Harford Sheriff's Deputy Charged With Bribery

UPDATE: (3:25 p.m.)—A Harford County Sheriff's Office deputy is facing a series of criminal charges after allegedly accepting bribes from Baltimore-based towing company in exchange for privileged information.

Deputy First Class Todd E. Johnson, 30, of the 400 block of Bonnett Street in Aberdeen, is charged with demanding or receiving a bribe as a public employee, malfeasance in office, theft scheme between $1,000 and $10,000 and willfully distributing a valid National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) code, according to a release from the sheriff's office.

Johnson, a 7-year veteran of the sheriff's office, is accused of carrying on illegal activity with Final Notice Recovery and Location of 4501 Curtis Avenue in Baltimore. The business is desribed as a towing company that repossesses vehicles for banks and creditors, according to the release.

Johnson allegedly used his agency issued computer to look up tag numbers for the company in an effort to locate the vehicles and owners and used the NCIC database as a search engine to look for more information on vehicle owners, the release states. The information provided by NCIC would typically not be available to towing companies.

In exchange for providing the information, Johnson allegedly accepted payment from the company, the release states.

"Police are empowered with specific tools and resources to do their job effectively. Misuse of those resources is not only unethical, it is illegal”, Sheriff L. Jesse Bane said in the release. "If these allegations are true then this is an egregious breach of the public trust and can undermine the confidence the public has in law enforcement."

Johnson was taken into custody at his home and later released on his own recognizance Thursday. He has been suspended from the sheriff's office without pay.

The charges stem from a two-month investigation that began when the sheriff's office internal affairs unit received information Johnson was possibly involved in criminal activity. In the wake of his arrest, police executed search and seizure warrants at his Aberdeen home and the Baltimore business.

The investigation is ongoing.