Oceanside Police Officer Faces 9 Drug Charges

A 13-year veteran of the Oceanside Police Department was charged Thursday with nine drug-related crimes by the San Diego County district attorney’s office.

Officer Rex Nemeyer, 35, was charged with one count of distributing amphetamines; six counts of distributing cocaine; one count of cocaine possession, and one count of misappropriating government property, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Pent, who is handling the case.

“The substance of the allegations is that, while on duty, Mr. Nemeyer, in all but one of these instances, transferred these restricted drugs for personal reasons not related to his assignment,” Pent said.

The charges cover a period from last summer to Dec. 29, the date on which Nemeyer is charged with possession and distribution of cocaine, Pent said.

Pent declined to discuss the specifics of the alleged drug transactions or other aspects of the investigation pending Nemeyer’s arraignment in San Diego felony arraignment court on Feb. 6.

Nemeyer is a patrol officer with the department’s special enforcement bureau, which handles vice and narcotics investigations. He was placed on administrative leave Dec. 29 after the head of that bureau, Lt. Bruce Dunne, told Oceanside Police Chief Larry Marshall that he suspected Nemeyer of “possible misconduct.”

In a written statement released Thursday, Marshall said he immediately launched an internal investigation--due to be completed next week--to see “what, if any, regulations of the Oceanside Police Department have been violated” by the officer. Marshall then requested help from the district attorney.

Neither Nemeyer nor his attorney, Dan Krensky, could be reached for comment.