Pubdate: Sat, 13 Dec 2003
Source: San Antonio Express-News (TX)
Copyright: 2003 San Antonio Express-News
Contact:  http://www.mysanantonio.com/expressnews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/384
Author: Maro Robbins

EVIDENCE AND DRUG CASE GO OUT WINDOW

Charged with possessing baggies of crack cocaine, Gerald Evans wrote
long pleadings in his defense and had four lawyers representing him at
different times, but he got perhaps the most help from the Sheriff's
Department.

Bexar County employees in the department's property room destroyed and
auctioned items that authorities said linked Evans to the drugs, a
goof that gave federal prosecutors last-minute cold feet.

So, instead of going to trial this week, Evans and co-defendant David
Lee went free after the case was dismissed on the eve of a final
pretrial hearing - a decision that irked deputies who conducted the
investigation.

"This is one of the hardest things I have had to do," Assistant U.S.
Attorney Joe Sepeda said. "I lose sleep thinking about this."

More than 90 percent of San Antonio's federal cases end with
convictions, but others - 53 out of nearly 700 to date in 2003 -
quietly implode when doubts, complications and errors crystallize over
time.

Hobbled by bureaucratic hiccups and second-guessing, the cases
disappear from the dockets without explanation. And defendants like
Evans - a 40-year-old who twice before had state drug charges
dismissed because of insufficient evidence - don't look back.

Evans' attorney, John Convery, called the recent investigation sloppy
and described the dumping of the 18-month-old case as a courageous
decision. Evans, meanwhile, attributed the dismissal to heavenly
wisdom, not human error.

"God don't make no mistakes," Evans said.

Sheriff's Deputy Chief Ruben Garcia acknowledged the department erred
and that the system needs to be fine-tuned, although he couldn't
address whether safeguards have been added.

At the same time, Garcia said the error shouldn't have been fatal to
the prosecution. He emphasized another federal prosecutor knew about
the missing evidence but intended to go to trial until she took
another job.

When that prosecutor left the office, the case went to another lawyer
and then to a team of two assistant U.S. attorneys, including Sepeda.

Sepeda declined to discuss his analysis of the case's weaknesses. But
his supervisor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Surovic, said two
prosecutors reviewed the case and each concluded the charges couldn't
be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Unconvinced, Garcia wants local authorities to refile the case in
state court, where it started before it was passed to federal
authorities.

"We can still proceed with the case because we still have all the
dope," Garcia said.

The baggies of pale crystals were found Feb. 19, 2002, when deputies,
led by a tipster, searched Room 152 of the Quality Inn & Suites on
Interstate 35 North.

The bundled rocks weighing 241 grams carried a potential prison term
of 10 years to life for Evans. But before authorities could convict,
they needed to connect him beyond a reasonable doubt to the drugs.

One hitch was that deputies found three people in the room, including
Evans and Lee. Two other people may have left shortly before the raid.

Furthermore, the room was registered to Kathleen Neumann, who
initially claimed in a sworn statement that Evans knew nothing about
the drugs, although she later recanted that statement after she was
indicted.

Evans told the officers he just was just visiting the
room.

Deputies, however, said they found a prescription bottle bearing
Evans' name in a nightstand drawer and another in a portable safe that
also contained a pistol and mail addressed to Evans.

They said keys to the safe were in Evans' pocket, his phone service
receipt was in the room, and while Neumann's name was on the registry,
men's clothes hung in the closet.

But when Evans' defense lawyer, who later withdrew from the case, went
to review the evidence last year, the prescription bottles and the
mail were destroyed, the safe auctioned off and the clothes gone.

Without them, defense lawyer Convery, who was appointed to the case
early this year, said it would be impossible to challenge allegations
that the items in the room and closet belonged to Evans.

An inquiry revealed the employees in the Sheriff's Department's
property room actually had followed orders.

While the federal government handled the prosecution, the state had
sought forfeiture of the property seized during the hotel bust,
including two cars and a stereo.

When the forfeiture ended in November 2002, the sheriff's employees
checked their computer. They saw that state prosecutors had declined
to prosecute Evans and Lee.

Nothing indicated the case was alive and in federal court.
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