ELIZABETHTON, Tenn.-The most difficult thing Elizabethton Police Chief Matt Bailey ever has had to do in his long and distinguished career happened last month when he turned his own son in to be arrested on a drug charge.
"It was by far the hardest thing I have done," Bailey said Wednesday, the day after his son Justin, 18, pleaded guilty in Sessions Court to simple possession of marijuana.
The dark day was March 4. Bailey said it started out to be a pleasant father and son meeting for lunch at a local restaurant. While he was preparing to meet his son, he monitored his police radio.
Some of his vice officers were conducting surveillance on a house where drug trafficking was believed to be taking place.
"Justin is usually right on time when we meet for lunch, but that day he was late," Bailey said. "I was listening to the radio traffic and the description of the car and I realized it was Justin they were talking about.
In his warrant, Investigator James Sexton reported that while they were conducting surveillance a young man arrived at the location. The man went inside the house and left four minutes later, carrying something in his hand. He was stopped a few blocks later on a traffic violation and identified as Justin Bailey.
When Justin arrived late for lunch, he was confronted by a stern father.
"I told him 'I know where you have been, and I know what you have done,'" Bailey said. "He was so shocked that I knew what he had been doing."
The two had an unpleasant lunch and then Bailey told his son that he was going to have to turn himself in. "I told him 'you have made a mistake and you are going to have to pay the price.' All of his life I have tried to teach him about discipline and responsibility. He did try to plead with me, but he agreed to go."
They drove down to the Criminal Investigation Division of the police department, where they confronted some very uncomfortable investigators.
"I told them, 'Guys, listen, do what you would do in any other case. I am backed out of the case.'" The investigators did exactly that, charging him with a more serious charge of possession for resale because Justin had 38.3 grams in his possession as well as some scales.
"My integrity was challenged," Bailey said of the incident. "I have no choice in law enforcement except to do what is right."
Bailey said he did not provide any help for his son in defending the case.
"He got his own attorney, they made their own plea bargain, I didn't have anything to do with it," Bailey said. Although his son is in school, he earns his own money with a part-time job.
In the plea agreement, the charge was reduced to simple possession and a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia (the scales) was dismissed. Assistant District Attorney Mark Hill said many things factor into a decision to reduce a charge, including any prior record and whether the defendant had resisted arrest.
It was after the details had been worked out that the chief reverted to full father mode. He accompanied his son to court Tuesday and made sure his son made the best impression he could.
"I told him to wear a suit and tie. I told him he should respect the court and respect the process."
Judge John Walton recently accepted the plea of simple possession of a Schedule VI drug. He fined Justin $500 and ordered him to pay court costs. He was placed on probation for a year and ordered to undergo alcohol and drug counseling.