By Barbara Boyer
Philadelphia Inquirer
CAMDEN, N.J. — A veteran Camden police detective, once the trusted bodyguard for the city’s former mayor, admitted in court yesterday that he fondled women and filed false police reports.
Keith Hicks, 51, who has been on the Camden force for 19 years, pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment and one count of tampering with or fabricating evidence.
It is the latest case to surface out of the Camden Police Department, where four other officers have been suspended. A federal investigation is looking at those officers, as well as some commanders, accused of planting and stealing evidence in drug cases. The Hicks investigation is unrelated.
Hicks was suspended without pay in August, when officials confirmed his dismissal. They did not disclose details of the criminal and internal investigations prompted by complaints from several women.
Hicks’ attorney, William Buckman - well-known for bringing civil lawsuits against police - said Hicks wanted to move on with his life. Prosecutors alleged that the three women were just some of those with whom Hicks had inappropriate contact, and a broader investigation could have brought more serious charges, Buckman said.
“Keith just wants to get this behind him,” Buckman said. “He served the city of Camden in an otherwise stellar manner for his entire career.”
As part of a plea agreement, Hicks, from Gloucester Township, will keep his pension, and prosecutors will recommend that he serve a year of probation rather than jail time. He is forbidden from holding a job on the public payroll in New Jersey.
Hicks, dressed in a dark suit similar to what he wore as a bodyguard for former Mayor Gwendolyn Faison, said little during his appearance before Superior Court Judge Irvin J. Snyder.
Assistant County Prosecutor Mark Chase said Hicks pleaded guilty in connection with three incidents.
On April 4 and July 9, while he was off-duty but in uniform, Hicks allegedly ordered two women into his personal vehicle and fondled them, authorities said. One of the women was charged with loitering.
On Aug. 3, according to officials, Hicks was on duty when he picked up a third woman who was wanted on a warrant. While in his squad car, prosecutors said, Hicks demanded that she partly undress before she was brought in for processing.
In that case, Hicks is accused of faking his police log, reporting that he had picked the woman up at Mount Ephraim Avenue and Sheridan Street. Chase said the woman was picked up at Sixth and Royden Streets, then driven around the city for 45 minutes.
Hicks told Snyder that he had used obscene language with the women and had “inappropriate contact,” but he did not elaborate. The judge noted that Hicks had worn his uniform during the incidents that happened while he was off-duty, which made it appear he was “under cover of law.”
Buckman said Hicks had tried to persuade the women to get off drugs and to stop frequenting drug-infested neighborhoods. Sentencing was set for May 7.
Copyright 2010 Philadelphia Inquirer