Four lawyers and a court employee in Johnston County began turning themselves in today after being charged with tampering with court documents to secure illegal dismissals for drunken drivers.

A former assistant district attorney, Cindy Jaeger is expected to turn herself in Wednesday.

Former Deputy Clerk of Court Portia Snead turned herself in this morning at about 9:30. She was flanked by her attorney and a friend.

She offered a weak smile but said nothing, and her attorney declined to comment.

Her bond has been set at $10,000 unsecured. She will be allowed to sign herself out of jail on a written promise to appear in court.

Lawyer Vann Sauls was also being processed this morning, but he was not seen entering the courthouse.

Chad Lee, another lawyer, was expected to turn himself in at 11 a.m. Lee Hatch and Jack McLamb, both private attorneys, were expected early this afternoon.

All face felony charges of obstructing justice, crimes that could land each in prison.

The indictments Monday cap a yearlong investigation by agents from the State Bureau of Investigation who specialize in professional misconduct.

According to indictments, investigators think that Jaeger, who worked as an assistant district attorney until September 2007, gave about 70 signed dismissal forms to defense lawyers. The lawyers then filled out the forms, investigators allege, with bogus explanations for the dismissal. They then filed them in their clients' cases long after Jaeger had any authority to grant a dismissal.

Snead is accused of removing Hatch and Lee's names from the computer database for cases that contained the falsified forms.

Snead was "separated" from her job at the clerk's office last week. Jaeger, who went on to work as a prosecutor in Forsyth County and most recently Randolph County, was fired in Randolph last Wednesday.

All of the private attorneys continue to be licensed to practice in Johnston County but have kept a low profile over the past several months. The state bar, as of Monday, has issued no formal complaints against any of the attorneys.

Jaeger is also charged with failing to perform the duty of her office.

Johnston County District Attorney Susan Doyle said Monday she noticed something amiss with the county's impaired-driving cases after adopting a tracking system through a grant from the state. DWI cases scheduled for trial had disappeared from the trial calendar, Doyle said. When she examined the files, she noticed the former prosecutor's signature on an outdated dismissal form. Doyle called the Special Prosecution Unit of the state Attorney General's office last spring to investigate.

Doyle said Monday that she couldn't comment on whether she would charge again the dozens of defendants whose dismissals were illegally obtained.

Several of these defendants contacted last fall said they were unaware they had won any sort of inappropriate dismissal.

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