Bond granted for Atlanta police officer facing drug charges

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An Atlanta police officer was granted $250,000 bond Friday on drug trafficking and weapons charges.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman ordered bond for Lucius Solomon III secured by property Solomon owns in Columbus and by his father's house in southwest Atlanta, where Solomon lives.

He must continue living at his father's house and wear an ankle monitor, Baverman said. Baverman said that the father, Lucius Solomon Jr., a retired Georgia Dept. of Public Safety hearings officer, must get all weapons out of his house before his son is released. The younger Solomon can have access to only one cell phone and officials will monitor his cell phone records, Baverman said.

Baverman called it a "no-excuses bond. That meens no dirty urine screens [drug tests], no busted curfews, no being somewhere you're not supposed to be; one screwup and I'll put you in jail."

Wilmer "Buddy" Parker, Solomon's attorney, said he hoped to have bond arranged by Monday.

On Thursday, Solomon, 31, a nine-year Atlanta police officer, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to distribute five kilograms of cocaine and possessing a firearm while participating in multiple sales of cocaine, according to court documents.

An officer in Zone 6, Solomon was under video surveillance and arrested Wednesday night.

Solomon could face 65 years in jail if he's found guilty of all seven counts of drug and weapons charges. He faces a minimum of 10 years in jail for each drug charge and an additional five years for the first weapons charge and 25 consecutive years for each of the additional gun charges.

Pre-trial officers, who interviewed Solomon on Thursday, recommended that the judge set a $20,000 bond.

On Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Hathaway told that the amount of jail time Solomon faces is an incentive to leave the area and that no bond should be set.

In reviewing some details of the case, Hathaway said on two difference occasions Solomon discussed the rising price of cocaine with a buyer – who ended up being an undercover FBI agent.

Hathaway said Solomon twice got on the phone and “called someone to see if he could beat the price of $130,000,” for five kilograms of cocaine.

“We know he’s dealing with actual drug traffickers, and he’s protecting drug traffickers,” Hathaway said Friday.

Hathaway said Solomon participated in these deals in street clothes as well as when he was wearing his APD uniform and was in a patrol car.

“He’s willing to play both sides, and that shows he’s both a risk of flight and a danger to community,” she said.

Solomon’s attorney said the money that Hathaway spoke of “never materialized.”

“This case is about stepping over the line and not performing his duties,” Parker told the judge.

Parker said Solomon’s mother died when he was a child, leaving his father to raise him. Solomon still lives with his father today, Parker said.

Solomon left Columbus State College, which he attended for four years, to take care of his father, who Parker said “was at death’s door” after losing a kidney.

“This man would no more leave his father than you or I would,” Parker said.

Hathaway continued to argue for no bond, saying Solomon would be able to tip off drug dealers to when undercover police officers will be out trying to buy from them.

“Can’t he do the same thing if he’s in custody?” Baverman asked Hathaway.

She continued, “He can’t go to the clubs and say, “That guy over there is an undercover police officer.’”

“If I set a bond, he wouldn’t be going over to the clubs,” Baverman responded.

Family members and friends of Solomon filled the courtroom. Bernardette Jones, a neighbor of Solomon’s for more than 30 years, burst into tears as she left the courtroom.

Jones told reporters that the allegations against Solomon – known to everyone as “T” -- are “so out of character” for a person she called “upstanding.”

“The whole neighborhood is rallying against him,” she said. “All I know about this child – I have nothing but praise.”

Jones said Solomon’s dad is upbeat and optimistic.

“Hopefully the truth will come out,” she said.