Ex-officers convicted in drug theft scheme

INDIANAPOLIS – Two former narcotics detectives could face 20 years in prison after a jury convicted them for their roles in a scheme to steal marijuana and money from drug dealers.

Robert B. Long, 35, and Jason P. Edwards, 38, were convicted Friday of conspiracy and drug charges, but jurors acquitted them on firearms charges.

Although the convictions could bring the former Indianapolis police officers two decades in prison, the gun charges could have added up to 55 years of prison time for Long, plus five additional years for Edwards.

In a win for prosecutors, the jury found the drug conspiracy involved an amount of marijuana above a 50-kilogram threshold – about 110 pounds – that sets a 20-year maximum sentence, instead of five years.

After two hours of deliberation, the jury convicted Long and Edwards of conspiracy and several counts of actual or attempted drug possession with intent to distribute.

Those half-dozen incidents played out under the FBI’s watch from March to June 2008.
Investigators arranged several of the incidents, including a $20,000 shakedown of a drug courier, an intercepted package containing marijuana and a videotaped theft of marijuana and cash from a supposed drug house planted there by the FBI.

A third former officer, James D. Davis, 34, has pleaded guilty to his role and faces 10 to 15 years in prison.

Kevin McShane, Edwards’ attorney, said the jury’s verdict was fair. Long’s attorneys, Ralph Staples and Jeffrey Mendes, also said they were pleased by the convictions.

They had challenged the firearms charges in part by arguing that even when Long carried a gun, it never left his holster and didn’t further the crimes. Edwards, on suspension at the time from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, did not have a gun.

“They took advantage of opportunities, and that is what they should be punished for,” Staples  said.