Mayes ex-deputy gets prison in meth case

TULSA — A former Mayes County deputy whose use of stolen met ha mph eta mine was attributed to undiagnosed post- traumatic stress disorder was sentenced to federal prison Friday.

His proponents argued that he should receive probation, but Chief U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell ordered Brett Alan Mull to serve six months behind bars followed by six months of home detention.

“This case is tragic in so many ways,” Frizzell said.

Mu ll ,48, pleaded guilty April 3 to evidence tampering and acquiring methamphetamine through deception after he told investigators when confronted that he stole me th amphetamine that was seized during criminal investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Roberts urged Frizzell to sentence Mu ll to 15 months to 21 months in prison, as dictated by federal sentencing guidelines.

“He arrested people, …threw them in jail ,” Roberts told the judge. “He stole from them and then ingested the contraband.”

The recommended prison term under the sentencing guidelines was enhanced because Mull occupied a position of trust, Frizzell said.

Roberts said the main focus of the sentencing hearing should be on Mull's “abuse of trust” rather than his addiction.

U.S. Attorney Trent Shores said in a statement that a social contract between the public and police is built on mutual trust, respect and accountability.

“Brett Mull violated that contract, and for that, there must be consequences,” Shores said.

But Mull's attorney, Paul De Muro,arguedt hat the former deputy suffered from trauma while serving as a law enforcement officer.

“This is on-duty trauma, … not a dirty cop who was shaking down people and then selling their drugs,” DeMuro said.

Public safety would be best served if Mull were permitted to continue treatment while on probation setting rather than be sentenced to prison, DeMuro said, adding, “The only benefit of putting him prison is retribution.”

Prosecutors said Mull admitted himself into drug treatment shortly after his home was searched by investigators but left in less than a week.

“Mull only completed treatment after a grand jury indicted him in November,” Roberts wrote in a sentencing memo.

Mull was not a victim due to his addiction, Roberts wrote.

“It made him a liar and a thief,” Roberts wrote.

Mull's written request for a lenient sentence, which apparently contained medical information from Grundy, was sealed by the court.

Frizzell rejected the probation request but did agree to a lesser sentencing range of 12 months to 18 months in prison.

A psychologist testifying for Mull said during the sentencing hearing in Tulsa federal court that Mull had related four life-threatening events that contributed to developing PTSD.

Mu ll recalled for the judge a time in January 2013 when a man he had detained at a motel managed to retrieve a gun and fired shot sat him before another officer returned fire, killing the suspect.

“Mull used methamphetamine to mitigate anxiety caused by PT SD ,” said Curtis Grundy, a clinical psychologist.

Mull' s girlfriend, Lisa Bridges, testified during the sentencing hearing that she called the local district attorney's office when she found methamphetamine in evidence envelopes in the garage of their home.

Bridges said she “reached out” to the investigator in the hope that Mull would “get the help he needed.”

During a search, investigators found opened Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation envelopes used to store evidence, which appeared to have previously contained methamphetamine.

Mull admitted to investigators the same day that he used methamphetamine and that he stole it.

Mull, who has been free on his own recognizance since he was charged, was ordered to report to prison by Sept. 18.