Former Denver cop arrested
Hubert Vanover, 53, charged with many drug-related felonies
A former Denver Police Department narcotics sergeant has been charged with multiple drug-related felonies in connection with an illegal marijuana operation.
Hubert “Marty” Vanover, 53, was charged with possession with intent to manufacture or distribute marijuana or marijuana concentrate, possession of a controlled substance and two counts of possession of marijuana or marijuana concentrate, according to a news release from the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
An investigation into the marijuana operation began over the summer when neighbors of a house on the 4900 block of Field Way complained about the odor around the home, the news release said.
Vanover is the home’s owner.
During a Sept. 22 search, police found two pounds of suspected marijuana and methamphetamine, according to probable cause statement in the case.
Vanover was arrested when he drove by the house while police officers were executing the search warrant.
He was released on a $2,000 personal recognizance bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 21.
Vanover was fired from the Denver Police Department in June 2014 after he abused his police authority and then lied about it, according to his disciplinary letter.
At the time, Vanover had been charged with thirddegree assault after he threatened to kill his girlfriend and a bank employee, the disciplinary letter said.
Police Chief Robert White issued an order prohibiting Vanover from working as a police officer and ordered him not to have contact with his girlfriend.
However, Vanover was reported to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department after he showed his badges at two businesses and asked to see store security video footage in connection with Denver police investigations.
When the Jefferson County deputies went to Vanover’s house, his girlfriend’s car was in the driveway, the disciplinary letter said.
He showed his badge to the deputies, who learned through their dispatcher that he had been relieved of his police duties in Denver. After they left, Vanover and his girlfriend moved her car to a King Soopers parking lot.
Vanover lied during an internal affairs investigation in an attempt to hide the fact that he was acting as a police officer and in contact with his girlfriend, the disciplinary letter said.
Vanover was placed on 12 months of probation and ordered to attend anger management counseling, according to court documents.
In 2014, Denver paid $25,000 to a woman Vanover had arrested in 2011 as she was gathering signatures on a pot petition in a public alleyway.
The woman filed a federal civil rights lawsuit for a false arrest.