Proctor City Councilor Troy Foucault, who resigned as his city's deputy police chief last month after theft, weapon and drug charges were brought against him, entered pleas today that brought the case close to conclusion.
Foucault, 34, pleaded guilty in St. Louis County District Court to being in possession of an illegal short-barreled shotgun and entered an Alford plea on the drug charge. He didn't admit to the drug crime, but conceded that there was sufficient evidence to convince a judge or jury that he was illegally in possession of morphine, a controlled substance.
The morphine was found in Foucault's desk at the Proctor Police Station after being seized as evidence in a burglary case. Defense attorney Robert Fowler told the court Foucault was guilty of not properly logging the controlled substance and sloppily storing it, but Foucault had no ulterior motive for being in possession of the drug. Fowler said two drug tests taken by his client indicated no drug use.
A felony theft charge against Foucault was dismissed as part of a plea agreement reached with the St. Louis County Attorney's Office.
If Sixth Judicial District Judge Dale Harris accepts the plea agreement, Foucault will receive a stay of adjudication, which means the convictions will never be entered on his record as long as he complies with court-ordered sanctions as part of his probation, which will be two years with no jail time.
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Fowler, a former assistant Ramsey county attorney who now specializes in representing police officers in criminal and labor cases, criticized Proctor police Chief Walter Wobig for initiating the investigation against Foucault without giving his then-deputy chief a chance to explain what happened.
"What ordinarily happens when there are questions about how evidence was handled, it's the chief's responsibility to ask the person involved," Fowler said after the hearing. "He didn't need to make it criminal. ... He used the criminal justice system to get to the bottom of what would ordinarily have been an internal civil battle."
When the drugs were found in the deputy chief's desk, Wobig contacted Proctor City Administrator Jim Rohweder. "I told him I wanted him to take it to an independent third party to look at it because we didn't want anybody to say we weren't handling it right," Rohweder said.
Wobig contacted St. Louis County Sheriff Ross Litman for advice and Litman suggested he turn the case over to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Wobig said he took Litman's advice because he didn't want to be accused "of protecting the good ol' boy" or having some people think "the chief has a vendetta against the officer."
Fowler alleged there was a personality conflict between Wobig and Foucault because of Foucault's position as a Proctor city councilor.
"There have been a number of contentious issues between the two as it relates to the police department," Fowler said. "And my client being a subordinate officer but having a vote on the council has caused that tension, that personality conflict."
Wobig denied that Foucault's role as a city councilor created any kind of a conflict. He said he sent Foucault to several leadership courses and allowed him to get his master's degree while working at the police department.
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"I thought Troy was going to be the next police chief; I had nothing but respect toward the guy," Wobig said.
