Jacksonville, Florida - Ex-cop pleads guilty to stealing
He faces a six-month sentence after charges are reduced
By Paul Pinkham, The Florida Times-Union. Jacksonville.com. 06/29/07
A former Jacksonville police officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing what he thought was drug money. His plea agreement calls for a six-month prison sentence.
John Feon Hairston, 36, declined comment after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of stealing government money. U.S. Magistrate Howard Snyder scheduled sentencing Aug. 28.
Hairston had faced up to 15 years in prison on felony charges of theft and lying to the FBI under color of law, but prosecutors agreed to drop those charges under the plea agreement. Hairston resigned from his patrolman job after his arrest in March and agreed under the plea to permanently relinquish any police certifications. The deal also requires him to repay $3,407 restitution to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and FBI.
Officers with the Sheriff's Office integrity unit set up an undercover sting in February to catch Hairston after getting tips that he was stealing money from criminal suspects, Assistant U.S. Attorney Scotland Morris said. They watched as Hairston responded to a call he thought involved a vehicle that had been abandoned by a fleeing suspect and pocketed $1,270 that integrity officers had placed inside.
A second sting was similar but involved $2,137 placed in a vehicle by the FBI. Morris said Hairston initially denied to FBI agents that there was cash in either vehicle but confessed after he was arrested. He said he spent some of the money on bills and clothes and gave some to his ex-wife for groceries.
"Hairston stated that he thought he was taking the money from dope boys," Morris said. Snyder said he would let lawyers on both sides know if he couldn't agree with the six-month sentence. Either side can back out of the plea if Snyder doesn't agree with the sentence. At the request of defense attorney Roland Falcon, Snyder relaxed Hairston's bail restrictions to allow him to travel to church functions in Georgia. Morris said the government didn't object. Hairston remains free on $10,000 bail.
paul.pinkham@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4107
Retrieved June 29, 2007 from http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/062807/met_180566799.shtml