him April 5, said Damon Mosler, a deputy
district attorney in San Diego County.

Those receipts led them to investigate area law-enforcement officers who
were charged with distributing drugs around the Triad, including cocaine,
marijuana, Ecstasy and steroids.

Kepley, 26, the son of commissioner Billy Joe Kepley, was arrested last
week along with Davidson County deputies Lt. David Scott Woodall, 34; Lt.
Douglas Edward Westmoreland, 49; and Sgt. William Monroe Rankin, 32.

Investigators also arrested Archdale Police Sgt. Christopher James Shetley,
35; and Marco Aurelio Acosta-Soza, 23, who is not in law enforcement.

An unidentified local police officer, who cooperated with investigators,
was arrested Nov. 5.

Narcotics officers at San Diego International Airport at Lindbergh Field
stopped Kepley on his way back to North Carolina because they were
suspicious about his flight plans, Mosler said.

He had paid cash for his tickets and spent only a day in California, Mosler
said.

"It was profiling," he said.

The officers questioned Kepley and his girlfriend, Tracy Garner, who was
traveling with him, Mosler said. They also asked Kepley to submit to a
voluntary search, which he did.

That search netted the receipts, which were the first clues in the
eight-month federal investigation.

The receipts were traced to private mail companies, where Kepley had
shipped six boxes filled with $1 million worth of steroids that he had
brought from Mexico, officials said.

One of the boxes was addressed to a lieutenant with the Davidson County
Sheriff's Office. Mosler said that he wasn't sure whether Woodall or
Westmoreland received the package.

An affidavit released last week alleges that the law-enforcement officers
relied on Kepley to obtain steroids, which they would use themselves or
would sell.

Officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration intercepted the delivery
of all the boxes except for the one that went to the deputy, Mosler said.

Federal officials in North Carolina were notified and started a local
investigation, Mosler said.

The agents received another tip when employees at a FedEx office in High
Point found a partially opened box containing steroids addressed to a
Lexington residence, according to the affidavit.

The employees called High Point police, who notified the Davidson County
Sheriff's Office. According to the affidavit, Woodall picked up the
package, which raised suspicions with High Point police. The sheriff's
office had never been interested in steroid cases before, the affidavit said.

A High Point police officer notified the FBI about Woodall's interest.
Woodall eventually turned the package over as evidence because he found out
that the FBI was investigating the steroid cases, the affidavit said.

"Once we knew where things went, that we were hitting the tip of the
iceberg, we got local law-enforcement agents to help," Mosler said.

Kepley was charged with possession of steroids and spent nine days in a San
Diego jail.

He was released after he posted the $50,000 bail and was allowed to return
to North Carolina.

"Then they had to proceed very cautiously," Mosler said. "They didn't want
to tip anybody from the outside."

Kepley's steroid-possession case was handled carefully and kept low-key so
as not to alert anyone, Mosler said.

Investigators wanted Kepley to return to Lexington and continue his
operations as if nothing had happened, he said.

But between April and July, investigators became concerned that
Commissioner Kepley would try to interfere on behalf of his son and alert
the deputies, Mosler said.

"There was concern because Mr. Kepley's father was politically active in
the community," Mosler said.

To help the investigation, Kepley's trial date was pushed back to July 10.
The delay gave agents more time to establish their investigation, Mosler said.

Kepley also received a lighter sentence after he pleaded guilty to
possession and trafficking charges in San Diego because of the
investigation, Mosler said.

Kepley was given probation and his one-year sentence was suspended, Mosler
said. Under other circumstances Kepley would have received three years in
jail, he said.

Mosler and DEA agents handle large narcotics cases often, but finding that
law-enforcement officers could be involved is always difficult, Mosler said.

"It's a disappointment anytime you see that," Mosler said. "But when you
realize that someone's dirty, you're pleased to get dirty cops. It was
interesting to see how big it was."

Deirdre Fernandes can be reached in Lexington at (336) 248-2074 or at
dfernandes@wsjournal.com