Officer charged with operating gambling parlor

Prince William Police arrested one of their own Wednesday and charged him with two felony counts of operating a gambling operation from his rental property at 9146 Kershaw Court, Manassas, according to a Wednesday press release.

Prince William police Officer Shawn Peacher was suspended Dec. 28 after an initial investigation, and will remain suspended until charges have been resolved, said Prince William Police Chief Charlie T. Deane in the press release.

Peacher, 26, of 14203 Randall Drive in Woodbridge, was being held in lieu of a $5,000 bond, Deane said.

Police received a complaint Dec. 21, 2001, from a woman who rented the property from Peacher, wrote Prince William Detective Quenton T. Swallows in an affidavit for search warrant.

The woman told police that Peacher approached her around June 1, 2001, and asked to use the rental property to hold biweekly poker games.

The tenant consented to the “poker nights,” and Peacher began holding the games Wednesdays and Saturdays, Swallows wrote in the affidavit.

The woman told police that Peacher brought in a professional dealer who was paid in tips. The dealer kept a portion of each pot for his “tips” and left the other portion for the “house,” the tenant told police.

The poker players bought chips from the “house” to get into the games and cashed in their chips before leaving, Swallows said.

In a Dec. 28, 2001, interview, Peacher told Prince William detectives that he had used the property to hold poker games, but denied making a profit, Swallows said in the affidavit.

Peacher had papers in his pocket that indicated that several people owed him money, Swallows said.

When detectives questioned him about the papers, called “owe sheets,” Peacher said he sometimes loaned people money to play in the poker games, Swallows said.

With the information he gained from the tenants tips and the interview with Peacher, Swallows obtained a search warrant to look for gambling tables, poker chips, gambling machinery, video tapes and records of gambling transactions at the Kershaw Court property, the affidavit said.

The search warrant also allowed police to search Peachers car computer and cell phone records, the affidavit said.

Police said Peacher, who is also accused of operating illegal sports betting, may have worked in cooperation with another person, Deane said in the press release.

Information on the second suspect will be available once warrants have been served and others may be arrested as well, Deane said in the press release.

Deane said if Peacher is found guilty, he betrayed his badge, his integrity and commitment to the public.

“The immediate actions taken by the Department in the investigation of this matter confirm our pledge to the public that we will continue to hold our officers to the highest standard of conduct and integrity,” Deane said in the release.