Ex-Police Chief Facing Over 80 Criminal Charges Staged Own Death To Avoid Prosecution: Cops

An ex-police chief from North Carolina, who was facing more than 80 criminal charges, was arrested Thursday for faking his own death to avoid prosecution, cops said.

Anthony Spivey, the former Chadbourn police chief, missed his court appearance Monday and staged his death by parking his truck near the Lumber River. After three days of search, Spivey was arrested Thursday morning from his aunt's apartment in South Carolina, where he was hiding, Columbus County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

Police found Spivey's boat abandoned in the river Monday and his truck was parked near the boat launch. They found a .22 caliber rifle with a discharged round still inside, along with handwritten letters saying goodbye to his family.

However, the investigators concluded that the evidence did not match a suicide scenario and conducted a separate investigation. Spivey was listed as missing and wanted.

"As investigators collected video from surveillance systems and conducted interviews, it became even more apparent that the scene on the river was staged," the news release said.

The initial investigation against Spivey began in April 2021 after North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation received several reports of confiscated drugs not being sent to the state crime lab for analysis.

Spivey was arrested on multiple charges, including the destruction of evidence and trafficking opium, after being accused of regularly raiding the police department's evidence locker and selling seized weapons and drugs to friends and family. He also faced charges for allegedly embezzling $8,000, the money that was raised to help a local family who lost a child to cancer, New York Post reported.

Although Spivey was later released on bond, he was arrested again on charges of stealing from an auto shop where he was working after he was fired from the Chadbourn police department.

Spivey reportedly missed a recent court hearing claiming that he contracted COVID-19. He has 40 outstanding warrants for failing to appear in court with a total bond of $1 million.