Charges dropped against former Spring Lake officer
Criminal charges have been dropped against one of two Spring Lake police officers indicted in a 2009 state investigation that roiled the police department and the town.
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Darryl Eugene Coulter Sr. had been charged in connection with an April 2008 home invasion in which three men were held at gunpoint and was accused of asking subordinate officers to falsify a report about a September 2008 raid on a motel room.
Defense attorney D.W. Bray said a 911 dispatcher corroborated Coulter's story that officers had been told that a shooting had taken place at the home. The homeowner gave officers access to the house, but the people inside were acting suspiciously, so they were detained, Bray said.
Cumberland County prosecutors couldn't be reached for comment.
Another Spring Lake officer, Alphonzo Devonne Whittington Jr., pleaded guilty three years ago to stealing $2,900 from the evidence room and altering records to cover up the theft.
The money was part of an undercover sting by the State Bureau of Investigation, which was looking into possible corruption in the department.
Police Chief A.C. Brown resigned the day after the officers were arrested, and Cumberland County authorities assumed control of law enforcement in Spring Lake for about nine months.
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