[FL] Deputy Conner's dv attempted felony murder & aggravated stalking charges

A former Jackson County Sheriff's deputy nailed an opossum to a post near his estranged wife's house and unknowingly told an informant how he planned to kill the woman and her boyfriend... Conner, an auxiliary deputy with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and a firearms instructor at Chipola College was looking for weapons, specifically weapons with silencers, vehicles and assistance with destroying evidence after the slayings...

RESERVE DEPUTY DENIED BAIL
Jackson County Floridan
March 8, 2009
[Excerpts] No bail was set at the Friday first appearance for a reserve deputy charged with attempted murder and aggravated stalking. Greg Conner, 48, remains at the Jackson County Correctional Facility, but he might have another chance at bail in the future, according to the Jackson County Clerk of Courts office. At Conner's first appearance, Judge Woodrow Hatcher agreed to consider allowing bail pending the results of an evaluation. It was unclear Friday what type of evaluation Conner will undergo. Conner was arrested Thursday after an investigation revealed he allegedly intended to kill his estranged wife and her boyfriend... Having once served as a full-time deputy for the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Conner's current status as a reserve deputy ended upon his arrest... [Full article here]

A COUPLE OF DAYS EARLIER: RESERVE DEPUTY WILL FACE ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGE
Dothan Eagle
Deborah Buckhalter
March 6, 2009
JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. — A reserve officer with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office has been arrested on charges of attempted murder and aggravated stalking. Greg Conner, 48, was taken into custody on Thursday. According to a press release from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, an investigation "revealed that Conner intended to kill his (estranged) wife and her boyfriend." Conner is also the firing- range master and a firearms instructor for Chipola College and had once been a full-time deputy with the sheriff's office... JCSO investigators had received information in the last week or so that Conner was stalking his estranged wife and her boyfriend... Conner had been seen at odd hours in the area of his wife's home in the Grand Ridge and Shady Grove area, and at the boyfriend's dwellin... Concern grew as authorities from FDLE and JCSO ramped up their investigation... it appeared Conner was progressing toward a plan of murder... [Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Tommy] Ford said the alleged plan was "unfolding rapidly" Wednesday when Conner's wife, boyfriend, and the two Conner children were moved to a place of safety overnight... [Jackson County Sheriff Lou] Roberts said the entire Jackson County Sheriff's Office family is shocked and saddened by the events leading to Conner's arrest. "I'm saddened ... but glad to have stopped this before it was out of control... I'm disappointed with Conner's actions. I am glad that Conner and his family were unharmed in the incident," Roberts said. "There's a good possibility that if this had not been interrupted, we would have been looking at potential homicide." For years, Conner was the person who most often greeted Roberts and his officers when they arrived at the local firing range to do the quarterly shooting practice necessary to keep them qualified for weapons. Roberts said Conner left full-time employment as a deputy some years back in order to take the Chipola position... According to Roberts, it appears Conner was in a "depressed state of mind" and that was of concern to law enforcement as the investigation unfolded. Authorities carefully selected the time and location of the arrest, he said... [Full article here]

JACKSON CO. AUXILIARY DEPUTY ARRESTED AFTER PLOTTING TO KILL HIS ESTRANGED WIFE AND HER BOYFRIEND
WJHG
Mar 5, 2009
[Excerpt]A Marianna man, who's also an Auxiliary Deputy with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, is in jail facing serious charges. Sheriff's investigators and Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents arrested 48-year old Gregory Conners this afternoon, charging him with attempted murder and aggravated stalking. Authorities say Conners has been plotting the murder of his estranged wife for weeks now. They say they have video tape evidence of Conners' stalking the woman and her boyfriend. Conner is a Firearms Instructor for the law enforcement training course at Chipola College... [Full article here]

JACKSON COUNTY DEPUTY ARRESTED AFTER PLOTTING TO KILL HIS ESTRANGED WIFE AND HER BOYFRIEND
WJHG-TV
Mar 6, 2009
[Excerpt] ...Authorities say Conners has been plotting the murder of his estranged wife for weeks now. They say they have video tape evidence of Conners' stalking the woman and her boyfriend... [Full article here]

(UPDATED) FDLE: DEPUTY PLANNED DOUBLE HOMICIDE
News Herald
By S. Brady Calhoun
March 06, 2009 07:23:00 PM
[Excerpts] A former Jackson County Sheriff's deputy nailed an opossum to a post near his estranged wife's house and unknowingly told an informant how he planned to kill the woman and her boyfriend, according to documents released Friday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. A confidential informant, who was not named in the complaint affadavit, approached Special Agent Travis Lawson Wednesday and said Gregory Franklin Conner, 48, of Marianna, had requested his assistance in killing Conner's wife, Suzanne Conner, and her boyfriend Richard Hatcher, the report said. The informant said Conner, an auxiliary deputy with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and a firearms instructor at Chipola College was looking for weapons, specifically weapons with silencers, vehicles and assistance with destroying evidence after the slayings, according to the affidavit. After speaking with the informant, Lawson contacted Suzanne Conner and Hatcher, who both said they were afraid Gregory Conner was planning to kill them, the affidavit said... [Full article here]

AFFADAVIT - COMPLAINT
(PROBABLE CAUSE NARRATIVE)
AGENCY NAME: JACKSON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
AGENCY REPORT NUMBER: 09030549
03/05/09
CHARGE DESCRIPTION: ATTEMPTED FELONY MURDER
STATUE OR ORDINANCE NUMBER: 782-051
CHARGE DESCRIPTION: AGGRAVATED STALKING
STATUE OR ORDINANCE NUMBER: 784.048

On Wednesday, March 4, 2009, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Special Agent (SA) Travis Lawson interviewed a confidential source (CS) of information. The CS advised SA Lawson that he/she had been contacted by Gregory Franklin Conner and that Conner requested his/her assistance in killing his wife, Suzanne Conner and her boyfriend Richard Hatcher or help him destroy evidence after he (Gregory Conner) killed them. The CS advised SA Lawson that earlier in the day, at the direction of Conner, the CS conducted surveillance on the residence of Richard Hatcher. The CS stated that Conner directed him/her to Hatchers's residence off of Highway 90 in Jackson County and described the vehicle(s) Hatcher owned or operated and wanted the CS to look for at Hatcher's residence on Gregory Conner's behalf. The CS further advised that Gregory Conner had made statements to him/her that he was looking for weapons, including weapons with silencers, vehicles and assisting in destroying evidence after the murders. The CS advised SA Lawson that Gregory Conner had provided him/her with a prepaid cellular telephone with a Bainbridge Georgia zip code to place a threatening telephone call to Conner's wife. Conner provided the CS with a note. Included in the note wre Suzanne Conner's cellular and wrok telephone numbers. Conner suggested that the cellular telephone would be a good alibi. SA Lawson contacted Gregory Conner's wife Suzanne Conner and Richard Hatcher. Upone interviewing Suzanne Conner and Richard Hatcher, Suzanne Conner and Richard Hatcher both expressed they were in fear for their lives as Gregory Conner had been stalking Suzanne Conner. Suzanne Conner stated that sh had received what she described to be threatening text messages from an unknown telephone number she suspected were from Gregory Conner. Further, Suzanne Conner and Richard Hatcher stated that during the last week of February 2009 she observed a vulgar sign she thought were directed at her near her residence as well as a dead Opossum nailed to a post near her residence. Suzanne Conner and Richard Hatcher stated that approximately two weeks ago, while at Suzanne Conner's residence, she received a telephone call from Gregory Conner that she described as threatening. Richard Hatcher, not wanting a confrontation with Gregory Conner, departed her residence. Shortly thereafter, Gregory Conner showed up at Suzanne Conner's residence covered in debris as though he (Gregory Conner) had been lying in grass or a wooded area. Suzanne Conner advised SA Lawson that Gregory Conner was a firearms instructor at Chipola College and has access to firearms, furthering her fear and concern. The CS, at direction of SA Lawson the CS met with Gregory Conner on March 4, 2009. During the meeeting, Gregory Conner discussed with the CS the possibility of the CS providing him with a weapon and vehicle to use to commit the murder(s). Gregory Conner also discussed how the murders would be accomplished. Surveillance was initiated upon Gregory Conner during the evening hours of Wednesday, March 4, 2009. During the evening hours, Gregory Conner was observed driving past Suzanne Conner and Richard Hatcher's residence numerous (more than 12) times. At approximately 1350 hours, on March 5, 2009. Conner was arrested without incident for Aggravated Stalking and Attempted Felony Murder in Jackson County.
[POLICE OFFICER INVOLVED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW ENFORCEMENT murder plot]