[SC] "Resigned" Officer Reynolds - 4 years after allegations he set up his baby's mama - is cleared of everything

CASE AGAINST EX-OFFICER DISMISSED
The Post and Courier
By Glenn Smith
Friday, November 6, 2009
[Excerpts] Prosecutors have dismissed their case against a former Moncks Corner police officer who was accused of asking his fellow officers to help plant drugs and guns in his ex-girlfriend's vehicle in 2005... The alleged victim in the case told prosecutors she did not want to testify at trial against former officer Jerry Reynolds... Reynolds, 62, said he felt vindicated by the prosecutor's decision. "To me, this was a set-up," he said. "They never had witnesses. They had nothing." State Law Enforcement Division agents arrested Reynolds in October 2005 on a charge of official misconduct by a police officer. Investigators accused him of approaching fellow officers with a plan to put illegal drugs or possibly a stolen gun in his ex-girlfriend's Jeep. Reynolds and the ex-girlfriend, [NMK], have a 5-year-old son together... Reynolds has said the idea of planting evidence came up in passing, as something of a joke... A stolen gun and illegal drugs, however, were found in [NMK]'s Jeep one morning in April 2005... No one was charged with planting evidence in the case; the charges related only to a plan that was discussed, not carried out... Reynolds, who works in loss prevention for Super Kmart in North Charleston, said he doesn't know if he will try to return to law enforcement. His former boss, Moncks Corner Police Chief Chad Caldwell, said Reynolds was a conscientious officer with a good record... [Full article here]

SELECTED EXCERPTS FROM 2 OLDER ARTICLES IN MY POCKET:

EX-MONCKS CORNER OFFICER FACES CHARGES
Local/State
The Post and Courier
Staff reports
October 30th, 2005
A former Moncks Corner police officer arrested Friday on charges of planting drugs was released from custody the same day... Bail was set at $3,000, jail officials said, for Jerry Ervin Reynolds, who was arrested on a charge of official misconduct of a police officer. An investigation by the State Law Enforcement Division led to the arrest. SEVERAL POLICE OFFICERS SAID REYNOLDS, 58, ASKED THEM BETWEEN FEBRUARY AND MAY ABOUT OBTAINING DRUGS OR A GUN TO PLANT ON THE VEHICLE BELONGING TO HIS EX-GIRLFRIEND... Reynolds resigned about a week ago...

EX-OFFICER RELIVES LOSS OF HIS JOB
Man accused in plot to set up ex-girlfriend
The Post and Courier
By Noah Haglund
Sunday, January 15, 2006 12:00 AM
MONCKS CORNER - Jerry Reynolds chafes at the suggestion that he might have committed a crime when he and former colleagues at the Moncks Corner Police Department discussed planting evidence in his ex-girlfriend's car... Last year, [NMK] swore out a warrant against Reynolds, accusing him of violating a restraining order. Reynolds said that charge was dismissed and later expunged. On Oct. 28, 2005, State Law Enforcement Division agents arrested Reynolds on the misconduct charge at [NMK]'s mother's home as he went to pick up their son for a weekend visit... The charge was based on statements by other Moncks Corner police officers that Reynolds approached them "about planting evidence in the car of his ex-girlfriend"... A Berkeley County sheriff's deputy responded to [NMK]'s Ladson home on the morning of April 19, 2005. She told the deputy she found a handgun and a bag of what police later determined to be marijuana under the seat, after having cleaned out the car the night before, an incident report states. The deputy wrote that the items appeared staged... The deputy retrieved the marijuana and the semiautomatic handgun, as well as bags with white powder that tested positive for cocaine, the report states. He notified the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives because the gun's serial number had been removed... "Why would I be singled out as the only person who would put things in her car?" Reynolds asked... Before joining the Moncks Corner Police Department, Reynolds was a Berkeley County sheriff's deputy... Reynolds resigned from Moncks Corner 10 days before his arrest by SLED. He said he knew the state agency was investigating him and thought it would be best to resign before any arrest. Moncks Corner Police Chief Chad Caldwell has said Reynolds had an "excellent" record with the department... Last week, Reynolds said he hoped his day in court would arrive soon. Deputy Solicitor Blair Jennings said Reynolds' case is scheduled to go before a grand jury next month.
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