COP PLEADS GUILTY FOR 'NO KNOCK'

DENVER (AP) -- The only policeman indicted in the killing of a Mexican
immigrant during a "no-knock" drug raid on the wrong house pleaded guilty
Thursday to a misdemeanor misconduct charge.

Joseph Bini, 31, had faced two felony counts of first-degree perjury for
allegedly lying in the affidavit he submitted to get the search warrant for
the September 1999 SWAT raid. He said he saw an informant going into
45-year-old Ismael Mena's house to get cocaine. The correct target turned
out to be a suspected drug house next door.

In a deal with a Jefferson County special prosecutor, Bini pleaded guilty
to official misconduct, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in
jail and a $1,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 1.

The shooting prompted calls by friends, family and the Mexican government
for a federal investigation. Two other officers were cleared of wrongdoing.

The plea bargain could allow Bini, who has been suspended without pay since
he was charged in February, to return to the police department. He said he
wants his job back and the department internal affairs bureau is
investigating but has made no decision.

Defense lawyer David Bruno said the deal was not a victory for Bini.

"Obviously a true victory would have been to go to trial and demonstrate
the evidence we feel existed that would have shown that there is no
perjury, there never was perjury," Bruno said.

Special prosecutor Charles Tingle said the plea agreement holds Bini
accountable for his actions.

Members of the Justice for Mena Committee, an activist group that has
protested the killing, criticized the deal and demanded Bini not be
returned to the police force.

``We're appealing to the common sense of the city to protect its
citizens,'' spokesman LeRoy Lemos said, adding the group would press the
FBI to investigate further.

The city agreed in March to pay Mena's family $400,000 to avoid a wrongful
death lawsuit.