Posted on 04/25/2003 6:33:28 AM PDT by Pern
The undercover officer who ran a controversial drug investigation in Tulia four years ago was indicted Thursday on charges of lying under oath during recent hearings to determine if the convictions he obtained were legitimate.
A three-count indictment handed up by a Swisher County grand jury accuses Tom Coleman, 43, of making false statements about legal problems he faced in another county while working for the Panhandle Drug Task Force.
"These were the three strongest cases," said Rod Hobson, a Lubbock attorney who is working as a special prosecutor on the Tulia investigation.
Coleman could not be reached for comment.
In the summer of 1999, Coleman's 18-month sting operation ended with the arrest of 46 residents of Tulia, a small town of 5,000 about 50 miles north of Lubbock. Some charges were later dismissed, but 38 people were convicted and 13 remain in prison.
Because 39 of those arrested were black, charges that the sting was racially motivated arose, but that was only part of the controversy.
All of the convictions were obtained solely on the testimony of Coleman, who worked alone, kept few notes, and had no audio or video surveillance evidence to support drug buys. During the pre-dawn roundup of the suspects, no cash or drugs were found, raising questions about the task force's characterization of them as "major dealers."
And, after most of the convictions and plea bargains were obtained, details of Coleman's checkered law enforcement history surfaced. In fact, while the Tulia sting was in progress, he was charged with theft of gasoline in Cochran County, where he had previously worked as a deputy sheriff.
Appellate attorneys argued that Coleman's problems were not disclosed at the time of the trials and therefore could not be used to cast doubt on his testimony. If Coleman gave false testimony during those trials, he could not be prosecuted now because of the statute of limitations.
Last month, in evidentiary hearings ordered by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to determine whether the convictions should be reconsidered, Coleman was questioned about when he knew he was facing a criminal charge and his actions afterward.
The indictment alleges that he gave conflicting testimony. At one point, he testified that he did not learn of the Cochran County theft charge until August 1998, but other testimony indicated he knew about it three months earlier but continued working as an undercover agent.
The indictment also alleges that he lied about stealing the gasoline in Cochran County and about contacting the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education to notify it of the charge against him.
Those hearings were scheduled to resume April 1, with more testimony from Coleman, but were halted when prosecutors agreed with defense lawyers that his testimony was unreliable.
Retired Judge Ron Chapman then ruled that Coleman "is simply not a credible witness under oath" and said he would recommend that the Court of Criminal Appeals set aside all 38 convictions and order new trials.
Hobson has said the state would dismiss the cases rather than retry them because there is no evidence against the individuals except Coleman's testimony.
If convicted, Coleman, who is no longer in law enforcement, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine on each of the three charges.
I hope the people he falsely accused sue his ass off.
The War On Some Drugs continues to stain law enforcement. It must be ended.
Hey, it worked for OJ.
Just one question. One. After theses arrests, did the drug problem in Tulia go away?
That doesn't fly with me, I know OJ is guilty as all hell.
After theses arrests, did the drug problem in Tulia go away?
From what I read about this fiasco, there wasn't a drug problem in Tulia to begin with.
Actually it was a crocked cop. The war on drugs is responsible for soggy Corn Flakes, lousy sit-coms, reduced fat foods and global warming but the crooked cop is responsibile for himself.
And spare me the tired old theme about he was lured by the profit. Some of our G.I.s were lured by millions of dollars in cash and went bad...no dope involved.
Actually it was a crocked cop.
Drug law enforcement seems to get more than its share of crooked cops.
The war on drugs is responsible for soggy Corn Flakes, lousy sit-coms, reduced fat foods and global warming
Says who?
And spare me the tired old theme about he was lured by the profit.
Who said he was?
Some of our G.I.s were lured by millions of dollars in cash and went bad...no dope involved.
Who said drugs were the only area in which there was money to be crookedly gained? Lotta straw men being beaten here.
How about praise and promotions? The WOD is lost. It has ruined law enforcement. We could double law enforcement resources without raising costs by ending the wasted WOD efforts. Many good cops waste time on drug cases.
Then I work up, made some coffee and read the real newspaper. Sorry, dope is still illegal, the war is still on going and very few people really care.
So you're capable of unsupported claims as well as battling straw men. Very impressive.
A crooked cop is a crooked cop, nothing more.
Crooked cops gravitating toward drug work is something more.
The war on drugs has been lost. LOL!
That the War On Some Drugs continues to be fought in no way implies that it isn't lost.
Sure thing Baghdad Bob. And when will you be having your victory parade?
Yes, yours, in post #7.
The war on drugs has been lost.
A war is lost when it produces no clear gains and substantial collateral damage---such as deaths of innocents in drug-turf wars; deaths of users due to impurities or unexpectedly high potencies; enrichment of criminals; corruption of the justice system by enriched criminals; and lessened respect for the law in general.
Sure thing Baghdad Bob. And when will you be having your victory parade?
It's not my victory but that of the dealers who have collected the exorbitant profits made possible by the War On Some Drugs (just as bootleggers did during Prohibition).
Hate to tell you this Baghdad Bob but your dope is still illegal, the war on drugs is still in full swing and except for a handful of libertarians no one really cares in this country.
Nonresponsive. Imagine that.
See, just like the soggy Corn Flakes dude. The war on drugs is responsible for all kinds of things...hey, maybe it's responsibile for dope still being illegal also.
Bummer dude.
Of course, these threads are all nonresponsive. The same thing posted every day and absolutely nothing changes...each and every morning the war on drugs is still going on and dope is still illegal.
But hey, we can sit here all morning and throw all kinds of stuff back and forth...and nothing will change.
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