MESA, AZ (CBS5) -
A retired Mesa police officer has found himself on the other
side of the law.
Police said Russell Dean Millsaps, 66, a former police
sergeant, was arrested Thursday and booked into jail on child sex crimes
charges.
According to court documents, his victims were 4 and 7 years
old. Investigators say they found pictures of graphic images on his cell phone
including a photo showing a hand with a mole on it that detectives said matched
a mole on Millsaps right hand. The court documents said he had access to these
kids regularly.
Mesa police confirmed with CBS 5 News that this isn't the
first time Millsaps has been in trouble. CBS 5 News found a story from the UPI
wire service back in 1980, reporting that Millsaps was demoted from sergeant to
patrolman and given a year of probation for allegedly smoking marijuana.
The UPI report said:
"Dean Millsaps, the state president of the Fraternal
Order of Police, has been demoted and placed on a years' probation for smoking
marijuana.
"Millsaps, a 10-year Mesa Police Department veteran,
was demoted from sergeant to patrolman, suspended for five days without pay and
placed on probation for getting stoned on pot with other officers last summer.
"Police Chief Joe Quigley said Millsaps was not fired
outright because of his record, his years of service and the gravity of the
offense was not that great.
"He said two other officers resigned and two more were
fired in connection with the pot smoking incident."
He was not brought up on criminal charges in the marijuana
possession case.
Millsaps is a retired Mesa police sergeant who retired in
1995 after 25 years with the department, said Sgt. Anthony Landato.
Homeland Security and police detectives served a search
warrant on Millsaps' home near Stapley Drive and Horne this morning, said
Landato.
When CBS 5 News got on the scene, officers were taking boxes
of evidence from the home and even a computer hard drive.
"At one time, there was probably about 30 or 40
vehicles, undercover police officers and Mesa police officers," said
Gloria Lopez, who lives down the street from Millsaps.
Regarding his status as a retired police officer, Landato
said this does not show a positive light for law enforcement and that the
investigation into Millsaps will be thorough.
Millsaps faces four counts of child molestation and two
counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.