Drug convict will probably be released
Posted on 03/19/2002 12:54:06 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Drug convict will probably be released
Ties to informant trigger action in 1st case involving real narcotics
03/19/2002
A Dallas judge on Monday recommended that an appeals court give a new trial to a man who pleaded guilty last year to a drug-delivery case based partly on the word of a questionable Dallas police confidential informant.
State District Judge Mark Nancarrow's order, which will probably lead to the prisoner's release, is significant because it is believed to be the first time since the drug scandal surfaced that a judge has ruled on a case involving a defendant caught with real drugs who was serving prison time. Prosecutors and defense attorneys had requested a new trial for Manuel Rodriguez Garcia, 28, who has no prior criminal record.
| Background | |
|
Judge Nancarrow's order noted that "the state has advised this court that, if this writ is granted, the state plans to dismiss" Mr. Garcia's case.
Prosecutors were unavailable for comment Monday evening.
The Dallas County district attorney's office previously identified 80 pending and adjudicated cases to dismiss against 53 defendants. As of last month, 63 pending cases against 43 defendants had been officially dismissed as part of the investigation into cases involving Dallas police Senior Cpl. Mark Delapaz, Officer Eddie Herrera and at least four of their confidential informants.
The FBI began investigating the officers' so-called fake-drug cases in January after lab tests on a series of major drug busts showed the evidence to be finely ground Sheetrock or only trace amounts of illicit substances. About 28 of the previously dismissed cases involved fake drugs; the rest were tainted and thus thrown out because of credibility problems related to the officers' or the informants' involvement, officials have said.
On Monday, Judge Nancarrow adopted prosecutors' reasoning in recommending a new trial for Mr. Garcia that too many questions had been raised about the credibility of informant Enrique Martinez Alonso for the conviction to stand.
Defense attorney Michael Hawk said Mr. Garcia's case was also significant because it marked the last time that Mr. Alonso made a case against another suspect to "work off" his own drug charges.
"This is the case that got his case dismissed," Mr. Hawk said.
After Mr. Garcia's case, Mr. Alonso joined the Dallas police payroll, becoming one of the department's most highly paid confidential informants.
Defense attorneys say the case now goes to the state's highest criminal court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin. They expect a new trial to be granted and that Mr. Garcia will spend at least three more weeks behind bars. Mr. Hawk broke the news Monday to his client, who recently was moved from a prison unit to the Dallas County Jail.
"He cried when I told him," Mr. Hawk said. "And when I talked to his family members, they said he had truly learned his lesson and was ready to get on with his life."
Mr. Hawk, who represented Mr. Garcia initially, said lab tests showed that Mr. Garcia was caught in July 2000 with real drugs. According to court records, Cpl. Delapaz and Mr. Alonso had arranged for the informant to buy a half a kilogram of cocaine, or about 1.1 pounds, and 1 pound of methamphetamine from Mr. Garcia and co-defendant Guadalupe Cruz Ramirez, whose pending cases were dismissed in January by prosecutors. Mr. Ramirez, 40, also had no prior record.
Court records say that Mr. Alonso got into a van driven by Mr. Ramirez and later told officers that both suspects opened a cooler to show him it contained drugs. The men were arrested shortly thereafter.
Mr. Garcia had been in prison nearly nine months before the fake-drug cases became publicly known. Mr. Hawk said prosecutors notified him they were having Mr. Garcia moved back to Dallas County. Meanwhile, Mr. Chatham had already filed Mr. Garcia's appeal, citing concerns about the fake-drug cases and the involvement of the officers and Mr. Alonso.
E-mail hbecka@dallasnews.com
http://www.dallasnews.com/specialreports/2002/dpdbackground.html
These were REAL drugs, not the FAKE drugs, but this guy will likely receive a
"Get Out of Jail FREE" card.....................
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
Coverage of the ongoing investigation