Ex-Highway Patrol officer exonerated in slur case

Retired Highway Patrol Lt. Virgil Lessane said in September 2006 that someone using the "n-word" left a voice-mail message on his cell phone. He said he could hear four men on speaker-phone during the message, including his boss at the time, Capt. Phil Jones.

Jones has been fighting to clear his name ever since, and when Lessane recanted that statement last month, Jones felt vindicated.

"That's all I wanted. I just wanted to clear my name," he said Friday.

"I was embarrassed," Jones said Friday. "I felt I was labeled a racist, which I'm not, (and) that my name had been basically dragged through the mud."

Although he maintained his innocence, Jones retired from the Highway Patrol in November 2006 – before facing any disciplinary action.

"I felt if I didn't retire, I would lose all my benefits and my retirement which I worked all those years for," he said.

Trooper Mitch Foard was accused of actually uttering the racial slur and was demoted. Foard also has maintained his innocence, but the State Personnel Commission has upheld his demotion.

Jones hired a lawyer shortly after the accusation was leveled against him and sued Lessane for defamation of character.

Jones on Friday dropped his suit against Lessane, saying he was satisfied the signed statement was enough to clear his name.

The Highway Patrol declined to comment on the case because of ongoing litigation with Foard.