Cop faces felony theft charge; detective fired

Cathy Scott

Monday, March 16, 1998 | 10:02 a.m.

One Metro Police officer has been charged with felony theft of a department gasoline card, and another officer -- a detective -- has been relieved of duty for alleged drug abuse, officials said.

Both officers have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the separate investigations by the Internal Affairs Bureau, police said.

Officer William House, 29, a three-year officer who works out of Metro's downtown substation, was under criminal investigation for eight months before he was charged last week with felony theft, Lt. Rick Alba said. He has not been arrested, he said.

A general assignment detective, whose name has not been released, was relieved of duty on March 5 for suspicion of drug abuse, Alba said.

"We're currently conducting an internal investigation into an officer possibly involved in substance abuse," he said.

Details of the investigation were not released.

The investigation of House, however, began because of "unusual billing on his department-issued gas credit card," Alba said. "House was charged with one count of comprehensive felony theft as a result of unauthorized use of a department gas credit card."

After a preliminary investigation by House's supervisors, the case was turned over to Metro's fraud unit. The findings of that investigation were forwarded to the district attorney's office a week ago, Alba said.

"The investigation revealed for the past eight months (that) House had used the credit card to put gas in his private car," he said.

The total amount for the gas he is suspected of stealing came to roughly $300, Alba said.