THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 23, 1996 TAG: 9605230344
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 54 lines
A police officer who was placed on administrative duties because of a grand larceny charge last year has again been arrested for stealing, authorities said Wednesday.
The officer was one of two charged with unrelated crimes Tuesday, police said on Wednesday.
``It gives you a rather sick feeling if, in fact, they are guilty,'' said Al Byrum, Fraternal Order of Police president. ``When something like this happens in a law-enforcement community, it's like taking a shot in the eye. You have to walk around with a black eye for a few days.''
Officer Gregory M. Vick, 32, was charged on Tuesday with stealing audio equipment from a car-stereo store on London Bridge Road.
Store owners said about $3,500 worth of equipment was taken in the May 11 burglary. Police said the investigation led to Vick, of the 1300 block of Pine Cone Circle. Detectives recovered about $700 of the merchandise.
Vick had been assigned to an administrative post because of another grand larceny charge last year in Norfolk.
In that case, Vick allegedly outfitted his new Ford Mustang with custom parts removed from an identical car his girlfriend had taken for a test drive, according to investigators and court records. He was arrested and charged with that crime on Aug. 24.
That case hasn't been concluded in court.
After the Norfolk arrest, Vick was assigned to the Virginia Beach Police Department's Crime Reporting Unit, where some criminal reports, such as property thefts, are taken.
Vick now has been suspended without pay, police spokesman Lou Thurston said.
Vick, who has received seven letters of appreciation and one letter of recognition in his career, is scheduled to appear in court for a hearing on Friday.
The second officer arrested Tuesday, 28-year-old Larry L. Walker, was charged with sexual battery after he allegedly fondled an 18-year-old woman he stopped for a traffic violation.
Walker, a rookie, was fired. Walker joined the department last July and hadn't finished his mandatory one-year probationary period, Thurston said.
Police said Walker stopped the woman in the early morning hours of May 19.
He was on duty and driving a marked police car at the time, Thurston said. Investigators said Walker fondled the woman, who reported him.
His court date is set for July 15. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Gregory M. Vick, left, was suspended after a charge of stealing car
audio equipment. Larry L. Walker, right, was charged with sexual
battery. A woman he stopped said he fondled her.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT ROBBERIES
SEX CRIME ARRESTS by CNB