Pubdate: Sat, 15 Dec 2001
Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX)
Copyright: 2001 Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas
Contact:  http://www.star-telegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/162
Author:  Domingo Ramirez Jr., Star-Telegram Staff Writer

  WRITER PLEADS GUILTY TO GHB POSSESSION

A true crime writer whose son was fatally shot during a 1999 drug raid at 
her North Richland Hills home pleaded guilty Friday to possession of GHB.

Barbara Davis, 50, showed no emotion as she entered her plea to a charge of 
possession of a controlled substance, 4 ounces to 200 grams, before senior 
state District Judge C.C. "Kit" Cooke in a Fort Worth courtroom.

"I thought it was legal. I had bought it through a pharmaceutical company," 
she said. "I have insomnia, and that's why I bought it. This was not street 
GHB."

Because of the plea, a charge of attempted manufacture of a controlled 
substance/GHB over 400 grams was dismissed.

GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, is also known as a date-rape drug. A 
misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana/over 2 ounces was dismissed 
in March 2000. Cooke ordered an investigation before he sentences Davis. 
That could take 30 to 60 days, he said.

"We're sure the judge will come to a right decision," said prosecutor Betty 
Arvin, who declined to comment further about the case.

The drug possession charge is a second-degree felony punishable by a 
maximum of 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

"Our process has been taken care of," said Larry Irving, a spokesman for 
the North Richland Hills Police Department. "We've left it with the 
district attorney's office."

Bill Lane of Fort Worth, Davis' attorney, said an October ruling by Cooke 
impeded the defense. The judge had ruled that the warrant for the drug raid 
was valid.

"Once he ruled against us, we didn't have many options," Lane said. "We 
think he's wrong, and we're going to appeal it."

A federal lawsuit is pending against North Richland Hills and the police. 
It states that officers used excessive force and violated the son's civil 
rights.

The raid and shooting occurred Dec. 15, 1999, when 17 tactical team 
officers raided the house in North Richland Hills. Police said Troy Davis, 
25, was pointing a loaded 9 mm pistol at officers when he was shot by 
tactical team member Allen Hill.

Police said they found three marijuana plants and enough GHB to make 600 
doses. Police also found 16 guns, all legal, authorities said.

Barbara Davis has said that her son was not armed and that police placed 
the gun near his body.

Davis and her attorneys have said that Troy Davis had a weapon in his room 
because his mother had received death threats related to her writing. She 
has also said that the raid was improper because it was based on a tip from 
a disgruntled relative.

A Tarrant County grand jury declined to indict Hill in the shooting. He has 
since resigned from the Police Department.
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