03/18/05 — Trooper reassigned

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Trooper reassigned

By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on March 18, 2005 1:46 PM

KENANSVILLE -- Rambling accusations on an Internet chat room are blamed for rumors that have ended with a state trooper being pulled off patrol and assigned to a desk.

State Highway Patrol Lt. Clen Denning in the Raleigh Public Affairs office said Trooper Jeffrey Quinn in the Kenansville patrol office has been placed on administrative assignment.

Denning said Quinn was taken off patrol March 1. Denning confirmed that there is an investigation, but he said he was unable to comment on it.

Duplin Sheriff Blake Wallace said he was told about rumors concerning a trooper and a deputy being involved with drugs. He said he brought in all of his deputies and had them tested for drugs in their system. No drugs were detected, he said.

Wallace said the accusations were on a web page chat room. The accusations didn't make any sense, Wallace said, but he wanted to make sure no one in his office is involved with drugs. The sheriff said he feels confident that no one on his staff is involved with drugs.

If they were, he said, he would ask the district attorney to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, "and they know it."