Richland County sheriff's deputy Chuck Metcalf will have to spend 12 weekends in jail as punishment for lying in support of the 2005 ill-fated Mansfield drug investigation involving DEA Agent Lee Lucas.
Lucas was acquitted earlier this month of 18 charges, including perjury and obstruction of justice, related to the investigation.
U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver, who presided over the Lucas trial, said he would have punished Metcalf to the fullest extent if not for his willingness to assist prosecutors, which included testifying at Lucas' trial. The misdemeanor conviction could have resulted in one year in prison.
"It's a sad case, your case, to me," Oliver told Metcalf, "because you were bound to uphold the law and we all count on law enforcement officials to do that."
Last year, Metcalf admitted lying during the 2006 trial of Dwayne Nabors, who was one of 17 people framed through a series of drug deals orchestrated by paid informant Jerrell Bray. Lucas supervised Bray during the investigation.
Metcalf testified during the Nabors' trial that police had not videotaped a portion of the purported drug deal, even though Metcalf knew a videotape had been made. Metcalf also claimed he and Lucas were in a position to identify Nabors knowing that also was not true.
In a memorandum filed with the court, Metcalf said he lied at the Nabors' trial to match his testimony with a report written by Lucas.
Lucas took the stand during his trial and denied making up testimony.
Prosecutors asked Oliver to show leniency because of Metcalf's cooperation. Richland County Sheriff Steve Sheldon and Richland County Prosecutor James Mayer spoke on behalf of Metcalf at his sentencing.
Metcalf asked for probation, citing a spotless record.
"His record in these investigations was perfect until he became involved with Special Agent Lee Lucas of the DEA," Metcalf's lawyer wrote in a memorandum filed with the court.
Metcalf argued that even though he lied Nabors trial, his testimony did not result in a drug trafficking conviction. Nabors was acquitted of a conspiracy charge while the jury was hung on a distribution charge. He was found guilty on a gun charge stemming from the search of his home.
Metcalf also argued that he is the only person facing punishment for the failures of the investigation, even though he was outranked on the team by both Lucas and Richland County Sheriff's Captain Larry Faith.
Showing posts with label lying under oath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lying under oath. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday, February 02, 2009
Feds Launch Investigation of Several LAPD Officers Accused of Lying
Federal authorities have launched a civil rights investigation into several Los Angeles police officers accused of lying under oath in a drug possession case that was dismissed last year when a videotape sharply contradicted their testimony.
An FBI agent and a federal prosecutor last week surveyed a Hollywood apartment complex where a security camera documented the 2007 arrest of Guillermo Alarcon Jr. by LAPD officers, according to an attorney who represents Alarcon in a civil claim against the Police Department.
An FBI spokeswoman confirmed the existence of the probe and said that Department of Justice officials in Washington, D.C., would ultimately weigh in on whether federal charges would be filed against the officers.
"We're investigating allegations that the defendant's civil rights may have been violated," said spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. She declined to provide further details.
Deputy Public Defender Victor Acevedo, Alarcon's defense attorney during last year's trial, said the FBI interviewed him about the case in December. He said that his client had been framed and that the officers deserved to face criminal charges.
"They have no business being police officers," Acevedo said. "Because they were willing to send an innocent man to prison, for what they did they should go to prison."
The officers have denied wrongdoing.
The federal investigation is but one of several probes into accusations that the officers committed perjury. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has launched its own criminal investigation and the LAPD is conducting an internal affairs review of the case.
Luis Carrillo, Alarcon's civil attorney, said the FBI had yet to interview his client but that two district attorney's investigators and a prosecutor interviewed Alarcon about the case in August.
At Alarcon's trial in June, Officers Richard Amio and Evan Samuel testified that they were on patrol in Los Angeles when they chased Alarcon, 29, into his Hollywood apartment building. The officers told jurors that they saw him throw away a black object. They testified that Samuel quickly picked up the object and found about $260 worth of powder and crack cocaine inside.
But footage from a security camera at the apartment building, which is managed by Alarcon's mother, showed that officers searched for more than 20 minutes before an object allegedly containing cocaine was found.
They were aided by other officers, including Manuel Ortiz, who testified about the case at a preliminary hearing in January.
The quality of the tape, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, is poor and it is difficult to clearly hear what is being said.
But at one point, soon after the drugs were found, an officer seems to make a reference to the arrest report that needed to be filled out.
"Be creative in your writing," the officer appears to tell another after the discovery.
Acevedo argued at trial that his client was innocent and that the officers had planted evidence and then lied about it.
After viewing the videotape, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Monica Bachner dismissed the charges at the request of prosecutors. The judge also declared Alarcon factually innocent.
Ira Salzman, an attorney representing Samuel and Ortiz, said his clients testified truthfully in the case.
He said prosecutors had concluded that the tape was edited in two places to remove about 13 seconds of sound.
Salzman cautioned that he had yet to view a complete version of the video but said that he believed that the officers did pick up an object containing drugs but continued to search for more.
"They testified truthfully to the best of their ability," he said. "I believe that they're good officers and good men."
The video begins after Alarcon already had been taken into custody. But in the police report and during their testimony, the officers mentioned finding only one object containing drugs.
LAPD Cmdr. Rick Webb, who oversees the department's internal affairs group, said the agency's probe is continuing.
He declined to comment further, citing state laws that protect the privacy of police officers accused of misconduct.
Samuel, who left the LAPD and joined the Chino Police Department in February, was fired while on probation in Chino two weeks after The Times reported on Alarcon's case, a Chino spokeswoman said.
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/02/02/state/n021949S62.DTL&type=politics
An FBI agent and a federal prosecutor last week surveyed a Hollywood apartment complex where a security camera documented the 2007 arrest of Guillermo Alarcon Jr. by LAPD officers, according to an attorney who represents Alarcon in a civil claim against the Police Department.
An FBI spokeswoman confirmed the existence of the probe and said that Department of Justice officials in Washington, D.C., would ultimately weigh in on whether federal charges would be filed against the officers.
"We're investigating allegations that the defendant's civil rights may have been violated," said spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. She declined to provide further details.
Deputy Public Defender Victor Acevedo, Alarcon's defense attorney during last year's trial, said the FBI interviewed him about the case in December. He said that his client had been framed and that the officers deserved to face criminal charges.
"They have no business being police officers," Acevedo said. "Because they were willing to send an innocent man to prison, for what they did they should go to prison."
The officers have denied wrongdoing.
The federal investigation is but one of several probes into accusations that the officers committed perjury. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has launched its own criminal investigation and the LAPD is conducting an internal affairs review of the case.
Luis Carrillo, Alarcon's civil attorney, said the FBI had yet to interview his client but that two district attorney's investigators and a prosecutor interviewed Alarcon about the case in August.
At Alarcon's trial in June, Officers Richard Amio and Evan Samuel testified that they were on patrol in Los Angeles when they chased Alarcon, 29, into his Hollywood apartment building. The officers told jurors that they saw him throw away a black object. They testified that Samuel quickly picked up the object and found about $260 worth of powder and crack cocaine inside.
But footage from a security camera at the apartment building, which is managed by Alarcon's mother, showed that officers searched for more than 20 minutes before an object allegedly containing cocaine was found.
They were aided by other officers, including Manuel Ortiz, who testified about the case at a preliminary hearing in January.
The quality of the tape, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, is poor and it is difficult to clearly hear what is being said.
But at one point, soon after the drugs were found, an officer seems to make a reference to the arrest report that needed to be filled out.
"Be creative in your writing," the officer appears to tell another after the discovery.
Acevedo argued at trial that his client was innocent and that the officers had planted evidence and then lied about it.
After viewing the videotape, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Monica Bachner dismissed the charges at the request of prosecutors. The judge also declared Alarcon factually innocent.
Ira Salzman, an attorney representing Samuel and Ortiz, said his clients testified truthfully in the case.
He said prosecutors had concluded that the tape was edited in two places to remove about 13 seconds of sound.
Salzman cautioned that he had yet to view a complete version of the video but said that he believed that the officers did pick up an object containing drugs but continued to search for more.
"They testified truthfully to the best of their ability," he said. "I believe that they're good officers and good men."
The video begins after Alarcon already had been taken into custody. But in the police report and during their testimony, the officers mentioned finding only one object containing drugs.
LAPD Cmdr. Rick Webb, who oversees the department's internal affairs group, said the agency's probe is continuing.
He declined to comment further, citing state laws that protect the privacy of police officers accused of misconduct.
Samuel, who left the LAPD and joined the Chino Police Department in February, was fired while on probation in Chino two weeks after The Times reported on Alarcon's case, a Chino spokeswoman said.
___________
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/02/02/state/n021949S62.DTL&type=politics
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Trial Begins for Suspended Corning Officer Accused of Lying
The trial of a suspended Corning Police Officer accused of lying under oath boils down to one issue: which officer touched the drugs first.
Opening statements were given on Wednesday. Thirty three year-old Jason Dininny is accused of lying while testifying during a marijuana possession trial last year in Corning City Court.
Dininny’s attorney Raymond Schlather says his client picked up the drugs during the bust. But another officer claims he picked up the marijuana and handed it to Dininny. Schlather says Dininny is a model citizen and officer.
“No person of his reputation and his background and his experience, no such person would risk all of that for a marijuana violation,” says Schlather.
“He's not accused of making a mistake, he's accused of lying,” says Steuben County District Attorney John Tunney.
No marijuana is missing. Dininny is charged with perjury and offering a false written statement. If found guilty, he faces up to seven years in state prison.
The defense says more than twenty witnesses will be called. He says the trial will wrap up by the end of next week.
Opening statements were given on Wednesday. Thirty three year-old Jason Dininny is accused of lying while testifying during a marijuana possession trial last year in Corning City Court.
Dininny’s attorney Raymond Schlather says his client picked up the drugs during the bust. But another officer claims he picked up the marijuana and handed it to Dininny. Schlather says Dininny is a model citizen and officer.
“No person of his reputation and his background and his experience, no such person would risk all of that for a marijuana violation,” says Schlather.
“He's not accused of making a mistake, he's accused of lying,” says Steuben County District Attorney John Tunney.
No marijuana is missing. Dininny is charged with perjury and offering a false written statement. If found guilty, he faces up to seven years in state prison.
The defense says more than twenty witnesses will be called. He says the trial will wrap up by the end of next week.
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