The Cherryville (N.C.) Police Department named a veteran sergeant as its acting interim chief, after five officers were charged or suspended for their roles in a stolen property theft ring.
Sergeant Det. Cam Jenks, a veteran of the department for more than a decade, takes over until further notice, reports the Lincoln Times-News.
Police Chief Woodrow Burgess and Capt. Mike Allred were suspended from the department last week after a federal indictment charged three Cherryville officers, one Gaston County Sheriff's reserve officer, and two Cherryville residents with protecting stolen property being transported through the area.
Frankie Dellinger, a reserve officer with the Cherryville PD and Wesley Clayton Golden, a reserve deputy sheriff with the Gaston County SO have been charged with conspiracy to transport and/or receive stolen property, transportation of stolen property, conspiracy to extort under color of official right, money laundering conspiracy, money laundering and aiding and abetting, and possession of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Dellinger also faces a charge of extortion under color of official right.
Also charged are Cherryville patrol officers Casey Justin Crawford and David Paul Mauney III. They face charges of conspiracy to transport and/or receive stolen property and conspiracy to extort under color of official right. Crawford is also charged with "program fraud bribery."
Beginning in May, Crawford, Mauney, and Hendricks conspired with undercover law enforcement agents to provide "protection" for truckloads of stolen merchandise, including televisions, generators, and chain saws worth over $300,000, according to the FBI.
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