HEADLINE: Drug burning halted at DIA to allow review 

Denver International Airport has stopped destroying narcotics in its incinerator and is re-evaluating the practice following the arrest of a DIA worker who allegedly stole and sold drugs meant to be destroyed. 

We have ceased all drug burning to re-evaluate our procedures,' said airport spokesman Steve Snyder. 'I don't really want to go into specifics on that. We're going to re-evaluate everything.' 
Stephen B. Martinez, 40, was arrested Tuesday after Denver and Drug Enforcement Administration detectives searched his Lakewood home and found 114 pounds of marijuana, 4.9 ounces of cocaine and drug paraphernalia in a freezer in Martinez's garage. Martinez, a maintenance worker at DIA who operates the incinerator, confessed to stealing drugs brought to the incinerator and reselling them, according to an arrest affidavit. 

Federal regulations require that DIA have an incinerator to destroy garbage from international flights, Snyder said. But, as a service to local law enforcement agencies, Snyder said, DIA also burns seized narcotics for a fee. It is the only incinerator the Denver Police Department and many other metro-area agencies use. 

Narcotics destroyed in the incinerator was evidence from concluded cases, so no open investigations were compromised by the thefts, officials said. 

Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado, which is prosecuting the case, said investigators are still trying to determine how Martinez acquired the drugs and how he smuggled them out of the airport. Snyder said Martinez had to go through the same security screening and background checks as any other badged DIA employee. He would not say whether Martinez had to go through security every day when he left the airport. 

According to the arrest affidavit, Martinez stole the drugs from an evidence locker at the airport. But Denver police Capt. Jim Collier, the commander of officers at DIA, said police do not keep evidence in a locker at the airport but send it downtown. Snyder said agencies set up appointments to bring in drugs for incineration, and the contraband is not stored in a locker before being destroyed. 

Snyder said agencies bringing in narcotics are responsible for them. 

'We run the incinerator,' Snyder said. 

'But whatever agency is out here, it is their responsibility to maintain control of the contraband until it is destroyed.' 

Denver police are required to stay at the incinerator and watch until drugs burst into flames, said Lt. Deborah Dilley. She said because of that procedure, she doubted the stolen drugs came from the Denver Police Department. 

Dorschner said investigators hope to find out where the drugs came from. 

Snyder said airport officials should make a decision on new procedures for narcotics incineration in the next couple of weeks. 

HEADLINE: Judge hears arguments in Chatham deputy's firing Dan Phillips says he was fired for going behind the sheriff's back in 2 major investigations 

PITTSBORO - Attorney Al McSurely asked a judge to consider the sequence of events that preceded the decision by Chatham Sheriff Ike Gray to fire Deputy Dan Phillips before the judge makes a decision in favor of Gray to stop the case before it goes to trial. 

Superior Court Judge John Jolly of Raleigh heard arguments Monday afternoon in the case of Phillips v. Gray and his Chief Deputy Randy Keck. Phillips claims Gray fired him in retaliation for going behind Gray's back on two big cases involving allegations of racism in the schools and marijuana that was stolen from the landfill. 

During the hearing, Gray's and Keck's attorney, Mark Davis, argued to the judge that he should make a decision for a summary judgment because there were no facts that show Gray was retaliating for anything Phillips had done. A summary judgment would end the case before it goes to trial, which is scheduled for Aug. 26. 

Davis insisted that Gray fired Phillips because Phillips had a loud and profane confrontation with Keck in which he threatened to sue the sheriff's office. Gray fired Phillips for insubordination and disloyalty, Davis said. 

What Davis didn't mention, McSurely countered, is that the argument was whether Keck could order Phillips to take a lie detector test to ask him whether he had secretly made a tape recording of a high school principal using racial epithets. 

It was Keck who lost his temper during the argument, McSurely said. 

Davis said a sheriff can fire a deputy who threatens him. 

"What it was, was blackmail. 'You drop the investigation into who made the tape, or I'll make you look bad.' " Davis said. "The sheriff doesn't have to put up with that." 

McSurely gave the judge a blow-by-blow story of why Gray and Keck wanted to get rid of Phillips. It began in 1999 when there were problems of racism at Chatham Central High School that resulted in a federal civil rights investigation. 

Phillips had been the school resource officer at the school and knew about problems at the school. He wanted to talk to federal investigators but was told to stay out of it by then-Sheriff Don Whitt. He spoke to a county commissioner about the problems but did not speak to the federal investigators, McSurely said. 

Then, in February 2000, the Chatham County Sheriff's Office along with other federal and local law enforcement agencies seized nearly 5,000 pounds of marijuana during a drug raid in Siler City. Keck, who was then head of the narcotics unit, was responsible for maintaining the marijuana for evidence, but in September 2000 he discovered someone had stolen nearly all of the marijuana from an army truck where it was stored. 

Later, Phillips heard from an informant who knew about some stolen marijuana and took that informant to the FBI. The FBI began an investigation into the missing marijuana. 

McSurely contends that Gray and Keck were angry over Phillips' actions during the investigation into racism at the high school and that he took an informant to the FBI. They planned to fire Phillips, and it was not a spur of the moment firing because of the argument, McSurely said. 

Despite McSurely's arguments regarding the history of the case, the judge could decide against Phillips because of insurance. Gray and Keck claim that they are protected by sovereign immunity because their acts are covered by the county's liability insurance policy. 

McSurely's partner, Ashley Osment, argued that they aren't protected under the insurance policy, and she asked the judge to read carefully the exclusions and definitions used in the policy. 

Jolly said it may take several weeks before he makes a decision because he is scheduled to preside over two trials in the next two weeks. He promised to read all the material, which includes hundreds of pages of depositions, affidavits and case law. 

HEADLINE: Denver airport worker indicted on drug charges 

DATELINE: DENVER 

An airport maintenance worker has been indicted on charges that he stole marijuana and cocaine from a police evidence locker and later sold it, the U.S. attorney's office said Thursday. 
Stephen B. Martinez, 40, of Lakewood, is on paid leave from Denver International Airport.  He is accused of stealing drugs that were taken to the airport to be destroyed in an incinerator, which Martinez operated. 

Police said they found 114 pounds of suspected marijuana, nearly 5 ounces of cocaine and $9,000 cash at Martinez's Lakewood home. Prosecutors said the drugs had been evidence in court cases.  If convicted, Martinez faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine on each of the two counts of possession with intent to distribute. 

The indictment replaces charges dismissed last week by a federal magistrate. The magistrate said prosecutors had failed to establish the defendant's identification and did not demonstrate the suspected drugs had been field-tested. 

HEADLINE: POLICE CLERK PLEADS GUILTY TO THEFT; ROANOKE POLICE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE STOLE MONEY KEPT AS EVIDENCE 

A former Roanoke Police Department employee pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing money from the department's property room. Tammy R. Hale, 27, of Boones Mill worked as a clerk in the property room, where police store evidence, including money.  A grand jury in April 2001 charged her with felony embezzlement.

But in a plea agreement, Hale was convicted of misdemeanor embezzlement, given a 12-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution to the police department.

Lawyers in the case said the agreement centered on whether evidence gathered in a police internal investigation can be used in a criminal prosecution.

Hale's lawyer, Tony Anderson, and Roanoke Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Betty Jo Anthony said separately after the hearing that they disagree on whether a jury could have considered such evidence in Hale's case but agreed that the issue could have presented risks for both sides at trial.

Police began investigating Hale in March 2001 after an officer tried to return cash that had been seized from a resident and found $700 missing from a sealed evidence envelope that had been stored in the property room. Officers later found that more money was missing.

Hale also has been charged with two counts of welfare fraud in Roanoke County. She faces trial in that case Aug. 8.

HEADLINE: POLICE BRIEFS 

Seiler Road and Indiana 15 to close

Seiler Road will be closed 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday between Hartzell and Green roads in New Haven for installation of a sanitary sewer. Meanwhile, Indiana 15 will be closed from noon to midnight Thursday through Sunday in downtown Wabash for Canal Days Festival. 

Ex-officer's trial date set

A former Fort Wayne Police officer arrested on charges of possession of stolen property will face trial in August. Adams Circuit Court officials said Tobin Ray's trial will begin at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 28. Ray was arrested in March after the Indiana State Police executed a search warrant at his rural Decatur home and discovered a backhoe, small dump truck and other construction equipment. Some of the items are alleged to have been taken from the Police Department's property room, and others belong to the city of Fort Wayne. Ray was placed on unpaid leave in April, and officially resigned from the Police Department in June. 

Checks stolen from mail

Police are investigating the theft of personal checks from mailboxes in northeast Allen County, said investigators with the Allen County Sheriff's Department. The thief is using a solvent to erase the ink from the check, and altering them, said Detective Tom Gratz. There have been several thefts, most in the northeast area, but similar reports have been surfacing as far away as LaGrange County, he said. The thefts have mainly been occurring in the morning, from mailboxes with a raised red flag indicating outgoing mail, said Officer Victor Hopkins, department spokesman. After the checks are altered, they are cashed for large amounts. The Sheriff's Department said residents should watch their mailbox and report anything suspicious by calling 449-7431. After business hours, call 449-3000. 

Man robbed at gunpoint

A man was robbed at gunpoint outside his southwest area residence Tuesday, Fort Wayne Police said. The victim was getting out of his car in the 6500 block of Covington Road around 10 p.m. when he said a man with a handgun approached him and demanded his wallet. He was not injured; a description of the gunman wasn't released. 

Algae blamed for fish kill

Blooming algae are being blamed for killing hundreds of fish in the St. Marys River, said officials with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The fish kill was reported around 1 p.m. Tuesday and stretched for about half a mile near Van Buren Street, according to IDEM officials. The algae bloom depletes the water of much of its oxygen, killing the fish. 

- From staff reports 

HEADLINE: St. Mary's Sheriff Suspends Top Deputy 

The second-in-command of the St. Mary's County sheriff's office has been suspended from his post and his police powers revoked as the Maryland state prosecutor investigates whether he is involved in the alleged disappearance of property worth as much as $ 80,000 that was seized as part of a theft case. 

Sheriff Richard J. Voorhaar (R) said he suspended Capt. Steven M. Doolan, an 18-year veteran of the department who has been his assistant sheriff for three years, with pay Friday because of the seriousness of the allegations. Voorhaar said he asked for the investigation of the missing property. 

"It's just procedure when things like this happen, particularly because of the position he's in," Voorhaar said. "He's in charge of the sheriff's office when I'm not here. There's some seriousness to the investigation." 

The suspension was first reported in Tuesday's edition of St. Mary's Today. 

The state prosecutor's office, which probes cases of misconduct by government officials, is investigating how the property of Wendell I. Ford disappeared after being seized by sheriff's detectives during a search of his Lexington Park home in 1999 when they were investigating Ford concerning a series of alleged thefts. 

Ford, 35, was charged with two counts of theft over $ 300 for the alleged theft of a dishwasher and a door, but the charges were dropped in 2000 by the St. Mary's County state's attorney's office, according to court documents. 

For two years, Ford was unsuccessful in informal attempts to get back his property, which mostly included building materials such as lumber, as well as the dishwasher, door and several firearms, said his attorney, A. Shane Mattingly. This year, Ford filed a court motion, and District Court Judge John F. Slade granted it March 25, ordering the sheriff's office to return all the property to Ford except the firearms. 

Law enforcement sources said the property was worth about $ 80,000, but Voorhaar disputed that figure. 

The amount of property seized from Ford was so large it had to be kept in trailers separate from the department's property room, but the sheriff's office has been unable to comply with Slade's order because it no longer has the property, law enforcement sources said. 

Doolan's alleged involvement in the disappearance is unclear. Voorhaar and State Prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli declined to comment on the details of the case. Doolan declined to comment when contacted by phone. 

Veteran sheriff's deputies said Doolan is one of a few members of the sheriff's office who had the authority to order seized property to be taken out of custody. 

Doolan has accrued more power in the sheriff's office this year as Voorhaar readies for retirement. His suspension surprised many deputies because over the past 7 1/2 years, Doolan had risen quickly through the ranks to become commander of the criminal investigations division before being appointed assistant sheriff in 1999. 

Ford is facing charges in District Court of assaulting a 12-year-old boy and writing bad checks. No one answered at a phone number Ford listed on court documents as his home number. 

"He's not looking to go on a crusade here," Mattingly said. "He just wants his stuff back." 

HEADLINE: Convicted rapist regrets guilty plea; Case evidence for DNA test was destroyed 

Ron Eitel would not have pleaded guilty in 1982 to four rapes he says he didn't commit, had he known test results showed the attacker had a blood type different from his. Now that he knows, it may be too late.

Evidence in two of Eitel's cases, needed for DNA testing that could help clear him, has been inexplicably destroyed. Eitel's hopes now hinge on a pair of semen-stained panties, taken into evidence in one of the cases in which he pleaded guilty. 

That case and its companion case - there were two victims - are the only ones out of a dozen in which Eitel was accused where any semen from an O blood type was found. The original test results in the cases were inconclusive, because semen from a Type A also was found. Eitel is a Type O, the most common blood type in the world.

Biological evidence was collected in only nine of the 12 cases against Eitel. Besides the two inconclusive tests, results of the original tests in two other cases are missing and cannot be located. In the remaining five cases, the semen found on the victims came from someone other than Eitel.

Eitel has protested his innocence since his arrest May 19, 1982. He demanded blood tests that he maintained would clear him.

When his attorney, James R. Moriarty, told Eitel the tests didn't clear him in any of the attacks, and matched his blood type in several, Eitel was stunned. He took Moriarty's advice and pleaded guilty in four cases. He had no criminal history, and believed he could get probation.

"It was the biggest mistake of my life," Eitel said from the Harris County Jail, where he was brought for the DNA testing. "It cost me my life." Moriarty had cautioned him of possible life sentences if he went to trial. The 160 consecutive years he received from District Judge Charles Hearn wasn't much of an improvement.

A copy of the court record was given to Eitel for his appeals, but the lab results were missing. Eitel had never seen the actual documents. Over the years, Eitel's father hired a number of attorneys and private investigators to search for the missing lab work, to no avail.

In October, 2000, 18 years after the search began, copies of the lab results were discovered at HPD. They remain missing from the court file. Although dismayed at finding the lab results were far from the damning evidence described by Moriarty, Eitel was hopeful that DNA testing not available in 1982 would finally clear him. But the HPD crime lab filed affidavits saying evidence in two of the cases - one where semen was from a Type A and one where the original lab results have never been located - was destroyed "on or about January 1987."

The Harris County District Attorney's Office was served with notice of Eitel's second appeal on Dec. 23, 1986, according to court records. Soon after, prosecutors asked for and received an extension of time to file an answer, saying more time was needed to review records in Eitel's cases.

No one can explain why evidence in two of those cases was destroyed about the same time prosecutors asked for extra time to review it.

"The crime lab has no authority to cause the destruction of any biological evidence, ever," said HPD Lab Director Jim Bolding.

That decision must be made by either an investigating officer, if there are no charges or convictions in a case, or by the court once a case has been adjudicated, Bolding said.

Hearn, now retired, said he does not recall issuing orders allowing destruction of any evidence in the cases. A search of the warehoused court files in Eitel's cases shows no such order issued in any of the cases.

In August 1998, HPD Sgt. M.J. Vassar filed an erroneous supplemental report in one of Eitel's four cases, saying there had been no charges or convictions in the case.

In 1998, HPD was trying to clear space from a desperately crowded property room by getting rid of as much evidence as possible.

The department appointed an administrative officer for each investigative division, and charged them with the responsibility of reviewing hundreds of old cases with an eye to whether evidence could be destroyed or must be retained.

HPD homicide investigators who do not wish to be named have said many mistakes were made during that project, and evidence destroyed that should have been retained.

"I was the administrative sergeant" in HPD's sex crimes division," when the mistake occurred," Vassar said. "We had to make decisions on old stuff.

"One criteria was . . .  if anyone had been arrested and charged and convicted."

Once the erroneous supplement was filed in one of the Eitel cases, permission was sent to the lab to destroy the evidence.

But according to the affidavit filed by the lab, the evidence in that case already had been destroyed in January 1987.

So far, no documentation has been located to explain why evidence in two of the Eitel cases was ordered destroyed, or why evidence in the other two cases was kept.

Eitel has asked his attorney, Dick Wheelan, to ask the court's permission to have his DNA testing done at an independent lab, rather than by HPD.

Eitel has no faith in police, or courts, or the justice system. But if his faith is gone, his hope still lives. The DNA testing in the one case, he says, gives him at least a chance.

"My chances (with DNA testing) are good," he says. "They're real good, because I didn't do it."
Eitel hopes being cleared by the evidence in the one case will cause the system to look at the other cases against him.

"I won't give up," he said. "But sometimes I just get so tired. Twenty years is a long time."