Crime & Courts

NC officer suspended after arrest at police station on obstruction of justice charges

Gastonia Police Officer Xana Dove was arrested on obstruction of justice and other charges Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, police said.
Gastonia Police Officer Xana Dove was arrested on obstruction of justice and other charges Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, police said. MECKLENBURG COUNTY JAIL

EDITOR’S NOTE: THIS STORY WAS UPDATED ON MONDAY, OCT. 2, WITH NEWS THAT THE OFFICER WAS SUSPENDED WITHOUT PAY.

A 26-year-old Gastonia Police officer was arrested Thursday by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s violent criminal apprehension team.

Xana Dove was arrested at the Gastonia Police Department around 5 p.m., according to a CMPD news release on Friday.

Dove was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice and a count each of conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses and filing a false police report.

The officer was jailed in Mecklenburg County around 10:15 p.m. Thursday on $10,000 secured bond, jail records show. She remained in the jail on Friday.

In separate news releases, neither CMPD nor Gastonia Police said what led to the charges.

On Friday, Dove was placed on unpaid administrative suspension while an internal investigation is completed, Gastonia Police said.

The Observer was unable to obtain a copy of the CMPD incident report, which records officials said was not available on Friday.

Dove has worked at the Gastonia Police Department for 17 months, Gastonia Police said in a release. The department referred questions about the arrest to CMPD.

In a statement, Gastonia Police Chief Trent Conard called Dove’s arrest “certainly an unfortunate event.”

“We are going to respect the process of the court system as well as the internal investigation that will be taking place,” Conard said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

This story was originally published September 29, 2023 at 1:42 PM.

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Joe Marusak
The Charlotte Observer
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
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