Ex-Auburn, Georgia Police Officer Guilty: Extortion, Drug Trafficking
Stole Money, Transported Drugs, “Betrayed His Community”
ATLANTA - Charles F. Hubbard has pled guilty to extortion and drug trafficking conspiracy charges. The defendant was an officer with the Auburn, Georgia, Police Department who used his law enforcement position and his patrol car to intercept and steal drugs and money.
“Hubbard assisted drug traffickers for his own financial gain,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “He used his position as a police officer to perpetrate his scheme while betraying his community and the honest law enforcement officers who serve honorably every day.”
According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Hubbard, while an officer with the Auburn Police Department, conspired with at least five other people to steal money and transport drugs. For example, in January 2015, one of Hubbard’s conspirators ordered six kilograms of cocaine. Hubbard used his Auburn police vehicle to intercept the drugs. Afterward, federal court authorized wiretaps exposed Hubbard agreeing to conduct a traffic stop on an individual carrying drugs in exchange for a $5,000 payment.
Then, on April 4, 2016, wearing clothing identifying himself as a police officer, and using his official police vehicle, Hubbard seized the confidential source's money. Hubbard provided the confidential source with a receipt purporting to be from the “East Metro Drug Task Force,” a non-existent entity, so that the seizure would look official. Hubbard then released the confidential source and met with two conspirators to split the money. Hubbard was taken into custody and, upon searching his vehicle, law enforcement officers found additional unused blank property sheets in the name of the non-existent East Metro Task Force that Hubbard had manufactured.
Sentencing for Charles F. Hubbard, 51, of Loganville, Georgia, is scheduled for November 7, 2016, before U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May. This case was investigated by the DEA, the Atlanta-Carolinas HIDTA, and the Georgia State Patrol. Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth M. Hathaway and Vivek Kothari are prosecuting the case.
The DEA encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.justhinktwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.
