Judge upholds firing of stay-at-home trooper

Maurice DeValle was fired from his $69,000-a-year job on April 25, 2017, and he has been unsuccessful in his attempts to reverse that decision, first through appeals up through the ranks of the Highway Patrol and the Department of Public Safety and now in the state Office of Administrative Hearings.

It was unclear Wednesday whether DeValle will pursue his case further at the state Court of Appeals.

The patrol cited insubordination, neglect of duties, untruthfulness and violating policy by living outside his duty area as the reasons for his termination.

"[DeValle's] conduct reflects poorly on the agency and impairs the public’s confidence in the patrol’s ability to carry out its mission," Administrative Law Judge Don Overby wrote in his decision. "[The] actions of untruthfulness and neglect of duty show a pattern of conduct where Petitioner is emboldened to continue to remain at home at times after he has checked on for duty and without informing his supervisor. Petitioner’s conduct is especially egregious because he is a supervisor. Petitioner’s conduct demonstrates that he willfully violated patrol policy."

WRAL Investigates spent weeks tracking DeValle on various days he was scheduled to work in late 2016 and routinely found his cruiser in the driveway of his Wake County home while he was on the clock, including while other Highway Patrol troopers were working overtime during and after Hurricane Matthew responding to stranded drivers and keeping people off flooded roads.

On at least four occasions from early October to mid-November that year, DeValle was at home despite reporting that he was on the road or on duty in Wayne County, where the 18-year Highway Patrol veteran was one of the agency's highest-ranking officers.

The patrol's internal investigation found six days from late September through mid-October when DeValle falsified timesheets either by claiming to work more hours in the payroll system that he actually worked, according to the times he clocked in and out or simply clocking in and staying home for part of all of his shift.

DeValle argued that he was fulfilling the job requirements for a sergeant from home and that he was selectively targeted by the patrol, insisting that other troopers break the rules but aren't punished.

But after hearing the case, Overby determined that DeValle "fails to appreciate the seriousness of his conduct" and that "a lesser form of discipline is not warranted."

WRAL News has learned the state is trying to revoke DeValle's law enforcement certification.