LANCASTER COUNTY --
A deputy was arrested on burglary charges and then dismissed from the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office force after a Thursday incident.
Deputy Dale Perdue was charged with burglary third degree, petit larceny, and misconduct in office after an investigation, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He allegedly stole construction materials from a housing site on Lakeshore Drive, near the Bethel boat landing on the Catawba River.
The burglary charge is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Perdue was immediately terminated and the State Law Enforcement Division was contacted to assist with the investigation. Perdue has been with the Sheriff’s Office since March 2009, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Barry F. Faile said Perdue’s actions “do not represent the standards we have set.”
Faile said Perdue violated the public trust given to him and has given “law enforcement officers everywhere a black eye.. . I am left to only apologize to the citizens of Lancaster County and assure you that I will see that he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Perdue is being held on $15,000 bond, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Faile said “nothing came up” in Perdue’s background check before he was hired. A SLED check revealed no previous criminal record in the state for Perdue.
Perdue’s arrest followed a call to the Sheriff’s Office about the theft of construction equipment from 10249 Lakeshore Drive.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, witnesses said a marked patrol car was seen leaving from the area. The responding deputies notified supervisors at the Sheriff’s Office and an internal investigation was immediately started.
Perdue, a patrol deputy, was on duty at the time of the incident.
The stolen property was recovered and will be returned to the victim, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Perdue acted alone during the theft, Faile said.
