Sheriff Wes Drury hires deputy despite allegation officer planted evidence

Scott County Sheriff Wes Drury hired Brandon Cook as a deputy last year even though then-Scott City Mayor Ron Cummins said he warned him Cook had planted evidence during a traffic stop as a Scott City police officer.

Cook, 29, of Scott City recently was charged with felony second-degree statutory sodomy.

Cummins said recently he believed Cook was a �dirty� cop when he was with the Scott City Police Department and advised Drury not to hire him, but Drury hired him anyway.

The Southeast Missourian interviewed four law enforcement sources who portrayed Cook as a troublesome officer who had a reputation of misconduct. Two of those sources told the Southeast Missourian that Drury was urged by some of his own officers not to hire Cook. One source said as many as three officers warned Drury against hiring Cook. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity.

One member of Scott County law enforcement said Cook �was shady when he was here.�

Cook�s attorney, Jacob Zimmerman, said Friday that Cook �would deny any new allegations� made by Cummins or others.

�Given Mr. Cummins� recent actions, we are not at all surprised by the scurrilous allegations he has made,� Zimmerman said, alluding to past disputes between Cummins and the police department.

Cook was arrested May 10 on allegations he had oral sex with a 15-year-old boy whose father is a commissioned reserve officer on the same sheriff�s department. The Southeast Missourian is withholding the name of the boy�s father to protect the alleged victim�s identity.

Cook had the encounter while in uniform and in his patrol car, according to a probable-cause statement.

The investigation was conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol�s division of drug and crime control at the request of the sheriff�s office.

In the statement from Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. C.D. Hamlett, Cook said he connected with the boy through the Grindr online app, which is used by men to meet other men for sexual encounters.

According to the statement, Cook realized he knew the boy, who had participated in the Scott County Sheriff�s Department law enforcement explorer post program, which is designed to educate youth in police operations and to interest them in law enforcement.

According to the written statement, it was learned through interviews and GPS mapping Cook showed up at the boy�s house at 1:46 a.m.

They then drove around the neighborhood while the boy �performed oral sex on him,� according to the probable-cause statement.

Hamlett wrote Cook said he dropped the boy off at the residence after the encounter.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecutor Chris Limbaugh has been appointed special prosecutor in the case.

After his arrest, Cook was taken to the Cape Girardeau County Jail. Cook, who pleaded not guilty in court, is free on bond. He is scheduled to appear in Scott County Circuit Court in Benton, Missouri, on June 22.

Cummins, who has a background in law enforcement but now owns his own business, said in an interview he saw Cook plant evidence during a traffic stop around May 2017 on Lincoln Street in Scott City.

�It happened right in front of my house,� the former mayor said.

�It was a bogus stop,� Cummins said.

He added he previously was employed with various law enforcement agencies in Scott County, including the Chaffee Police Department, and knows how to conduct traffic stops properly.

Cummins said Cook and another Scott City officer stopped the driver, a teenage boy, in an effort to obtain information.

�They wanted information on who was bringing drugs into town,� Cummins said.

According to Cummins, the stop lasted a long time, and �I knew something wasn�t right.�

He said he saw Cook produce a bag that supposedly had marijuana in it or smelled of marijuana. According to Cummins, no charges were ever filed.

Cummins said Cook told him he �never intended to let the city prosecutor file it.�

The former mayor called it �a dirty deal.� He asked, �How do we know he wasn�t just trying to find another boy (for sexual purposes)?�

The then-mayor said he wanted Cook fired and a state investigation initiated, but the police chief refused.

Police chief David Leeman said Cummins never brought the accusation of evidence planting to him. Leeman said he would not have tolerated such action.

�That is illegal,� he said.

Leeman resigned in August but was rehired a short time later by the council after Cummins stepped down amid a state lawmaker�s call for an investigation into allegations the mayor abused his position.

Leeman said he was �totally surprised� by the recent arrest of Cook on the sodomy charge.

�I didn�t see it coming,� he said, adding he had received no reports of any sexual misconduct incidents or evidence-planting allegations involving Cook while he was working for the police department.

Cook resigned in August.

�He wrote a letter claiming I interfered with the police department,� Cummins said.

Cummins said he met with Wes Drury, then-city administrator Diann Ulmer and Kevin Harris, who was serving as interim police chief, at city hall.

�I explained to Wes what he (Cook) had done. I asked him not to hire him,� Cummins recalled.

According to Cummins, the sheriff replied his office could better supervise Cook. �He said, �We�ve got it under control.��

Cummins� recollections of the meeting were confirmed to the Southeast Missourian by another source.

In an email to the Southeast Missourian, Drury declined to comment on Cummins� statements.

�There is an ongoing investigation in this matter and in order to maintain the integrity of this investigation, I have no further comment,� he wrote.

The sheriff�s department recently notified department employees by email Cook had been terminated and the investigation is continuing.

Cummins said that while he was mayor he informed the council about Cook�s actions in closed session.

�Other council members knew what was going on,� he said.

In September, the city council under new mayor Norman Brant agreed to hire Cook as a reserve officer and volunteer firefighter, according to council minutes.

Brant declined to discuss the situation, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.

Leeman said Cook worked as needed for the police department while continuing his regular job as a sheriff�s deputy. Leeman said Cook installed lights, sirens and radios in Scott City�s patrol cars.

�He was good at that,� the chief said.

After Cook was arrested earlier this month, �we terminated his employment,� Leeman said.

Leeman said another incident involving Cook surfaced shortly before the arrest.

According to the police chief, a Scott City officer reported Cook had asked him to falsely state he smelled marijuana at a house in order to secure a search warrant. The officer refused to do so, Leeman said.

The police chief said he was �trying to decide� how to address the situation when Cook was arrested on the sodomy charge.

Leeman said Drury never asked him about Cook�s actions as a Scott City police officer before hiring him as a deputy.

Leeman said he doesn�t believe Drury would have hired Cook if he knew the officer had acted improperly.

�You don�t want to hire anyone who is a bad apple,� Leeman said.

But the father of the boy in the sodomy case said the incident �could have been prevented� had Cook never been hired in the first place.

�He (Cook) has got the badge. He thinks he is untouchable,� the alleged victim�s father said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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