Two Washington County sheriff's deputies have been charged with trafficking in marijuana and other crimes, state police said Friday.
Deputies Wayne Bartley, 42, of Springfield and Bill Mattingly, 40, of Mackville were arrested Thursday on charges of selling marijuana, official misconduct, theft, tampering with evidence and criminal mischief, according to a news release from the state police West Drug Enforcement unit in Bowling Green.
The deputies were arrested by investigators from the state police and the Springfield Police Department.
Bartley had been a deputy six years and Mattingly had been a deputy three years, the news release said.
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State police provided no details beyond the news release.
Bartley and Mattingly were arrested about 8:30 p.m. Thursday on the Blue Grass Parkway in Willisburg, according to court documents. The documents do not provide any other details about the arrests.
Washington County Sheriff Tommy Bartley, no relation to Wayne Bartley, said state police called him at 1 a.m. Friday morning to inform him of the arrests.
Tommy Bartley said state police told him only that the two deputies were caught with marijuana. He said he was not aware of any other details of their arrests.
Because of the drug charges, the sheriff said, he fired both deputies Friday morning.
In that circumstance, the sheriff said, he was not going to wait for the outcome of the criminal investigation.
"It just floored me," he said of their arrests.
Tommy Bartley said the two men were road deputies and often handled and responded to calls on the night shift. He said they were "fair" officers and he never had major problems with them.
The two were jailed in the Marion County Detention Center. Their bond has been set at $50,000 cash, according to an officer at the jail.
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