Two former Gwinnett officers face criminal charges

By Andria Simmons

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Arrest warrants were sworn out Thursday for two former Gwinnett County narcotics investigators, one of whom is accused of using county funds to pay for a motel room and items at an adult novelty store.

Officer Vennie Harden and Maj. David Butler are charged with unrelated crimes, but their offenses came to light at about the same time earlier this year.

Butler, a 24-year veteran of the department who supervised the narcotics and vice units, turned himself in at the Gwinnett County Detention Center on Thursday. He is being held on $20,000 bond. Investigators say Butler used a county credit card on Aug. 4, 2008, to buy unspecified items at the Starship Enterprise adult novelty store in Suwanee and on Jan. 6 to pay for a motel room in Lawrenceville. The warrants also state that Butler stole $4,000 in "flash money" from a safe in the department's Special Investigations Section. Officers show flash money to establish credibility when setting up undercover drug buys, said Cpl. David Schiralli, a Gwinnett police spokesman.

Butler resigned from the department July 16 after being confronted about the missing cash, police said. Harden resigned from the department May 13.

"If somebody is going to break the law and they're a police officer, we're going to do everything in our power to bring them to justice," Schiralli said. "The department doesn't tolerate this kind of action by any of its officers."

Harden is charged with three counts of first-degree forgery and one count of violation of oath of office. Police say he forged a supervisor's name to authorize a payment of county funds three times between February and April of this year. The money has since been accounted for and Harden has not been charged with theft, Schiralli said. Police did not release information about what the money was used for or whose name was forged on the documents.

Harden turned himself in at the Gwinnett jail Thursday and was released on $11,800 bond.

Gwinnett police declined to release records pertaining to the internal affairs investigation of the two officers, even though those documents are typically made available to the public 10 days after the investigation is closed. Schiralli said Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter asked investigators not to release the records while prosecution is pending.

Porter could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.