Columbia Area Policeman Charged with Theft During Warrant Search

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Officials say a Baltimore Police officer who lives in Howard County has been charged with theft after he was caught pocketing cash in a hotel room while executing a search warrant.

Maurice Lamar Jeffers, 47, of the 9600 block of Stirling Bridge Drive in Savage, has been a Baltimore police officer for 12 years and is on a U.S. Marshals task force that gives him authority to find and search those with local and federal warrants for their arrest, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice for the District of Maryland. His jurisdiction includes Maryland, D.C., Virginia and Pennsylvania, the statement said.

Jeffers was placed under investigation after a woman reported that an October 2014 search of her boyfriend’s residence in Baltimore City left $2,200 missing, according to a criminal complaint unsealed this week.

There was $200 in one pocketbook hanging on a door and $2,000 in a purse hanging in a closet at the residence, both of which vanished after the search, the complaint said.

Baltimore Police internal affairs, U.S. Marshals and an FBI anti-corruption task force coordinated the investigation into Jeffers, which culminated in a March sting.

Officers told Jeffers they were searching the hotel room on a warrant. They rented a hotel room, set up surveillance equipment and put $3,200 inside, the statement said.

“A portion of the money was placed in plain view and the rest was hidden,” according to the statement. After another officer left the room to report that all was secure “...audio and video surveillance captured Jeffers searching the room and placing the money into his pants pocket.”

All $3,200 was gone and was not submitted as evidence which would have been required, justice officials said.

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Jeffers was charged on May 7 with theft of government property and converting property of another as an officer/employee of the U.S., according to federal court filings.

Officials say that there is a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each count.

After appearing in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on May 8, Jeffers was released under the supervision of U.S. Pretrial Services, according to the justice department. He is required to surrender all firearms and refrain from excessive use of alcohol, according to the conditions of his release.