Lester Eugene Siler and his wife, Jenny, confer with
their attorneys at the Fox & Farley Law Office in Clinton.
Eugene Siler was allegedly beaten and threatened by
five Campbell County Sheriff's deputies on July 8, 2004. The abuse was
taped on a hidden recorder placed by Jenny Siler and the officers have
since been charged.
Transcript,
tape filed for hearing of lawmen
Nearly a year after five Campbell
County lawmen beat and tortured a drug dealer, a secret audio recording
that captured 40 minutes of the two-hour attack has been filed in U.S.
District Court.
2
more ex-Campbell deputies jailed
The man who once headed the
Campbell County Sheriff's Department's narcotics squad is behind bars,
ordered there Tuesday by a federal judge after he admitted torturing a
drug dealer.
Ex-narcotics
chief behind bars
Even with four of the five lawmen who beat and
tortured him behind bars, Lester Eugene Siler cannot rest easy, his
attorney said Thursday.
Campbell
County lawmen to plead guilty
Four Campbell County lawmen will
plead guilty this week to the beating and torture of a drug dealer, and
federal prosecutors will ask a judge to put them behind bars pending
sentencing.
State
may dismiss charges
If federal prison doors clang shut on five
former Campbell County lawmen accused of beating and torturing a drug
dealer, the file on state charges against them likely will be closed, an
official said Thursday. "The position we've taken is if they are convicted
in federal court, that will pre-empt us because the federal penalties are
greater than ours," Campbell County District Attorney General Paul
Phillips said.
Tape
reveals terrifying campaign in war on drugs
They launched the
attack with a stunningly simple message. "It's (expletive) over, son." For
two hours, authorities say, that message would be pounded into Lester
Eugene Siler's head and body, reinforced with the barrel of a gun and
echoed in threats of electrocution. (February 6, 2005)
Ex-deputies
may cop plea
Five former Campbell County deputies are expected to
plead guilty to charges stemming from torturing a suspect last year,
according to documents filed in federal court. The documents state that
the handcuffed man was beaten, his head shoved or attempted to have been
shoved into a fish tank and an overflowing toilet, that a gun was
brandished in his face and that he was hooked up to a battery charger.
RELATED...
Lester
Eugene Siler's statement Keeping
track
FBI
probing Campbell case
The FBI has been investigating the case of
five former Campbell County Sheriff's deputies who were involved in a July
8 incident in which a drug suspect was allegedly beaten and tortured in
his home, the News Sentinel has learned. (November 20, 2004)
Ex-Campbell
officers enter innocent plea
HUNTSVILLE, Tenn. — Four former
Campbell County Sheriff's Department officers accused of abusing a
probation violator and lying about it pleaded innocent Friday. (July 31,
2004)
Four
officers indicted in Campbell beating case
JACKSBORO, Tenn. — Four
Campbell County Sheriff's Department officers were indicted Wednesday on
charges of official oppression against a probation violator and his wife.
They also were charged with perjury. A fifth officer was exonerated. (July
29, 2004)
Alleged
abuse on audiotape
At least part of an incident in which five
Campbell County Sheriff’s Department officers are alleged to have abused
Lester Eugene Siler after they arrested him was caught on an audiotape on
a machine at Siler’s home, the News Sentinel has learned. (July 22, 2004)
Campbell
sheriff fires 5 officers
Five Campbell County Sheriff's Department
officers — including two of the force's four detectives — have been fired
for allegedly abusing a suspect they had arrested, Sheriff Ron McClellan
announced Tuesday. (July 21, 2004)
|
More information about the officers who
have been charged
 Gerald David Webber
Charge: Felony conspiracy to violate civil rights
Age: 40
Position: Former narcotics investigator
Hire date: Nov. 5, 1997 Webber was the department's primary
narcotics officer and was assigned full time to drug cases, for
which he has had extensive schooling. He graduated from a law
enforcement training academy in Florida with high marks in all
courses. His file contains numerous letters and certificates of
appreciation. He previously worked for the Leon County, Fla.,
Sheriff's Office and Jacksboro Police Department.
 Samuel R. Franklin
Charge: Felony conspiracy to violate civil rights
Age: 42
Position: Former detective
Hire date: May 10, 1987 Franklin is a 1989 graduate of the
Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy. His duties included
being the department's primary sex crimes investigator, and he was
also the department's D.A.R.E. officer.
His file contains numerous letters and certificates of
appreciation from the community. It also contains comments that he
"displays fair decision-making skills" and that he did not always
"get along well with other officers on his shift or other shifts,
which directly affects his ability to supervise."
 Joshua Monday
Charge: Felony possession of a firearm in relation to a crime of
violence
Age: 24
Position: Former deputy and patrol officer
Hire date: March 2004 Monday graduated with honors from Campbell
County High School in 1998 and was a forklift operator before
applying at the Sheriff's Department in March. He was not a
state-certified police officer but was scheduled to enroll in the
state law enforcement training academy last fall.
The file provided to the News Sentinel contained little other
information.
 Shayne Green
Charge: Felony conspiracy to violate civil rights
Age: 35
Position: Former auxiliary officer
Hire date: April 2004 Green, who was the chief of the Jacksboro
Fire Department, was hired as a part-time process server. He was not
a state-certified police officer. The file on him provided to the
News Sentinel contained only his employment application, dated Feb.
11, 2003. He listed Franklin as one of his references.
 William Carroll
Charge: Felony conspiracy to violate civil rights
Age: 26
Position: Former auxiliary officer
Hire date: Oct. 29, 2003, as an unpaid officer; March 1, 2004,
as a paid officer. Carroll was a full-time process server. He also
worked as a transportation officer. He was not a state-certified
police officer. |
