Dallas sniffs police scandal; cocaine tests fake, officers suspended
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"I hear that kind of thing a lot," Barbare said.
But she and the district attorney's office made a surprising discovery in Vega's case. Lab tests ordered by prosecutors at Barbare's request showed the substance that Dallas police allegedly seized from Vega was 25 kilograms of chalk-like material used in Sheetrock and other brands of wallboard. It had been ground into powder and packaged to resemble cocaine.
Was Vega a drug dealer scheming to sell fake cocaine? Prosecutors might have suspected so, if not for another, more surprising discovery. When other lawyers heard about Vega's case, they similarly demanded lab tests of the supposed cocaine their clients were charged with possessing. Result: In at least 18 cases involving alleged major cocaine seizures by the Dallas police narcotics unit in the past year, the purported evidence was all, or nearly all, ground-up wallboard material.
The revelations have led officials to announce the dismissal of dozens of drug charges and prompted an internal investigation aided by the district attorney's office and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
"We're going to get to the bottom of every issue associated with this," Police Chief Terrell Bolton said at a news conference last week. He also announced that two narcotics officers have been suspended while authorities investigate the origin of the fake cocaine.
The district attorney's office, which had announced the dismissal of charges against the 18 men in the wallboard cases, said Wednesday it had decided to throw out drug cases involving 21 others. Officials said the decision was related to the inquiry but would not elaborate.
"The Sheetrock scandal," as Barbare and her colleagues call it, has been the buzz of Dallas' legal community since authorities acknowledged the questionable cases two weeks ago. According to the Dallas Morning News, the original 18 cases involve nearly 700 pounds of wallboard material. In each case, after allegedly seizing the powder, officers wrote in arrest reports that field tests showed it was cocaine.
"How could these field tests have been positive for drugs when there were no drugs?" Barbare said. She and other lawyers accused narcotics officers of trumping up cases, hoping the men would agree to plea bargains before thorough lab tests were done.
And some did. Jamie Siguenza, charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and agreed to be deported to Mexico. His attorney is seeking to withdraw the plea.
All those arrested were blue-collar Mexican immigrants who speak little or no English, defense attorneys said, and few, if any, had arrest records.
"What I think is what a lot of people are thinking: that we have some dirty police officers in this city," said lawyer C. Tony Wright, who represents one of the men.
Defense attorneys said most or all of the 18 arrests were made by the same two narcotics officers, who credited a longtime informant.
Bolton said the two officers, whom he declined to identify, had been suspended with pay. He also said the DEA had agreed to assist in the investigation of the wallboard cases.
Bolton and prosecutors also ordered a change in drug testing.
Lab tests previously were not done until shortly before a suspect's trial. By basing criminal charges on field tests alone and delaying expensive lab tests, authorities could save money because defendants often agreed to plea deals. Police will continue to do field tests, Bolton said, but a lab analysis will be conducted as soon as possible after each arrest.
The investigation also is focusing on the longtime informant, Bolton said. The unidentified informant has worked with narcotics officers in more than 70 investigations, for which he was paid about $200,000 over two years.
The wallboard cases came to light after Vega, 35, was arrested Aug. 16. Without $500,000 in bail, his family turned to Barbare.
The two narcotics officers, reportedly on a tip from the informant, said they found 25 kilograms of white powder in an old vehicle at the garage where Vega worked.
But after interviewing Vega, Barbare said, she agreed with his relatives that the case seemed bogus. She requested a lab analysis of the alleged cocaine and had Vega take a privately administered polygraph test, which he passed, she said. The polygraph examiner told her of another lawyer, Wright, who was handling a similar case.
The same two officers arrested Wright's client, Jacinto Mejia, 40, in May. Wright said the officers reported that they were led to Mejia by an informant and that they found five kilograms of cocaine at the auto-repair shop where Mejia worked. Mejia was jailed on $175,000 bail.
Wright and Barbare said they were dumbfounded when they compared notes.
As in Vega's case, a lab analysis showed that the powder allegedly seized from Mejia was pulverized wallboard material, and charges were dismissed. Mejia, who spent five months behind bars, and Vega, jailed two months, were freed in October. Others also have been released, defense attorneys said.
Barbare and Wright said their clients and others may have strong grounds for lawsuits.
"None of this passes the smell test," Wright said. "Before it's over, somebody's going to go down."