OAKLAND COUNTY — A 2011 conviction of a Dryden man on
marijuana related charges is being questioned following an investigation that
revealed the narcotic's team involved falsified a search warrant and lied under
oath.
The Detroit Free Press on Tuesday reported that 16
cases—including one large marijuana bust—have been dismissed by Oakland County
prosecutors.
According to the Free Press report, narcotics officer Marc
Ferguson in June of 2011 conducted a search without a proper warrant and then
lied under oath about it. Ferguson has since lost his job. Drug trafficking
charges brought in September against the person arrested in conjunction with
the case were dropped, the Free Press reports, and officials began probing
dozens of other pending drug cases involving Ferguson.
Ferguson, who in December lost his job following an internal
investigation conducted by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, according to
the Free Press report, has filed a grievance with the union to return to work.
According to the Free Press report, Ferguson's deceit under
oath was uncovered by an assistant prosecutor who was preparing for the case in
question and notified Prosecutor Jessica Cooper.
According to the Free Press report, Ferguson conducted at
least two other searches before obtaining warrants.
In August of 2011, Dryden resident Randy Crowel was
convicted on charges of delivery and manufacture of marijuana after officers
from Oakland County's Narcotics Enforcement Team alleged that he and a Colorado
woman tried to pick up 45 kilograms of "high grade" marijuana Jan. 20
at a shipping company warehouse on Pontiac's north side.