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Veteran Deputy Arrested In Theft Plot, Officials Say

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The Associated Press

Published: September 14, 2007

DeLAND - A veteran sheriff's deputy and a suspected accomplice were arrested on charges that they planned to steal money from an undercover agent posing as a drug dealer, officials said.

Deputy Gene Walton, a 14-year veteran of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, was arrested Tuesday along with Harry Cooke. Walton, 40, was a resource officer at Campbell Middle School in Daytona Beach.

A two-month investigation revealed Walton used the agency's computer system to research the Florida Department of Law Enforcement officer he thought was a drug dealer. Walton planned to make a traffic stop and take the drug dealer's money, said Volusia Sheriff Ben Johnson.

'This is not one of the days you enjoy being a sheriff,' Johnson said after the arrest. 'I don't want a dirty cop. Cops don't like dirty cops, and that's exactly what he is.'

Walton was charged with one count of unlawful compensation, one count of misuse of information and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery. He was suspended without pay, and his bail was set at $21,000. The agency intends to fire him, sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said.

Cooke was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit robbery and had his bail set at $10,000. It was not clear if either had an attorney.

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