Newport Beach : Former Officer Jailed for Failing to Testify

A former police officer, who was charged with contempt of court for failing to show up to testify at a drug trial, has been arrested and was to be held in jail until today, when the trial is to resume in Superior Court.

Sgt. Gary Tackett of the county marshal’s office said that Jeff Henig was arrested by deputy marshals Wednesday at an Irvine residence.

Henig--who was fired from the force last December for alleged dishonesty in an unrelated matter--was brought before Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno on Thursday, Tackett said.

Henig declined to tell the judge why he had failed to appear in court because his attorney was not present, Tackett said. He then was booked into the San Clemente City Jail without bail and was to be transported to court this afternoon.

Henig was taken to the San Clemente jail rather than the County Jail, Tackett said, to protect him from inmates who might want to harm a former police officer.

The former officer was scheduled to testify Wednesday in the trial of what has been called the largest drug case in the history of Newport Beach. He was involved in the arrest of three men--now on trial--after the discovery of 5 1/2 tons of marijuana aboard a boat in Newport Harbor on Jan. 21, 1985.