Department of Justice
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United States Attorney Gregory G. Lockhart Southern District of Ohio |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
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Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Cincinnati Division, Robert J. Stephenson, Sheriff, Muskingum County, Ohio; Eric Lambes, Chief of Police, Zanesville, Ohio Police Department; and Gregory G. Lockhart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio announce the arrests of Zanesville Police Officer Donald E. Peterson, age 53, Zanesville; Serritha D. Peterson, age 29, Donald Peterson's wife; Shelly M. Tyson, age 32, Zanesville; Steven Gibson, age 65, Zanesville; and Gary Moody, age 50, White Cottage, Ohio. All five were arrested this morning by FBI agents and Muskingum County Sherriff's Deputies without incident.
All four individuals are charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Columbus with violations of Title 21, U.S. Code Sections 841 and 846; Distribution of a Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. Violations of these statutes are punishable by imprisonment of 5 to 40 years.
The filing of this complaint and these arrests are the results of a two-month joint investigation and follows the arrests on October 1, 2007 of two Zanesville Police Officers and one Genesis Health Care System Police Officer on federal narcotics charges which are still pending in U.S. District Court at Columbus. FBI agents, along with Muskingum County Sheriff's Deputies are also executing federal search warrants at four locations in Muskingum County as part of the same investigation. Details concerning the investigation are available in the federal complaint on file at the Columbus U.S. District Courthouse.
The subjects will appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at Columbus today for an initial appearance. The Magistrate will determine if the subjects will be held pending a bond hearing at a later date.
The public is reminded
that criminal complaints are mere allegations and that subjects are presumed
innocent until convicted in a court of law
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