A former constable in Pulaski County has been sentenced to 11 years and eight months in federal prison for planting drug evidence.
Michael Wallace and Gary Baldock were convicted in June 2021 on charges of conspiring to violate civil rights and possessing methamphetamines with intent to distribute. Wallace has remained in custody since the conviction, while Baldock died of natural causes in custody. Wallace’s court sentence was finalized on Oct. 18.
“This whole case ultimately comes down to the rule of law in America,” U.S. District Judge Robert Wier told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “You can’t pursue criminals by becoming a criminal.”
Wallace maintains that he is innocent, and plans to appeal.
Constables in Pulaski County are elected and given full police powers but are not given a salary. Instead, their office can receive a share of money or seized property from criminal cases.
In 2018, the FBI started investigating the constables over concerns of planting drug evidence to supplement their impressive record for drug arrests. 5.9 grams of methamphetamines were found at Wallace’s house when he was arrested, and a further half gram was found in the trunk of Baldock’s police vehicle.
Baldock also admitted to shooting and wounding an FBI officer during his arrest.
During the sentencing, Wallace’s attorney, Robert E. Norfleet, detailed Wallace’s background with drugs: he had a mother who battled drug addiction, and his children have a history of drug abuse. “He hated drugs. So he used his office to try to make his community a better place,” Norfleet told the court. “His goal was to get drugs off the street.”
Norfleet pushed for a sentence of no more than five years, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Parman, the prosecutor, said Wallace had crossed a line by targeting people with prior drug problems, and contriving reasons to search those individuals. “That’s as egregious as it gets,” Parman said.
Parman also claimed Wallace did it to look good so he could run for sheriff in 2021.
Wier expressed concern for the constable system as a whole, seeing Wallace as a worst-case scenario in a powerful possession with no training or oversight. Wier said to the Lexington Herald, “It’s an extremely dangerous combination
