Evansville, Indiana - Officer faces theft charge; allegedly steals $1,000 during arrest
04/04/07, By Jimmy Nesbitt, Courier & Press staff writer
An Evansville police officer honored in 2003 as the department's top employee was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly stole $1,000 from a man wanted on drug charges, Chief Brad Hill said.
Jerry Rainey Jr., 33, was charged with one count of class D felony theft. He posted $1,000 bond and was released from the Vanderburgh County Jail. He posted $1,000 bond, was released from the Vanderburgh County Jail and has been placed on administrative leave. If convicted of a felony, he will be fired, Hill said.
"This is something you hate to see because it places a taint on the Police Department as a whole," Hill said. Investigators believe Rainey stole the money Thursday morning from a man he arrested on a warrant for dealing cocaine.
Around 8 a.m., Rainey and officer Sara Hilsmeyer went to the 1400 block of Jackson Avenue to investigate a report of domestic violence. Rainey found the suspect, 34-year-old Monterreal Fields, walking near U.S. 41 and Washington Avenue wearing a backpack.
Hilsmeyer searched the backpack and found a plastic bag packed with bundles of cash, according to a police report. The total amount was $19,500. Hilsmeyer took pictures of the money and gave the backpack to Rainey, who drove to the Police Department with Fields in custody.
"She subsequently became aware of a dispute between Fields and officer Rainey in which Fields believed that $1,000 of the described money was taken by Rainey," the report said.
Fields said he was sure $1,000 was missing because he counted the money that morning. Rainey took Fields and the backpack into an office at the Police Department and dumped the money on a table, police reported.
Officer Billy Bolin entered the room and asked Rainey what he was doing. Rainey pulled Bolin into the hallway and said, "he just wanted Bolin there so that there would be no questions about the money," according to the police report.
Fields continued to argue about the money, and Bolin "found Rainey's behavior to be suspicious, and eventually Rainey became impatient and began to insist that he needed to take the suspect's backpack ... to his car," the report said. With the cash still on the table, Rainey walked to his police cruiser and placed the backpack inside.
"Rainey appeared to be doing something in the front seat of his vehicle for some period of time," Bolin told investigators. Bolin was unable to see precisely what Rainey was doing, the report said.
A supervisor was told of Fields' allegation and Rainey's behavior. Rainey, Hilsmeyer and Bolin were searched. When nothing was found, officer Nathan Schroer searched Rainey's car. Inside the backpack, Schroer found a bundle of cash totaling $1,000, according to police. A warrant was issued Tuesday morning for Rainey, and he turned himself in at the jail. He could not be reached for comment.
Rainey has spoken to investigators but did not admit to the theft, Hill said.
"This is something that we hope we never have to be in a position to do. I can tell you that we feel like if we're going to police the streets, we certainly have to be able to police our own."
Rainey has been disciplined twice for minor violations in his nine years at the Police Department, but his career is marked mostly by accolades and awards for his performance. In 2003, he was named officer of the year for resuscitating a 2-year-old child who was choking. He has received three bronze merit awards, and - along with Bolin, his former partner - serves as a crime prevention officer for the south sector.
Police spokesman Brian Talsma said his peers at the department were shocked by the allegations against Rainey, whom he called "a very highly regarded officer."
"We take these kind of things very seriously," Hill said. "(If) we have allegations, we investigate them. We've got officers who would rather be investigating anything else other than another police officer, but they do a thorough job."
Jimmy Nesbitt, Courier & Press staff writer 464-7501 or nesbittj@courierpress.com
Retrieved April 5, 2007 from http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/apr/04/officer-faces-theft-charge/