Ala. Policeman Feared Missing Arrested in Vegas

Sgt. Faron White's job running a squad that targeted drug dealers, gamblers and other organized crime in a northern Alabama city earned him accolades but was filled with pressure.

These photographs released by police in Las Vegas, Nev., and Decatur, Ala., shows Sgt. Faron White,...

These photographs released by police in Las Vegas, Nev., and Decatur, Ala., shows Sgt. Faron White, left, the head of Decatur, Ala.'s organized crime unit, and Sarah Richardson, who is accused of helping White stage his disappearance in a bid to cover up an alleged theft. Police said Richardson, 29, of Decatur was arrested Monday, Jan. 5, 2009, on a charge of hindering prosecution. White was arrested in Las Vegas on a charge of stealing $2,500 from his department.

(Las Vegas Municipal Police Department/Decatur Police Department via AP)

Add a rocky marriage, ill father, unexpected household expenses and gambling losses, and somewhere along the way, the decorated veteran officer snapped, police said Tuesday.

White is accused of staging his disappearance, staking himself with $2,500 in confiscated drug money and flying off to Las Vegas to try to win back thousands of dollars to pay his debts. He didn't act alone, police said.

A Decatur police volunteer — 29-year-old Sarah Richardson — is accused of helping White scatter papers from his desk to make it look like he may have struggled with someone before being abducted. Police say they were romantically involved.

Their ruse didn't fool detectives for long, said Decatur Police Chief Ken Collier.

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"The investigators involved didn't fall off the pumpkin truck last week. They sensed something was wrong early on," he said.

Federal marshals caught up with White, 48, in a Hampton Inn hotel lobby Monday night, three days after he was last seen working late in his office in Decatur, a Tennessee River city of 55,000 people. Long a respected officer who had been with the department more than 20 years, White is now charged with theft.

Also arrested was Richardson, who authorities say helped White get to Las Vegas by accompanying him to Nashville, Tenn., to catch a flight. Police believe she was going to join him later and has been charged with with hindering prosecution.

Collier said it appeared White was stealing confiscated drug cash from his office safe and that thousands more may be missing. With his home life in disarray and losses at a casino in Tunica, Miss., White saw no other way out than to try to win back some cash, police say.

"I mean, why else do you go to Las Vegas?" Collier said.

Mayor Don Stanford said he considered White an exceptional officer with a great reputation. Now, he'll be fired, the mayor said.