According to a USAO press release dated today, Jan. 22, 2013, a former Fort Deposit, Ala., police officer Carlos Tyson Bennett, 37, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller to 37 months in prison, two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $500 in restitution.
Bennett was charged with stealing money from motorists during traffic stops, in collusion with another former Fort Deposit police officer, Jessie Alan Fuller, on Interstate 65 in 2009.
Bennett pleaded guilty on Aug. 29, 2012, to one count of conspiracy against rights and four counts of deprivation of rights under color of law. During his plea, Bennett admitted that he and Fuller pulled over vehicles under the guise of legitimate law enforcement activity and stole cash from drivers and passengers in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights. Bennett acknowledged that he and Fuller worked together, cooperating with each other, and typically sharing the stolen money. In May and June 2009, Bennett committed four specific thefts, taking between $100 and $200 per victim. Bennett further acknowledged that he and Fuller tried to cover up their crimes when authorities began to investigate. (USAO press release)
Bennett, a Greenville resident, was arrested in June 2012, on a federal indictment. The Justice Department announced at that time he was charged with one count of conspiracy against rights, four counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, and three counts of obstruction of justice. The indictment alleges he was involved in four thefts involving $100 to $200 per victim.
Jessie Alan Fuller, 25, of Pensacola, Fla., was sentenced on August 28, 2012 by U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins to 37 months in prison and two years’ supervised release, the Justice Department announced.
Fuller had pleaded guilty on April 26, 2012, to one count of conspiracy against rights, a felony, and one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, a misdemeanor. These charges stemmed from Fuller’s stealing money and property from motorists on Interstate 65 in central Alabama while he was a police officer with the Fort Deposit Police Department.
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