Flat Rock Police Officer Plead Guilty to Gambling Charges

Trenton City Employee, Flat Rock Police Officer Plead Guilty to Gambling Charges
Kevin James Sargent, 35, of Grosse Ile and Charles Richard Sanders Jr., 46, of Gibraltar were arrested in January on illegal gambling-related charges.
An employee of the City of Trenton and a former Flat Rock police sergeant pleaded guilty to conducting an illegal gambling operation.
Kevin James Sargent, 35, of Grosse Ile and Charles Richard Sanders Jr., 46, of Gibraltar were arrested in January for conducting an illegal gambling operation involving wagers on professional and college football games conducted on city time with taxpayer resources, according to a release from the Michigan Department of Attorney General.
Sargent currently works for the Trenton Department of Public Works. Trenton City Administrator Jim Wagner said Sargent will remain an employee as long as he has not violated employment agreements. Wagner declined further comment.
Sargent pleaded guilty to 14 counts of illegal sports betting, a misdemeanor offense, before Judge James Chylinskion of Wayne County Circuit Court on March 28, 2012, and agreed to testify against Sanders. Sargent will be sentenced to two years probation.
Sanders, no longer a Flat Rock police officer, is set to face sentencing before Judge Vera Massey Jones on Aug. 10, 2012, at Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit.
Sanders pleaded guilty to two counts of felony misconduct in office before Jones on July 11. Each count carries with it a possible sentence of five years in prison. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette noted his office will seek incarceration for Sanders, according to the release.
Sargent and Sanders were being investigated by the FBI-led Detroit Area Public Corruption Task Force, Michigan Sate Police and Schuette.
"The investigation revealed that from August 2006 through January 2012 Sanders ran an illegal sports betting operation during work hours with the use of taxpayer resources," according to the release. "Beginning in August 2011, Sargent accepted the bets on collegiate and professional football games by phone, while Sanders served as 'the bank,' collecting cash from losing betters and remitting winnings to participating gamblers, often while on duty as a police officer."