D.A. REVIEWING CASES HANDLED BY ARRESTED OFFICERS

HIGH POINT -- As many as 50 criminal investigations conducted by three
Davidson County deputies will be reviewed now that the officers face drug
charges, a district attorney said Thursday.

First Lt. David Scott Woodall, 34, Lt. Douglas Edward Westmoreland, 49, and
Sgt. William Monroe Rankin, 32, were arrested Wednesday by the FBI and
State Bureau of Investigation. They face federal charges of conspiracy to
distribute controlled substances, including cocaine, marijuana, steroids
and ecstasy.

In addition, Davidson County Sheriff Gerald Hege has fired the three
deputies, noting he does not plan to rehire them if they are found not guilty.

The three officers were among some of the highest paid in the department.
Westmoreland earned $42,193.98 annually, Woodall earned $44,720.23 and
Rankin, $34,710.92.

Lynn Klauer, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Greensboro,
said she is certain some cases in Davidson County will be hurt by the arrests.

Davidson County District Attorney Garry Frank said his office will review
40 to 50 investigations with which the officers had a role. The charges in
the cases range from common law robbery to felonious possession of cocaine.

"This is a blow to all law enforcement," Frank said. "You go from anger to
sadness to wondering why and how this could have happened. We'll just have
to start going through and working on these (cases) and do what's best for
justice.

"We'll have to find out how much the officers were involved and what they
were involved with," said Frank. "There's a multitude of factors."

Since Frank became district attorney in January 1999, there have been other
officers charged with crimes in his district.

These charges require more scrutiny because of the ranks of the officers,
he said.

Archdale police officer Sgt. Christopher James Shetley, who lives in
Thomasville, and two other Davidson County residents, Wyatt Nathan Kepley
and Marco Aurelio Acosta Soza, were also arrested as part of the alleged ring.

All six of the accused have been transferred to the Forsyth County Jail
with no bond allowed.

A federal grand jury indictment said the suspects conspired to distribute
more than 5 kilograms, or about 11 pounds, of cocaine and 100 kilograms, or
about 223 pounds, of marijuana since last year.

They were also charged with conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids and
MDMA, better known as ecstasy.

Some of the investigations being reviewed are scheduled to go to court as
early as next week, but it wasn't clear Thursday if those cases were ready
for disposition, Frank said.