ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 8, 1996 TAG: 9602080042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: |By DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
When Robert Paul Dallas got his credit card bills, he got suspicious. Charges for fishing equipment, toiletries and other items totaled more than $900.
He knew he didn't buy the stuff. After all, he had been in jail since his arrest last March. He recently was convicted of 24 counts of molesting four girls in his neighborhood.
Roanoke County Commonwealth's Attorney Skip Burkart confirmed Wednesday that a former sheriff's deputy at the jail will be charged with stealing Dallas' credit cards. Authorities would not release the former deputy's name until he is charged.
The investigation began Nov.1 after Dallas filed a complaint. Five of his credit cards had been taken from the jail's property room and used at shops in Roanoke and Franklin County, authorities said.
Personal items are taken from inmates when they enter the jail. The items are locked in the jail's property room until the inmate's release, according to Roanoke County Sheriff Gerald Holt.
Twenty-nine corrections officers have access to the property room. Roanoke County police said they closed the case Jan. 26, narrowing the investigation to one deputy.
That man has since resigned, Holt said, adding that his office will conduct an internal investigation.
"It will give us confirmation of how the act was committed and if anyone else was involved," he said. "And it will give us insight on how to improve security."
Holt already has changed the policy for new recruits. Instead of undergoing personality profiles, they will be subjected to a polygraph test, he said.
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