Charges Dropped For 13 Prince George's County Police Officers Who Also Worked Security

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Criminal charges filed against 13 Prince George's County police officers last year for a double-dipping scheme have been dropped, prosecutors said.

According to Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha N. Braveboy, new witness statements, additional records and witness impeachment materials led to the dismissal of charges.

“A prosecutor’s role in a criminal prosecution is not to win a case, but to seek justice. We are servants of the law, and the law requires that we fairly and impartially carry out our duty. We do not blindly prosecute cases once an indictment has been filed, rather we continuously evaluate the evidence to ensure that our office is operating with the highest integrity. When new evidence comes to our attention, we have a duty to unflinchingly investigate and reevaluate," Braveboy said in a statement.

"That is what we have done here. After the indictment in these cases, we were approached by defense counsel who raised issues not previously uncovered in the initial investigation. Working with our law enforcement partners at the Prince George’s Police Department, we obtained new evidence, and after a thorough review of that information we have determined that these cases would best be resolved administratively," the news release said.

According to court documents, the officers named in the August 2022 grand jury indictment had worked part-time for a security company overseen by former police lieutenant Edward Scott Finn, who faces federal charges in a separate case. Finn faces federal tax evasion charges for not reporting an estimated $1.3 million in income from his business in a separate but related case, according to court documents.

The 13 police officers were originally charged with misconduct in office, as well as felony and misdemeanor theft charges.

Finn hired police officers to work for him while they were supposed to be on duty working for the police department, essentially allowing them to illegally earn two salaries. Patch reported that the indicted officers were accused of giving false information to the apartment complexes to justify the continued hiring of the security company between January 2019 and March 2021.

“Our office, along with the Prince George’s County Police Department, works tirelessly to ensure the highest level of prosecution in all our cases. Sometimes that means that the right action – the just action – is to not prosecute," the state's attorney's office said. "Here, these officers will be held accountable for their actions, and that will be handled internally through the police accountability process. Our office will continue to assist the department in any way that they need.”

Starting in July of 2021, the Prince George’s County Police Department began implementing changes to the department’s secondary employment policy to avoid double-dipping:

• Employees are prohibited from engaging in the business of providing security guards, special police officers or any other law enforcement-related services to commercial establishments or other individuals within Prince George’s County.
• The department purchased a software program to manage secondary employment jobs. Officers must clock in and out using this program.
• Site inspections are being conducted by the Internal Affairs Division’s Discovery & Compliance Unit.
• When new businesses look for secondary employment, an email announcing the opportunity is sent out to all officers through county email.
• The agency started a randomization process when selecting site coordinators for new jobs to ensure a variety of coordinators, which also limits the number of locations that one officer can coordinate.

The officers involved in the case are:

• Corporal Nick Agapov, joined agency in 2011
• Corporal Jonathan Haskett, joined agency in 2015
• Corporal Mathew Obordo, joined agency in 2013
• Corporal Matthew Cotillo, joined agency in 2011
• Corporal Joshua Hitchens, joined agency in 2012
• Corporal Chris Hall, joined agency in 2011
• Corporal Michael O’Connell, joined agency in 2011
• Corporal Kyle Cook, joined agency in 2013
• Corporal Travis Popieilarcheck, joined agency in 2012
• Corporal Anthony Brooke, joined agency in 2015
• Corporal Brandon Farley, joined agency in 2012
• POFC Christopher Oliver, joined agency in 2016
• POFC John Mcintosh, joined agency in 2016
• Retired Corporal James Lubonski, joined agency in 2012