Pubdate: Sun, 30 Jul 2006
Source: Rutland Herald (VT)
Copyright: 2006 Rutland Herald
Contact:  http://www.rutlandherald.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/892
Author:  The Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST BORDER AGENTS

BURLINGTON -- Federal charges have been dropped against two U.S. 
Border Patrol agents who were accused of covering up a drug arrest.

Prosecutors initially accused agents Steven Garceau and Ross 
Schofield of trying to protect an informant by altering records and 
fabricating a crime scene near Derby so it would appear 60 pounds of 
marijuana they had confiscated had been abandoned.

They were accused of letting their suspect go after he promised to 
alert them when there were shipments in the future.

But prosecutors said they don't think they can prove the agents had 
any criminal intent. And, prosecutors said in papers filed in federal 
court, they wanted to avoid a confrontation between the agents' right 
to know about the evidence against them and the government's interest 
in keeping certain law enforcement procedures and investigative 
material secret.

"We felt a clear conflict would arise on what the agents needed to 
prove at trial and what the agencies involved would not want 
discovered," said David Kirby, acting U.S. attorney on the case. "In 
the interests of justice, we had to do this."

Garceau and Schofield were indicted by a federal grand jury in 
November on six counts apiece of conspiracy and making false 
statements. They had faced up to 20 years in prison, but now they'll 
try to get their jobs back, their lawyers said.

The agents' lawyers argued all along that the men were following 
common procedures practiced by the Border Patrol and Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement. Lawyer Eric Miller, representing Garceau, said 
the dismissal proved that defense.

"This is what we have been saying since the outset of this case," 
Miller said. "Their decision entirely vindicates our position. These 
agents had every intent to further legitimate law-enforcement 
interests. They were trying to stop drugs from coming across the border."

He said both men, who have been suspended without pay, would try to 
return to the Border Patrol, where they were both decorated agents.

Kirby said the men still could face sanctions outside court.

"I expect that administrative charges will be brought, and they will 
be dealt with administratively," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman