Former Enfield police officer Willie Murphy Jr. will have his first appearance in Halifax County Superior Court on October 26, according to the state’s court calendar.
Murphy surrendered to the Halifax County Sheriff’s Friday evening after he was named in a multiple count indictment which charges him with embezzlement and altering, destroying or stealing criminal evidence.
A true bill of indictment was signed by the foreman of the grand jury on August 31 and on Friday the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office released information pertaining to Murphy’s indictment on counts of embezzlement by a local government employee; counts of altering, destroying, or stealing criminal evidence; counts of willfully failing to discharge duties; and four counts of obstructing justice.
The indictments filed at the clerk of court’s office in Halifax show multiple instances of drugs and evidence in the form of cash and coins — more than $12,000 — being taken from the Enfield Police Department’s evidence room.
The indictments show the alleged offenses occurred from January 1, 2012 through August 4. August 4 was the date the sheriff’s office executed a search warrant at his residence in the Halifax area. The search warrant is currently sealed.
Halifax County Sheriff Wes Tripp said today he had no idea of Murphy’s intentions.
District Attorney Valerie Asbell said this afternoon, “Because Willie Murphy’s case is still under investigation, I cannot comment on his case or any pending cases where he is the investigating officer.”
The indictment
In the case ending in file number 664 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy took 150 plastic bags; two packs of cigars; a digital scale; Samsung Galaxy phone; $200 in currency; four 1-ounce bags of marijuana; five half-ounce bags of marijuana; and five pint-sized jars of marijuana.
In the case ending in file number 665 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy took three bags of marijuana; two Swisher Sweets cigars; marijuana; and $48 currency.
In the case ending in file number 666 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy took $7,158 in currency; 149 grams of marijuana; digital scales; large vacuum bags; and a vacuum seal machine.
In the case ending in file number 667 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy took a pill bottle with heroin, marijuana, and cocaine; $10 in currency; a pill bottle with 40 Percocet pills; a single piece of marijuana; two packs of Dutch Masters cigars; two vape pens; a flip phone; a touchscreen phone; a 12-inch knife; and $1,151 in currency.
In the case ending in file number 668 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy took $499 in currency; a plastic bag used to package marijuana and cigars; two dosage units of MDMA; and 49 individual bags of marijuana.
In the case ending in file number 669 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy took $439.60 in currency; $2,153.06 in currency; personal papers; a drivers license; a birth registration card; brown wallet; two pill bottles prescribed to a woman; and a brown women's handbag.
In the case ending in file number 670 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy took $150 in currency; and 17.4 grams of crack.
In the case ending in file number 671 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy took a clear bag of marijuana; marijuana from a toilet bowl; a glass jar with marijuana; a Samsung Edge; and plastic bags.
In the case ending in file number 672 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy took $119 in currency.
In the case ending in file number 673 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy took nine Enfield Police Department evidence bags containing a box of sandwich bags; two digital scales; $190.25 in currency; 31 coins; marijuana stems and a Swisher Sweets wrapper; marijuana in plastic baggies; a knife with a black handle; and digital scales with a white powder residue.
In the case ending in file number 674 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy took 13 Enfield Police Department evidence bags containing 10 .223 shell casings; a red and blue ball cap; Sperry Top Siders with possible blood splatter; a broken cellphone case; an e-citation covered in possible blood; black walking-style boots; an empty Grey Goose bottle; a green ball cap; several cut-off water bottles; Peppers pink eyeglasses case; a strap with possible blood; Refrigiwear gloves; a True Temper hatchet; and Workforce pliers.
In the case ending in file number 675 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy took $119 in currency.
The case ending in file number 676 refers back to the one ending 669.
The case ending in file number 677 refers back to the one ending in 664.
The indictments reflecting obstruction of justice, altering, destroying or stealing criminal evidence and willfully failing to discharge duties are reflected in documents ending in case numbers 678 through 681.
In the indictment ending in file number 678 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy obstructed justice by opening evidence with no case identification: One bag containing a bag with 85.5 grams of marijuana; one vacuum seal bag with 142.6 grams of marijuana; a FedEx box addressed to a woman dated November 16, 2018 containing a bag of cereal.
In the indictment ending in file number 679 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy opened evidence with no case identification: A bag dated November 19, 2016, containing three empty jars; a bag dated November 16, 2016, containing a partially smoked Royal Comfort cigar; a bag with the name of a man containing a pair of black jeans and socks; a biological specimen box dated December 3, 2019; a bag containing a spent Taser cartridge; and a bag containing a marijuana cigarette.
In the indictment ending in file number 680 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy opened evidence with no case identification other than the date of November 19, 2016: an envelope containing two baggies of 1.5 grams of marijuana; an envelope containing four cellphones; an envelope containing digital scales; and an envelope containing a small glass jar with a black lid containing marijuana residue.
In the indictment ending in file number 681 the grand jury charges the following:
That Murphy opened evidence with no case identification: A bag dated December 24, 2014 containing a bullet fragment; an envelope containing a Tic Tac case with two small bundles of an unknown substance; envelope containing notebook paper with names and addresses; bag containing 10 Winchester 40-caliber ammunition; a bag containing 36 assorted large caliber ammunition; and a bag containing a Cobra paintball gun.
Initial search warrant
Tripp said in a statement Friday the case initially hinged on information the sheriff’s office received on July 27 from what the sheriff described as an “outside entity” citing alleged second-degree exploitation of a minor child.
That case is still being investigated with assistance from the United States Department of Homeland Security.
In a statement sent Monday Enfield Mayor Wayne Anderson thanked “federal, state and local agencies for thwarting an ongoing criminal activity relating to internet crimes against children in Enfield.”
The mayor said, “While this warrant was executed in pursuit of internet crimes against children, it was found that the suspect was also in possession of criminal evidence that belonged in the Enfield Police Department property room.
“Charges were issued and the arrest was made by the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office. Because the suspect is a former Enfield police officer the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office was called in by the SBI to audit the found criminal evidence.”
Anderson said, “We thank the ICAC and Homeland Security in their diligence and aggressive pursuit along the I-95 corridor of shame to protect the safety of children, to end forced labor human trafficking, and to stop gun running.”
Anderson expects law enforcement to discuss the case with the town board in a closed session and give an outline on general methodologies of evidence controls for appropriate actions to prevent evidence tampering.
