GASTONIA, NC - A woman who worked as a police officer for the Gastonia Police Department (GPD) for just about a year and a half, has been arrested twice in connection with an investigation that stretches across two counties.
The suspect and former police officer, 26-year-old Xana Dove, was arrested by her former police department on Tuesday, December 12th, and has been charged with 32 felonies. Among those charges, she is accused of conspiring with others to traffic drugs and firearms in the greater Charlotte area.
According to the Gaston Gazette, Dove allegedly used her position as a police officer to access police computer systems and send information about arrest and search warrants to suspects. She is also accused of trafficking fentanyl and if instructing someone on how to deceive a polygraph test.
Dove was first arrested by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) back on September 28th. For that arrest, she is facing charges for two counts of obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses, and filing a false police report.
She bonded out of the Mecklenburg County Jail a day later, posting a $3,000 unsecured bond. On that same day, September 29th, officials confirmed that she had been suspended from GPD and on November 15th, she was "separated from employment."
A day after her arrest, also September 29th, her twin sister, Xena Dove, was arrested by CMPD and charged with two counts of obtaining property on false pretense and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses. Xena posted a $1,000 secured bond that same day. Months later, on December 7th, she was arrested for being a fugitive and/or extradition to another state.
Xena is scheduled to appear in Mecklenburg County court on January 3rd and 11th of 2024, regarding all of her charges from CMPD and GPD. Xana, the former GPD officer, is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, December 15th for her latest charges- all 32 of them.
In a court hearing, District Attorney Travis Page said that Xana Dove became a suspect after a confidential photo of a CMPD police informant was found on a suspected drug trafficker's cellphone.
Page said, "The question then was, 'How did this person get this photo?' We learned that the photo came from officer Dove. She accessed government databases, including CJ Leads, to run record checks, check tag information, and provide contact information to at least 12 individuals ... From her personal cell phone we were able to learn that she was involved in some drug trafficking activities."
Page added, "In one conversation there was a text message back to the defendant that said, 'These pills aren't strong enough. They need to be stronger.'"
Page said that Dove admitted during an interrogation that she used her position as a law enforcement officer to easily obtain firearms. Page asked the courts to set her bond at $1.5 million. The initial bond was set at $25,000, but was increased to $1 million.
During the hearing, Dove alleged that she didn't know she was committing a crime. She said, "When I was sending out the information, I didn't know it was illegal, that's why I have so many charges. The one time I was paid, I wasn't actually being paid. It was from my aunt. She just basically gave me some money because she's a lawyer. I was just running a background check on people she was trying to represent."
She said that she has never faced criminal charges before and that she cooperated with police, telling them everything they wanted to know. She said, "I told them I'm trying to change. I understand now. What I did was wrong and I'm trying to fix it." She added, "I'm not a bad person. I'm not a bad criminal, like, I'm trying to fix everything I can."
District Court Judge John Greenlee said, "Multiple things are concerning. One, all of these things occurring while she was a sworn law enforcement officer working. Two, fentanyl. Three, would be firearms. I think that it's necessary to be a secured bond. I think that the actions present a danger to the public and person."
Dove has been charged with 15 counts of accessing a government computer, one count each of obstruction of justice, conspiring to sell marijuana, conspiring to purchase a stolen motor vehicle, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, and conspiring to deliver marijuana, four counts of conspiracy, and eight counts of trafficking opiates.
In a statement, GPD Chief Trent Conard said, "The men and women of the Gastonia Police Department deeply believe in their mission to serve, protect, and unite. The arrest of a former officer is unfortunate and former Officer Dove's actions do not represent the outstanding work of the officers of this department. We will respect the process of the District Attorney's Office in bringing these charges to a resolution."
The suspect and former police officer, 26-year-old Xana Dove, was arrested by her former police department on Tuesday, December 12th, and has been charged with 32 felonies. Among those charges, she is accused of conspiring with others to traffic drugs and firearms in the greater Charlotte area.
According to the Gaston Gazette, Dove allegedly used her position as a police officer to access police computer systems and send information about arrest and search warrants to suspects. She is also accused of trafficking fentanyl and if instructing someone on how to deceive a polygraph test.
Dove was first arrested by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) back on September 28th. For that arrest, she is facing charges for two counts of obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses, and filing a false police report.
She bonded out of the Mecklenburg County Jail a day later, posting a $3,000 unsecured bond. On that same day, September 29th, officials confirmed that she had been suspended from GPD and on November 15th, she was "separated from employment."
A day after her arrest, also September 29th, her twin sister, Xena Dove, was arrested by CMPD and charged with two counts of obtaining property on false pretense and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses. Xena posted a $1,000 secured bond that same day. Months later, on December 7th, she was arrested for being a fugitive and/or extradition to another state.
Xena is scheduled to appear in Mecklenburg County court on January 3rd and 11th of 2024, regarding all of her charges from CMPD and GPD. Xana, the former GPD officer, is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, December 15th for her latest charges- all 32 of them.
In a court hearing, District Attorney Travis Page said that Xana Dove became a suspect after a confidential photo of a CMPD police informant was found on a suspected drug trafficker's cellphone.
Page said, "The question then was, 'How did this person get this photo?' We learned that the photo came from officer Dove. She accessed government databases, including CJ Leads, to run record checks, check tag information, and provide contact information to at least 12 individuals ... From her personal cell phone we were able to learn that she was involved in some drug trafficking activities."
Page added, "In one conversation there was a text message back to the defendant that said, 'These pills aren't strong enough. They need to be stronger.'"
Page said that Dove admitted during an interrogation that she used her position as a law enforcement officer to easily obtain firearms. Page asked the courts to set her bond at $1.5 million. The initial bond was set at $25,000, but was increased to $1 million.
During the hearing, Dove alleged that she didn't know she was committing a crime. She said, "When I was sending out the information, I didn't know it was illegal, that's why I have so many charges. The one time I was paid, I wasn't actually being paid. It was from my aunt. She just basically gave me some money because she's a lawyer. I was just running a background check on people she was trying to represent."
She said that she has never faced criminal charges before and that she cooperated with police, telling them everything they wanted to know. She said, "I told them I'm trying to change. I understand now. What I did was wrong and I'm trying to fix it." She added, "I'm not a bad person. I'm not a bad criminal, like, I'm trying to fix everything I can."
District Court Judge John Greenlee said, "Multiple things are concerning. One, all of these things occurring while she was a sworn law enforcement officer working. Two, fentanyl. Three, would be firearms. I think that it's necessary to be a secured bond. I think that the actions present a danger to the public and person."
Dove has been charged with 15 counts of accessing a government computer, one count each of obstruction of justice, conspiring to sell marijuana, conspiring to purchase a stolen motor vehicle, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, and conspiring to deliver marijuana, four counts of conspiracy, and eight counts of trafficking opiates.
In a statement, GPD Chief Trent Conard said, "The men and women of the Gastonia Police Department deeply believe in their mission to serve, protect, and unite. The arrest of a former officer is unfortunate and former Officer Dove's actions do not represent the outstanding work of the officers of this department. We will respect the process of the District Attorney's Office in bringing these charges to a resolution."
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Comments
2023-12-17T13:19-0500 | Comment by: Jim
Throw the book at her! I do NOT believe she is a good person who is trying to change. She is a criminal working with big time criminals to try and avoid getting caught while doing their crimes. No mercy for her or ANYONE who violates their oath of being a Police Officer and helps criminals avoid arrest etc. If that informant ever turns up dead, she should be charged with his murder. Damn, I pure T hate crooked Police Officers, especially those who entered the service knowing that they were going to violate the trust as a Police Officer to help criminals.
2023-12-20T11:09-0500 | Comment by: Laurence
Another example of Affirmative Action at work! Why was such a jerk ever hired in the first place? AA is destroying modern law enforcement agencies.