Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

Case dropped against ex-police officer

CHARLESTON -- 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, authorities said.

The alleged victim in the case told prosecutors she did not want to testify at trial against former officer Jerry Reynolds, 9th Circuit Deputy Solicitor Bryan A. Alfaro said. Without her, the case could not go forward, he said.

Reynolds, 62, said he felt vindicated by the prosecutor's decision. "To me, this was a setup," 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, Nichole Maynard Kelly, have a 5-year-old son together. She could not be reached.

Alfaro said he dismissed the charge in July 2008. Reynolds, however, said he only recently learned from his former attorney, Stanley Feldman, that the case had been dropped. It was unclear why he wasn't informed earlier.

Reynolds said he doesn't know if he will try to return to law enforcement.