Pubdate: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 Source: Dallas Morning News (TX) Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/ Copyright: 1998 The Dallas Morning News Author: Holly Becka / The Dallas Morning News EX-NARCOTICS OFFICER GETS 7 YEARS IN DRUG CASE Rowlett Man Says He Wasn't Dealing While On Lavon Police Department A former undercover police narcotics officer was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for dealing cocaine and two years in state jail for selling amphetamines for a former drug informant. Robert Gollihugh, 28, of Rowlett told jurors he didn't deal drugs while he was a member of the Lavon Police Department but had smoked marijuana since he was 15 and twice used other drugs as an officer. He said he quit his police job in June 1997 during a federal investigation into the small southeastern Collin County department that led to the arrests of Mr. Gollihugh's former supervisor and another officer. Soon thereafter, he said, his wife left him, and he turned to a former drug informant for work. Even after Addison police and members of a regional drug task force arrested him Sept. 12, 1997 - in part because of a taped telephone call his wife turned over to authorities - he continued to use drugs, he testified. He apologized for hurting his loved ones, calling himself "a lost piece of trash." "I want to get my life started again," he said. "It's been on hold since Sept. 12. I want to get back on track. . . . I'd like to watch my little girl grow up." Mr. Gollihugh must serve at least half of the five-year prison term before becoming eligible for parole because the jury that convicted and sentenced him found he used a gun during the crime. His two-year state jail term will run concurrently. Assistant District Attorney Aaron Wiley had asked jurors in state District Judge Faith Johnson's court for the maximum 20-year sentence. Mr. Wiley argued that Mr. Gollihugh betrayed other officers by turning dirty and by protecting his drug-dealing partner/supplier from investigators. That dealer remains at large, officials said. Defense attorney Robert Rogers sought probation so Mr. Gollihugh could attend a Christian-based drug rehabilitation program. Several members of his family testified on his behalf during sentencing. Mr. Rogers said the system failed Mr. Gollihugh by never providing him proper training as an undercover officer and never helping him after he became a casualty in the war on drugs. "If you're going to fight a war and you're going to have casualties, you should pick up your wounded and bring them home," Mr. Rogers said. "No one did that." Mr. Gollihugh testified he did not have a serious drug problem, and Mr. Wiley noted there was no evidence the defendant was an addict. The prosecutor said Mr. Gollihugh was responsible for his actions because he volunteered for undercover narcotics duty knowing that he was a drug user himself. "There's something sinister there," Mr. Wiley said. Mr. Gollihugh said he spent several years working from a part-time volunteer post with the Lavon police to a full-time paid position. He said his only training came from a community college course and then his supervisor, whom he considered a good cop. His supervisor, former Lt. Jeffrey Wayne Gardner, was later sentenced to nine years in federal prison for stealing money, property and drugs from the department. Three months after he quit, Mr. Gollihugh was arrested at an Addison motel. Among the items investigators recovered in his room were a small amount of drugs, syringes, 21 pipes, scales for weighing drugs, two guns, ammunition, knives and anabolic steroids, according to testimony. In phone conversations between Mr. Gollihugh and his dealing partner, the defendant was heard saying he would work day deliveries and act as an enforcer to protect the business. Mr. Rogers told jurors that Mr. Gollihugh was arrested before he could act on many of those plans. Mr. Gollihugh said the recording was made because he tapped his own telephone to determine if his wife was cheating on him. Colleen Gollihugh testified for prosecutors that she gave the tape to police after finding it and becoming afraid about what her husband had become involved in. She then testified for the defense during sentencing, urging the jury to consider probation so the couple's daughter could see her father. Mr. Gollihugh told jurors that although he used drugs at home, he wouldn't keep them there because he didn't want his daughter exposed to them. "You care about your daughter," Mr. Wiley said, "but you don't care about anyone else because you're putting this poison out on the street." "I know," Mr. Gollihugh replied. "I wish I hadn't. It was a bad decision." - ---