RALEIGH – A Garner man pleaded guilty Monday in Wake County District Court to tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Deon Blackmon, 38, of 137 Richard Drive, Garner pleaded guilty on March 6, 2006 to five counts of attempting to evade or defeat the North Carolina individual income tax. A former N.C. Highway Patrol trooper, Blackmon resigned from the Patrol shortly after his arrest.

Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan sentenced Blackmon to a four-month minimum, five-month maximum prison term. The sentence was suspended and Blackmon was placed on supervised probation for 12 months. He was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and pay a $1,000 criminal fine.

The state’s evidence showed that Blackmon prepared and filed fraudulent individual income tax returns for the tax years 2000 through 2004 and used the extra money he received to finish the upstairs of his home. The state issued Blackmon individual income tax refunds totaling $15,832 that he was not entitled to receive.

Morgan admonished Blackmon during his sentencing and said that law enforcement officers should hold themselves to a higher standard of conduct. The charges against Blackmon resulted from an investigation by a special agent with the Department of Revenue’s Criminal Investigations Division.

Last modified on: 10/31/07 03:43:58 PM .