Washington state deputy pimped out wife, sold steroids to SWAT team: police
Darrion Keith Holiwell, a 49-year-old deputy assigned to King County's firing range, was arrested Thursday for promoting prostitution, theft and selling drugs - and some of his buyers and co-conspirators were also law enforcement officers, the sheriff says.
June 19, 2014
The deputy is also a competing match shooter and owns a side business to teach defense and firearm use. He works at the agency’s firing range and trains deputies.
An internal investigation has unveiled years of police corruption at Washington state's King County Sheriff's Office when a deputy accused of helping his wife turn tricks in Seattle was arrested for promoting prostitution.
Records show Darrion Keith Holiwell, 49, was booked into King County Jail on Thursday morning on charges of promoting prostitution, theft and a drug violation after he became the subject of the investigation while on paid leave.
Sheriff John Urquhart unraveled the complex probe at a press conference and confirmed Holiwell pimped his wife on Backpage.com and took 80 percent of her earnings.
Holiwell used the cash to support himself while he took paid time off for an injury, and he apparently "needed the money," Urquhart said.
His wife does not have a record of criminal activity, but was reportedly willing to work in the escort business.I'm on a witch hunt to root out that kind of behavior.
Even though the couple was going through a bitter divorce with a vicious custody battle over their children, Holiwell served as her protector when she worked as an escort. She even took pictures of her client's driver's licenses and would send them to Holiwell.
Detectives learned the buff, tattooed Holiwell - a 19-year agency veteran - took steroids and even dealt the drugs to other deputies and possibly people outside the agency.
King County Sheriff John Urquhuart confirmed Holiwell pimped out his wife and explained his charges of promoting prostitution, theft and drugs.
Investigators found steroids, human growth hormones and even "Molly," a type of ecstasy, inside his home.
The sheriff says he suspects members of the SWAT team bought steroids from Holiwell, but isn't going to try to prove that because, Urquhart admits, he needs the 20-member team to remain intact for now.
"The SWAT team is under a big black cloud and they know that," Urquhart added. "They're operating as normal until we complete our investigations."
There could be additional arrests in the future, he added.
Investigators also learned Holiwell managed a slush fund to sell about $45,000 is ammunition brass to buy extra equipment for the SWAT team.
A King County Sheriff’s Office deputy in Seattle, Darrion Keith Holiwell, 49, has been arresting for pimping out his wife to earn extra cash and dealing steroids.
The investigators also unearthed a slush fund managed by Holiwell to sell between $45,000-50,000 in ammunition brass to local gun shops. They say he stole the brass from the agency's firing range and used the profits to trick out weapons for the SWAT team.
The gun-obsessed deputy, who's a nationally competing match shooter, allegedly brought customers of his side business, Praetor Defense, to the sheriff's range to practice using county equipment.
"What we're dealing with is police corruption," Urquhart said at the press conference. "I'm on a witch hunt to root out that kind of behavior."
His charge of theft stems from selling about $15,000 worth of ammunition to local gun shops.
Two other deputies are on paid leave, a major crimes detective accused of giving criminal assistance and another deputy at the firing range. Their roles aren't clear.The SWAT team is under a big black cloud and they know that
The investigation made headlines when Urquhart sent a departmentwide email April 16 to quell swirling rumors behind Holiwell's leave of absence.
One of the rumors alleged Holiwell used the county database to do background checks on his wife's clients, but investigators found no evidence of that.
It was domestic violence that sparked the investigation, after Holiwell's first wife gabbed about a strange note on her door to a deputy whose hair she was cutting.
The hairdresser told her client that Holiwell's current, estranged wife sought her out to see if he had been abusive to her.
The deputy reported the abuse and Urquhart assigned a detective to the task. That's when a major crimes detective tipped Holiwell off to the pending investigation.
When investigators served a search warrant at Holiwell's home, they expected to find guns galore, but the safe and house was clear of weapons and bullets.
"His whole life is guns and shooting and there was not one gun in his house," Urquhart said. He speculates Holiwell moved the guns after he was tipped off.
Prosecutors do not plan to file additional charges for theft for the agency's brass because Urquhart has no desire to stack charges, he said.
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