Pubdate: Wed, 04 Feb 2004 Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL) Copyright: 2004 News-Journal Corp Contact: http://www.n-jcenter.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/700 Author: Kristen Moczynski, Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm ( Corruption - United States) MISSING DRUGS COULD JEOPARDIZE PROSECUTION OF CASES DELAND -- Defense attorneys said this week the stolen narcotics from the Sheriff's Office evidence compound could be crucial to drug cases. One case could even be dismissed. The narcotics were from six cases, four of which are still open. In some cases, a portion of the drugs were stolen, but in others all the narcotics are gone. It's too early to tell what effect the missing drugs will have on the prosecution of these cases, said David Smith, first assistant state attorney. He said it would come down to evaluating the cases individually and the condition of the remaining evidence. Nearly 900 grams of cocaine and several hundred pounds of marijuana were stolen from the facility by a Sheriff's Office employee, authorities say. An evidence employee has been suspended and an arrest is imminent, Sheriff Ben Johnson said last week. Timothy W. Wallace, administrative coordinator at the facility, was suspended without pay Jan. 22 pending an ongoing internal investigation, sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. Officials would not confirm whether Wallace was the target of the criminal investigation, but none of the other full-time evidence employees have been suspended. The theft was discovered when a sheriff's investigator found out during a Jan. 8 deposition that only a portion of seized cocaine was sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement lab. While it's not unusual to send half of a large amount of drugs, the investigator went to the evidence compound Jan. 12 to reconcile the discrepancy and found all the drugs from the case were missing, Davidson said. That case is against Francisco Mercado, from whom narcotics agents seized about 577 grams of cocaine. Smith said he wasn't sure of the specifics of all the cases the thefts affected, but the missing evidence could have a negative impact. "In a case where all the evidence is gone, that's going to be pretty hard," he said. Mercado's defense attorney, Joseph Warren, said it's possible the state would be forced to drop the charges against his client because it doesn't have any evidence to present to a jury, or a judge could dismiss the case. He said he intends to make a motion to dismiss the case after he receives details from the Sheriff's Office investigation. "Regardless, the state has a lot of problems because this is not the only case with (a) theft," Warren said. He added it could be construed that any narcotics stored in the area where the thefts occurred were subject to tampering. So it could affect more cases than the ones where drugs are missing. "Unfortunately, that's a very real possibility," Warren said. In another case, narcotics agents seized about 840 grams of cocaine from a DeBary home in May 2003 and arrested Ismael Velazquez. He was charged with trafficking cocaine , defense attorney Hal Uhrig said. About 282 grams of cocaine is missing. "That missing evidence would have been substantial," Uhrig said. Because the case isn't going to trial, the theft won't have a significant impact. But the loss would have compromised the state's case, Uhrig said. He said with a third of the drugs missing, he would question whether the other two-thirds were tampered with. "Clearly there has not been an integrity of the chain of custody," he said. "I would have had it all thrown out." Smith said prosecutors must establish a chain of custody at trial to show the evidence was taken from where they said it was, was properly maintained and correctly sent to a lab. Then an analyst must show it is what they say it is -- such as cocaine or marijuana. "If you don't have that, how are you going to say that's what went to the lab," he said, adding officials have to prove the chain of custody before the lab reports become relevant. Drugs were taken from two other open cases, but the impact isn't known. In March 1995, a package from Mexico intended for DeLand was intercepted. The package contained about 178 pounds of compressed marijuana. Salvador Trujillo and Teresa Estrada, who Davidson said either accepted the package or tried to hide it later, were prosecuted federally. A third defendant was never found so the case remains open. About 165 pounds of marijuana is missing. In June 2000, narcotics agents seized about 515 pounds of marijuana and several items of drug paraphernalia during raids in Pierson and DeLeon Springs. They charged Celso Garcia and Domingo Molina with trafficking in cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia. Garcia fled to Mexico and Molina stood trial. About 50 pounds of marijuana is missing. Drugs also were taken in two closed cases. About 130 pounds of marijuana is missing from a 1998 case where 1,100 pounds were seized and all 25 pounds of marijuana from another case was stolen. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake