Drug Agent Shot During Drug Operation

(Update as of Tuesday, Jan 15th. )


A Lee County drug agent working as part of an undercover investiga­tion in Burlington was shot through the leg Thursday afternoon. Deputy Charles Dew, 28, is recovering at an Alamance County hospital and is expected to be fine.Authorities detained two suspects and a third is at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill after being shot by another deputy during the course of the incident.Lee County Sheriff Tracy Carter said his department was working a joint investigation with the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office that originated in Lee County but moved to Burlington on Wednesday.Carter said the shooting happened around 2:56 p.m. when Dew, who was working under­cover, approached a vehicle as it sat on the side of a residential street in Burlington in an effort to buy a kilogram of cocaine from three suspects inside.Instead, the suspects reportedly tried to rob Dew. “He had $ 17,500 on him, and they robbed him of it,” Carter said. “After that, one of the suspects shot (Dew). He radioed for backup and the officers on the perimeter moved in.” Detective Van Holly of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspects as Gean Christopher Jerez, 17; Jose Antonio Morales, 19; and Marcus Lee Thompson, 20. All three men have Burlington addresses. Holly said that Jerez has been identified as the alleged shooter. After the shooting, all three suspects report­edly tried to flee on foot, but deputies were able to detain Jerez and Thompson. Morales was located a short distance away and was apprehended after an officer shot him in the face.WRAL-TV reported Thursday afternoon that Morales was listed in critical condition, although that could not be independently veri­fied.It remained unclear Thursday who actu­ally shot Morales, although Carter said he believed it was a member of his staff and not an Alamance deputy.The State Bureau of Investigation is con­ducting a probe into the incident, as is com­mon practice any time an officer is involved in a shooting.Dew has worked with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office as a drug agent since December 2006. Before that, he was a patrol deputy with the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office.“Charles is to be commended,” Carter said Thursday afternoon. “He acted with bravery and valor. This is an example of the dangers our drug agents face every day, and we hope the courts will take notice of this sort of thing.” Jerez and Thompson were both charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and placed in the Alamance County Jail under $ 1 million secured bond each. Holly said further charges are pending.Morales is expected to be served with war­rants for the same charges if he recovers from his injuries. Jerez was also charged with possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana after officials found an undisclosed amount of the drug in his pocket when they arrested him.

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