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A former Fayetteville police officer who admitted to breaking into homes and stealing drugs, money and property was sentenced Tuesday to 225 months in prison.
Jared Benjamin Parsek pleaded guilty in March to using his position as a police officer to help him and eight other men break into at least six homes in 2003 and 2004. The break-ins happened in Fayetteville, Beech Mountain and Raleigh.
An indictment says Parsek learned through his police duties when homes would be vacant and had the other men commit the break-ins. Parsek set up two break-ins while residents were in jail and another when the wife of a deployed soldier was in the hospital, the indictment says.
Among the stolen items were guns, marijuana, video games, televisions, DVDs, ski equipment, a telescope, liquor and money, according to the indictment.
Parsek began working as a Fayetteville police officer in 2003. He was a leader on the Terry Sanford High School varsity football team during his senior year in 1998.
U.S. District Court Judge James C. Fox also ordered Parsek to pay $54,352 in restitution.
Two other Fayetteville men - Justin Barron McCarty and Scotty Jowayne Cornwell - also were sentenced Tuesday. McCarty received a 254-month prison sentence and was ordered to pay $54,352 in restitution. Cornwell was sentenced to 36months in prison and ordered to pay $37,700 in restitution.
In December, Fox sentenced Christopher Paul Edge to 57 months in prison and ordered him to pay $3,240 in restitution. Fox sentenced William Franklin Stausing to 112 months in prison and $12,852 in restitution. He sentenced Michael Anthony Timal to 27 months in prison and fined him $725.
Sentencing for three more men - Michael Ulysses Poole Jr., Patrick Gregory Smith and James Patrick Richling - is scheduled for March. All of the men but Smith and Richling are from Fayetteville.
Parsek pleaded guilty March 8 to conspiracy to commit civil rights violations, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, using and carrying a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime, making false statements to an FBI agent, obstruction of justice and two counts of possession of stolen firearms.
"Illegal conduct of sworn law enforcement officers for private financial gain jeopardizes not only our public safety but undermines our democracy. and they must be held accountable," U.S. Attorney George E.B. Holding said in a statement. "This prosecution was the result of a focused commitment by federal, state and local government to ensure the integrity of those charged with upholding our law."
Source: Fayetteville Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2007 Fayetteville Observer
Contact: eletters@fayobserver.com
Website: The Fayetteville Observer: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Fayetteville, NC
Jared Benjamin Parsek pleaded guilty in March to using his position as a police officer to help him and eight other men break into at least six homes in 2003 and 2004. The break-ins happened in Fayetteville, Beech Mountain and Raleigh.
An indictment says Parsek learned through his police duties when homes would be vacant and had the other men commit the break-ins. Parsek set up two break-ins while residents were in jail and another when the wife of a deployed soldier was in the hospital, the indictment says.
Among the stolen items were guns, marijuana, video games, televisions, DVDs, ski equipment, a telescope, liquor and money, according to the indictment.
Parsek began working as a Fayetteville police officer in 2003. He was a leader on the Terry Sanford High School varsity football team during his senior year in 1998.
U.S. District Court Judge James C. Fox also ordered Parsek to pay $54,352 in restitution.
Two other Fayetteville men - Justin Barron McCarty and Scotty Jowayne Cornwell - also were sentenced Tuesday. McCarty received a 254-month prison sentence and was ordered to pay $54,352 in restitution. Cornwell was sentenced to 36months in prison and ordered to pay $37,700 in restitution.
In December, Fox sentenced Christopher Paul Edge to 57 months in prison and ordered him to pay $3,240 in restitution. Fox sentenced William Franklin Stausing to 112 months in prison and $12,852 in restitution. He sentenced Michael Anthony Timal to 27 months in prison and fined him $725.
Sentencing for three more men - Michael Ulysses Poole Jr., Patrick Gregory Smith and James Patrick Richling - is scheduled for March. All of the men but Smith and Richling are from Fayetteville.
Parsek pleaded guilty March 8 to conspiracy to commit civil rights violations, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, using and carrying a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime, making false statements to an FBI agent, obstruction of justice and two counts of possession of stolen firearms.
"Illegal conduct of sworn law enforcement officers for private financial gain jeopardizes not only our public safety but undermines our democracy. and they must be held accountable," U.S. Attorney George E.B. Holding said in a statement. "This prosecution was the result of a focused commitment by federal, state and local government to ensure the integrity of those charged with upholding our law."
Source: Fayetteville Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2007 Fayetteville Observer
Contact: eletters@fayobserver.com
Website: The Fayetteville Observer: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Fayetteville, NC
