Posted on 11/02/2006 8:47:35 AM PST by Darnright
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - Henry County Sheriff Frank Cassell and 12 of his employees have been indicted on federalcharges in an alleged drug-related racketeering conspiracy.
A U-S Postal Service employee, a probation officer and five citizens were also charged in the 34-count indictment, which wasunsealed today.
Charges in the indictment -- which was handed down on Tuesday --include racketeering, narcotics distribution, obstruction ofjustice and perjury.
A spokesman for the U-S Marshal's Service in Roanoke says federal agents arrested most of the defendants early this morning.
The indictment alleges that beginning in 1998, drugs seized bythe sheriff's office were sold to citizens for distribution. Thedrugs include the cocaine, marijuana, steroids and the sedative Ketamine.
Cassell was charged with impeding the investigation by federal agents, who began their probe in March of last year.He's been sheriff of Henry County since 1992, and his departmenthas 122 employees, including 96 sworn law enforcement officers.
Local TV stations interrupted programming to cover the breaking story.
Full indictment at this link:
http://media.gatewayva.com/lna/specials/H.C.indictment.pdf
Nope, it's not liberal, or socialist, as such. It's very rural. The area has been pretty distressed, as the big employers were Dupont and the textile industry, both of which have moved out of the area.
Henry County has an unsolved murder that gained national attention a few years back. Some people on here will remember it:
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/08/16/missing.girl.virginia/index.html
Police low on clues in girl's disappearance
BASSETT, Virginia (CNN) --Investigators searching for a 9-year-old girl -- missing since her parents were killed in their home -- said late Friday they had few clues in the case, and pleaded for the public's help in finding the girl.
Jennifer Renee Short was reported missing early Thursday after her parents were found dead in the home, both with a single gunshot wound to the head. The father, Michael Wayne Short, 50, was shot on a couch; the mother, Mary Hall Short, 36, in her bed in the bedroom.
Investigators believe Jennifer was in her bed when her parents were attacked and there is no evidence that she was "seriously injured in any way, shape or form," said Henry County Sheriff Capt. Kimmy Nester
The murders and abduction have shocked this town of 1,300 in southwestern Virginia.
"This is a very unusual case. We don't see many like this," said H.F. Cassell, the sheriff of Henry County. "We've had a lot off horrific murders, but I don't remember a genuine child abduction in this area."
"The motive is unknown at this time," Nester said.
Authorities have interviewed Christopher Thompson, the man who discovered the slain parents.
Thompson worked for Michael Short and was at their house the night before working on a vehicle, Cassell said. Thompson told investigators the couple was alive when he left the home around midnight and the girl was in her bed.
"We've talked to this individual several times and quite extensively. We probably will be talking to him some more. So far, he's been very cooperative," Cassell said.
"There's a lot of leads we are following up. We really don't have anyone we could term a suspect at this time," he said.
The sheriff said despite the massive search, authorities haven't "found anything at all that's been of any benefit to us."
Authorities have said little about the crime scene, such as whether there was any sign of forced entry or any sign of a struggle inside the house. However, they have said they believe the killer or killers are the ones who took the girl.
Jennifer is brown-haired, 4 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 58 pounds.
To the abductor, Nesser said, "If you have this young child, please do the right thing and release Jennifer in a public area and in some way notify local law enforcement so we can find her."
Addressing the public, he said, "We're begging you: if you know anything, do not hesitate and think you're bothering us. Please call us."
With the focus on saving the girl, an "Amber Alert" -- named after a 9-year-old girl abducted and killed in Texas six years ago -- was issued for Jennifer, with billboards and signs posted throughout the state urging Virginians to be on the lookout for the girl.
The FBI has joined the search with authorities from Henry County and neighboring Franklin County and other agencies. The Virginia State Police sent a helicopter to search near the house, which is located on a four-lane highway.
Carrying flashlights, volunteers on foot and in all-terrain vehicles searched the neighborhood Friday, but found no clues, Nester said. In addition, canine units were brought to the family's house.
The Short family recently put their brick home on the market. Nester said authorities have obtained records from real estate agents to determine who might have toured it.
I remember this and I think you are really onto something.
>I remember this and I think you are really onto something.<
Well, I'd hope that such a serious case would be looked at very carefully, in the light of this indictment. Perhaps someone new could figure out what happened to the Short family.
Henry County has a Board of Supervisiors, but the state police investigate crimes like this.
Good grief. Thank you for posting all this information.
Nope. Henry County is in southern Virginia about halfway between Roanoke and Greensboro, NC. It's home of NASCAR's Martinsville Speedway, and has been a hub of furniture manufacturing (Bassett probably being one of the more famous furniture names from there) and tobacco. It's mostly rural, and I imagine it's pretty red politically. It's not a place you'd expect something like this to happen.
}:-)4
Is Marinsville just an incorporated town, or an independent city?
}:-)4
Martinsville's a city.
I'm thinking this corrupt sheriff IS what happened to the Short family.
From the indictment:
>In 2001, a DEA agent from Texas placed a telephone call to the HCSO and advised that a drug ledger had been seized which indicated shipments of drugs were being delivered to a "Brad Martin's" house in Martinsville, Virginia. DEA did not realize that "Brad Martin" was a deputy with HCSO<
Oops. Don't y'all hate it when that happens?
You mean, kind of like OJ looking so hard for his wife's killer on golf courses?
Not exactly. I mean it's easier for a killer (or group of killers) to get away with it if they are also the ones in charge of investigating it.
>I mean it's easier for a killer (or group of killers) to get away with it if they are also the ones in charge of investigating it.<
There was some reason those people were murdered. At the time it happened, there was speculation that drugs were involved in some manner. As I said, I really, really hope a fresh look at this crime is taken.
Heh. I see a movie in the making.
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