Arrested Fayetteville officer accused of hiding marijuana, seeking relationship with runaway

A Fayetteville police officer was arrested Tuesday after an anonymous tip uncovered more than a year of alleged conspiracies, including the discovery of marijuana in an apartment that he allegedly used to store and sell drugs two months before he became a sworn officer in 2022, according to court documents.

Izreal Gear-Johnson, 23, of the 3300 block of Galleria Drive off Pamalee Drive, was arrested at the main police station on Hay Street at 4:48 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the arrest report. Police Chief Kem Braden, pictured, announced Gear-Johnson's arrest at a news conference Tuesday evening at the Police Department.

Gear-Johnson has been with the department since June 2021, when he was hired to attend the Fayetteville Police Department Academy, Braden said. He became a patrol officer in June 2022, the chief said.

Gear-Johnson faces five charges, the Police Department said: two counts of willfully failing to discharge duties; common law obstruction of justice; conspiracy; and maintaining a dwelling for keeping controlled substances. He was held at the Cumberland County Detention Center on Tuesday in lieu of $100,000 bail.

“He violated his oath of office as a police officer by conspiring with other individuals who were involved in criminal activity throughout our city,” Braden said.

The tip that led to Gear-Johnson’s arrest was submitted to the Crimestoppers tipline on Friday, Braden said, and the department’s Narcotics Vice Suppression Unit investigated.

Marijuana found in apartment

The charges of felony conspiracy, felony maintaining a dwelling for keeping controlled substances and misdemeanor obstruction of justice stem from an April 20, 2022, incident when police were called to an apartment in the 140 block of Wayah Creek Drive off Morganton Road to investigate a report of a break-in, according to an affidavit.

This is while Gear-Johnson was a Police Department employee and a few months before he became a sworn police officer.

When officers arrived, they noticed that a Ring doorbell camera had been knocked to the ground and they saw damage to the apartment's front door, the affidavit states. Gear-Johnson allegedly answered the door and told officers "that he didn't know that people were attempting to break into the apartment," the affidavit says.

Officers said they smelled marijuana and asked to search the apartment, which Gear-Johnson agreed to, noting that his "cousin" was asleep in a room inside, the affidavit says.

In the apartment, officers reported they found a blunt with a small piece of marijuana in a cup and 10 "used gallon-sized vacuumed sealed bags with marijuana residue" in a shared bathroom, according to the affidavit.

Investigators later said they discovered electronic communications between Gear-Johnson and the man he claimed was his cousin where the two allegedly conspired to hide the man's "true identity from law enforcement by lying to the police that (the man) was just his cousin visiting from California," the affidavit states. Gear-Johnson also allegedly told the man "to throw everything in your suitcase quietly while law enforcement was on scene about to begin a search," according to the affidavit.

Gear-Johnson allegedly used the Wayah Creek Drive apartment to keep and sell "a large amount of marijuana," the affidavit states.

The police report from the incident lists Gear-Johnson as one of two victims in the alleged break-in, which reportedly occurred at 3:15 a.m.

Alleged conspiracies continue

On July 4, 2023 — more than a year after Gear-Johnson became a sworn police officer — he allegedly used the Police Department's automatic license plate reading system to share information with the other man involved in the breaking-and-entering incident, the affidavit says. Allegedly, this was to help the man avoid arrest after he was "involved in a hit and run collision" in Fayetteville, the affidavit states.

On Aug. 29, Gear-Johnson allegedly found a runaway juvenile and told her "that he would assist with preventing her mother from reporting her as missing in the future," according to the affidavit. He also allegedly told the girl to avoid a certain area of town because her license was suspended and state troopers were patrolling there. The affidavit says Gear-Johnson then "attempted to pursue a romantic relationship" with the girl.

Next steps

The chief said the Federal Bureau of Investigation is also looking at the case to see if federal charges are warranted. The department is also conducting an internal investigation, Braden said.

While the internal investigation is underway, Gear-Johnson is on administrative leave with pay, the department said. His annual salary was $47,940 as of Aug. 31, according to data from the City of Fayetteville.

In a letter shared with the entire department Tuesday, Braden encouraged officers to come forward if they had any concerns or relevant information on the case and emphasized the importance of accountability.

"The actions of one officer will undoubtedly affect how the entire Department is perceived," Braden said in the letter. "It is incumbent upon us to restore and maintain the relationships that we have cultivated throughout our community."

Got a tip for a follow-up on this story? Government watchdog reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at ABSolomon@gannett.com or 910-481-8526.

Senior North Carolina reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@fayobserver.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Tip leads to arrest of Fayetteville NC police officer on drug charge