Policemen’s arrests imperil drug cases

Most of the cases stemmed from traffic stops that led to drug arrests.

ZANESVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Prosecutors have already dropped one drug case and are reviewing others that might be undermined by the arrests of two police officers on drug charges.

Zanesville officers Sean Beck and Trevor Fusner are accused of being part of an alleged scheme to steal about two pounds of cocaine from a drug dealer. Federal authorities say the two men and an officer for a Zanesville hospital planned to sell the cocaine and split the money.

Drug cases that depend on Beck or Fusner could be dropped, said Muskingum County Prosecutor Michael Haddox. One man from the Cleveland area has already been released because his arrest was based on Beck’s charging that drugs were found in his car in this eastern Ohio city.

A half-dozen potentially jeopardized cases involving Beck were found as the review continued, Haddox said Thursday. Nearly all the cases involve traffic stops by Beck that led to drug arrests.

Beck, 28, Fusner, 30, and Chad Mills II, 29, were arrested Monday. Mills is a Genesis HealthCare System security officer.

Each is charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Beck also is accused of extorting $8,300 from suspected drug dealers in exchange for not turning them over to authorities, according to court documents.

Cases in which either Beck or Fusner was the sole arresting or investigating officer could be hard to prosecute, Haddox said.

“It depends on whether we can prove our case with evidence or the testimony of other officers,” Haddox said. “We have to take it on a case-by-case basis.”

John Murphy, executive director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, said cases aren’t automatically ruined in such circumstances, but it would make the prosecutor’s job tougher.

“A defense lawyer would undoubtedly weigh it in their deliberations,” he said.

In the dismissed case, a Shaker Heights man was arrested after Beck said he found cocaine and marijuana in his vehicle, parked last month in Zanesville in eastern Ohio.

“The case was literally sitting on my desk when (the officers) were arrested,” Haddox said. “I can’t in good conscience put either of them on the witness stand, even if they were available.”

The three officers, being held in Columbus, have bond hearings Tuesday.

Zanesville is about 50 miles east of Columbus.