A Texas deputy investigating the murder of one of his colleagues was suspended Friday after admitting to having a sexual relationship with a key witness in the case.
The affair was revealed in court documents which said Houston County Sheriff's Detective Craig Clopton admitted to "a consensual sexual relationship" with the unidentified witness to the August 28 shooting death of Deputy Darren Goforth, 47, at a gas station.
"This investigator's conduct was unethical and inexcusable and does not reflect the core values of the Harris County Sheriff's Office," Sheriff Ron Hickman told reporters in announcing the suspension.
Anthony Osso, the attorney for 30-year-old Shannon Miles, the man accused of killing Goforth, told Fox 26 he believed the witness is the same woman who claimed to be romantically linked to Goforth and was present at the gas station the night of the shooting.
"This should open the Public's eyes for a look at the credibility and integrity of the investigation," Osso told Fox 26.
Miles is accused of capital murder in Goforth's death, but Osso previously said that he would seek to remove the death penalty as a possible sentence if it is found that Goforth was at the gas station in an unofficial capacity.
The Houston Chronicle reported that Clopton had been with the sheriff's office since 1991 and joined the homicide department in 2006.
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