MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A Martin County Sheriff’s deputy has been arrested and fired.<\/p>\n
The deputy allegedly made arrests for drug possession but went about it in the wrong way.<\/p>\n
The sheriff’s office has not provided a photo of the ex-deputy but he’s identified as Justin Lee.<\/p>\n
According to Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek, Lee was going on websites where he could find prostitutes. They would agree on a price for sex and Lee would then ask them to bring drugs with them and he would also ask for their license plate number and a description of their car. Lee did not tell them he was a sheriff’s deputy.<\/p>\n
When the prostitute would show up at an agreed upon location, Lee would be there in uniform and in a marked patrol vehicle and pull them over for something such as running a stop sign and then arrest them for drug possession or possession of drug paraphernalia.<\/p>\n
The Sheriff says besides that, Lee did not inform the State Attorney’s Office how he made these arrests and that’s important, because that is information defense attorneys are entitled to.<\/p>\n
“He knew the drugs were there. He was just trying to figure out how to get to them and make it look like he was doing it in a legal fashion, but he was not,” Sheriff Budensiek said. “So it was entrapment?” we asked. “It could be entrapment,” said Sheriff Budensiek.<\/p>\n
He says Lee, a road patrol deputy, did not follow department policy in making these arrests.<\/p>\n
“We don’t have rogue deputies out in the middle of the night doing their own operations and then not telling anybody, not telling a supervisor, and then specifically the courts, not telling the courts the truth about what actually took place,” Sheriff Budensiek explained.<\/p>\n
The Sheriff also says Lee tried to wipe information from his phone when he learned he was under investigation.<\/p>\n
“I’m always disappointed when a deputy puts our reputation in jeopardy, puts the Sheriff’s Office in jeopardy, and puts a blemish on law enforcement as a whole,” Sheriff Budensiek said.<\/p>\n
Lee is charged with making a false statement under oath in an official proceeding and tampering with evidence. Both charges are felonies. <\/p>\n
He’s free on $30,000 bond.<\/p>\n
Lee was hired by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office in May 2022.<\/p>\n
The Sheriff says about 50 cases involving arrests that Lee was involved in may have to be dropped due to his actions.<\/p>\n
According to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Lee graduated from the Florida Law Enforcement Academy at Florida Panhandle Technical College in January 2022. He did not have any prior law enforcement experience before joining the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. <\/p>\n
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