Former Enfield Corrections Officer Charged With Fraudulently Obtaining Pay While in Military Prison

A former corrections officer at an Enfield prison was arrested Friday on charges of illegally collecting the state pay allowed for active military duty when, in fact, he was serving time in a military prison following his court martial.

Dennis E. Dockery, 52, of 37 Hoskins Road, Bloomfield, was arrested by Inspectors from the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney on a warrant charging him with first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community and two counts of second-degree forgery, according to a statement by State of Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice spokesman Mark Dupuis.

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According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Dockery was paid $5,182 as a corrections officer on active duty military leave with the U.S. Army Reserves when, in fact, he was incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, following the court martial that resulted in his being sentenced to 17 months of confinement and dismissal from military service, Dupuis said.

Dockery is also accused of submitting to the Department of Correction (DOC) copies of his military orders that had been altered to conceal his arrest, convictions and sentence of incarceration, the warrant states.

He was arrested by Hamden police in April 2010 while on active military duty. His case was taken over by the Army, and he pleaded guilty in Sept. 2011 to military charges of assault by battery, adultery and two counts of violating a lawful general regulation, Dupuis said.

Dockery, who had worked as a corrections officer at the Enfield Correctional Institution, was fired by the DOC in May 2016, the warrant states.

Dockery was arraigned Friday in Hartford Superior Court, where bail was set at $50,000 and the case was continued until Aug. 1, Dupuis said.

Larceny in the first degree by defrauding a public community is a Class B felony, punishable by not less than one year nor more than 20 years in prison and/or up to a $15,000 fine. Forgery in the second degree is a Class D felony punishable by not less than one year nor more than five years in prison and/or up to a $5,000 fine, according to Dupuis.