Post by admin on Jan 30, 2007 20:19:56 GMT -5
www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n992/a05.html?157
EATON - After an evening of heavy drinking on Sept. 17, off-duty Preble County sheriff's Deputy Terry Petitt flirted with a group of men half her age at the 230 Club in downtown Eaton, paying special attention to 23-year-old Clayton Helriggle, witnesses said.
"( Petitt ) wanted us to touch the hole in her jeans," located in the upper thigh area, Tim Suter, a high school classmate of Helriggle's who was at the bar that night, later told investigators.
Petitt, 44, "really took a liking to Clayton," Suter said.
Before Petitt threw up into a wastebasket and was taken home, Suter said, she hugged and kissed the three men at the far end of the bar -- Suter, Helriggle and his roommate Ian Albert -- and exchanged sexual banter.
Petitt told the group "she was getting divorced," Suter said. "She mentioned she had a son our age -- the age thing was an issue. She could teach us young ( guys ) a few things."
Ten days later, on Sept. 27, Helriggle lay dead in an ill-fated drug raid led by Petitt's husband, Detective George Petitt Jr., 54, then commander of the Preble County Emergency Services Unit. Terry Petitt, too, was in on the raid, assigned to guard the perimeter of the house at 1282 Ohio 503, south of West Alexandria.
Minutes after the shooting, Terry Petitt trained her weapon on a blood-soaked Albert, in whose arms Helriggle died inside the house...
...A grand jury concluded that no police officer engaged in criminal wrongdoing...
...Investigators also examined whether George Petitt had a hidden motive for pursuing a drug raid at the Helriggle house: his wife's friendliness toward Helriggle on Sept. 17 at the 230 Club.
During a Nov. 1 interview with Montgomery County sheriff's investigators, Terry Petitt acknowledged being at the 230 Club but initially denied having any "contact" with Helriggle.
Later, in the same interview, she said she knew Helriggle was at the bar and recognized Albert when he was led from the house the night of the shooting.
Montgomery County Sheriff's Detective Greg Laravie then asked: "At any time did you discuss what happened in the 230 Club with your husband as far as seeing Clayton Helriggle?"
"Absolutely," she said. "He knew all about it."
"Did he know about it prior to the search warrant?" Laravie asked.
"I don't know," she said. ". . . I'm not sure if George and I were separated at that time or not. I don't recall."
In his interview with sheriff's detectives Nov. 12, George Petitt Jr. said he knew nothing about his wife's encounter with Helriggle during the planning stages for the raid.
"I was unaware that my wife was even at the bar until after the search warrant was issued and conducted, and the other part about holes in the pants or something, this is my first knowledge I have about that at all."
Terry and George Petitt have not commented about the events of Sept. 27, and the days leading up to it. But an 800-page supplemental report of more than 50 interviews by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office special investigations unit, reveals previously undisclosed details about the scope of the failed planning and execution that resulted in Helriggle's death.
EATON - After an evening of heavy drinking on Sept. 17, off-duty Preble County sheriff's Deputy Terry Petitt flirted with a group of men half her age at the 230 Club in downtown Eaton, paying special attention to 23-year-old Clayton Helriggle, witnesses said.
"( Petitt ) wanted us to touch the hole in her jeans," located in the upper thigh area, Tim Suter, a high school classmate of Helriggle's who was at the bar that night, later told investigators.
Petitt, 44, "really took a liking to Clayton," Suter said.
Before Petitt threw up into a wastebasket and was taken home, Suter said, she hugged and kissed the three men at the far end of the bar -- Suter, Helriggle and his roommate Ian Albert -- and exchanged sexual banter.
Petitt told the group "she was getting divorced," Suter said. "She mentioned she had a son our age -- the age thing was an issue. She could teach us young ( guys ) a few things."
Ten days later, on Sept. 27, Helriggle lay dead in an ill-fated drug raid led by Petitt's husband, Detective George Petitt Jr., 54, then commander of the Preble County Emergency Services Unit. Terry Petitt, too, was in on the raid, assigned to guard the perimeter of the house at 1282 Ohio 503, south of West Alexandria.
Minutes after the shooting, Terry Petitt trained her weapon on a blood-soaked Albert, in whose arms Helriggle died inside the house...
...A grand jury concluded that no police officer engaged in criminal wrongdoing...
...Investigators also examined whether George Petitt had a hidden motive for pursuing a drug raid at the Helriggle house: his wife's friendliness toward Helriggle on Sept. 17 at the 230 Club.
During a Nov. 1 interview with Montgomery County sheriff's investigators, Terry Petitt acknowledged being at the 230 Club but initially denied having any "contact" with Helriggle.
Later, in the same interview, she said she knew Helriggle was at the bar and recognized Albert when he was led from the house the night of the shooting.
Montgomery County Sheriff's Detective Greg Laravie then asked: "At any time did you discuss what happened in the 230 Club with your husband as far as seeing Clayton Helriggle?"
"Absolutely," she said. "He knew all about it."
"Did he know about it prior to the search warrant?" Laravie asked.
"I don't know," she said. ". . . I'm not sure if George and I were separated at that time or not. I don't recall."
In his interview with sheriff's detectives Nov. 12, George Petitt Jr. said he knew nothing about his wife's encounter with Helriggle during the planning stages for the raid.
"I was unaware that my wife was even at the bar until after the search warrant was issued and conducted, and the other part about holes in the pants or something, this is my first knowledge I have about that at all."
Terry and George Petitt have not commented about the events of Sept. 27, and the days leading up to it. But an 800-page supplemental report of more than 50 interviews by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office special investigations unit, reveals previously undisclosed details about the scope of the failed planning and execution that resulted in Helriggle's death.
