Convicted ex-cop to plead guilty to additional charges

A former South Bend police officer in prison for corruption was expected to plead guilty to additional attempted robbery charges Thursday in federal court, the court announced Monday. Jamie Buford, charged in a botched attempt to rob a gas station manager while he was making a bank deposit, will enter the plea before U.S. District Court Judge Philip Simon in Hammond, according to court records. Buford's co-defendant, former St. Joseph County sheriff's deputy Andrew Taghon, in November pleaded guilty to the crime, with a condition that he help the government in other cases. Taghon's sentencing, originally set for next month, in February was postponed until July — after Buford's planned May 17 jury trial. Until Monday, Buford seemed to be heading toward trial. In September he hired Chicago-based criminal defense attorney Michael Petro, who filed a flurry of motions, including a request for a transcript of the grand jury proceedings resulting in Buford's indictment. Petro argued that although grand jury proceedings typically are not disclosable to a defendant until after his trial starts, Buford should be allowed to review them before the trial because "the government has indicated that it intends to introduce unnecessary and unreliable hearsay," according to his motion filed in court records. "It is anticipated that in attempting to prove its case, the testimony of these government witnesses, for the most part, will be uncorroborated," Petro wrote. "Some or all of the witnesses were accomplices or government informers." But Judge Simon denied the motion, along with several other pretrial evidence-related motions Petro attempted. In the initial corruption case, Taghon, Buford and former county officer Ryan Huston admitted to stealing merchandise and drugs from suspects — while they were officers — and then selling it and keeping the cash. Under binding plea agreements, Buford and Taghon received six-year prison terms. The attempted robbery charges carry an additional four to five years in prison. Huston also pleaded guilty and stood to receive a similar sentence, but after the attempted robbery indictments against Buford and Taghon came down, Huston had his time reduced to 3 1/2 years for agreeing to cooperate with the government in any other cases. Prosecutors have refused to confirm whether such cases include the attempted robbery charges against Buford and Taghon. When contacted Monday by The Tribune, Petro declined to comment on Thursday's hearing. Staff writer Jeff Parrott: jparrott@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6320