TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - An internal affairs investigation into a Toledo police officer who let a convicted felon drive her car with her police equipment inside is over. Former officer Makinnah Billegas resigned Oct. 28.
In her resignation letter to the chief, Billegas wrote that the experience was more than a learning moment. She said she was naive. She said the situation has become a nightmare and does not reflect the person she wants to be.
Internal affairs investigated three separate incidents.
In the first, Billegas admitted she ran her child’s father’s information to help him with a warrant.
The other two incidents involve James Moore, a man Billegas met on social media. Billegas told investigators she was dating him. Moore pleaded guilty in 2013 to attempted robbery and involuntary manslaughter.
Police stopped Moore driving Billegas’ car twice. In one stop, officers found her duty belt in the trunk. In the other stop, officers found a loaded gun in the glove compartment.
Billegas told investigators she did not know about Moore’s conviction. In the internal affairs interview, she was asked about his past.
“I still don’t know in detail what exactly he got in trouble for,” Billegas said.
An investigator asked whether she had any idea that it involved a firearm in his past.
The investigator then asked whether she had any idea that his past would have precluded him from being around firearms.
“I mean, I have a suspicion of that, yes,” Billegas said.
Billegas was at work when Moore was stopped. According to the internal affairs interview, she called the officer who pulled Moore over and asked whether the officer could sweep it under the rug.
An investigator asked Billegas what she meant when she asked her fellow officer if there was anything they could do.
“If there’s anything you can do, can you not take my gun? You know that it was an honest mistake on my end, and I messed up,” Billegas said.
Billegas resigned last month. She was still charged internally with violating department policy.
The charges are willful violation of the law and conduct unbecoming of an officer.
13 Action News reached out to the Toledo Patrolmen’s Association for comment. The president has not yet returned the call.
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