TROOPER: INAPPROPRIATE TO LABEL DRUG INFORMANTS AS 'SNITCHES'

A State Police trooper Tuesday defended the integrity of drug cases against
18 Summers County defendants and said the cases should be brought to court.
Trooper A.S. Reed said the characterization of confidential informants as
"snitches" is inappropriate. "If people are doing something good for their
community, they ought to be considered a hero ... If you want to label
someone, call them a Good Samaritan."

Reed said he took offense at defense attorney Joe Aucremanne's use of the
term "Snitchin' Kevin Thompson" to describe one of the informants in the
cases from a fall 2000 undercover drug sting.

Aucremanne used the term after arguing in court last week that the Kevin
Thompson identified as the informant and living in Logan County was not the
same man who helped police. He suggested police differentiate between the
men with the same names.

Prosecutor Jim McNeely later identified the informant as Kevin Thompson of
Pipestem and said he didn't know how the identity confusion arose.

Reed declined to comment on how the Thompson of Logan County was misidentified.

Aucremanne raised the issue while preparing for trial to defend Shon
Dewayne Jackson, 24, of Hinton, against charges of possession and delivery
of crack cocaine. He has also questioned whether police made deals with
Thompson and Billy Jack Cales Jr. of Alderson, who was the other informant.

Reed said, "I challenge Joe to show us." He said police did not have any
active investigations on the two men during the drug buys, adding Cales was
"a complete volunteer."

The trooper said, "We've had confidential informants being threatened.
There are several subjects being investigated at this time." He warned the
public that anyone who harasses informants will suffer the consequences.

As for the inherent risk of potential lawbreakers serving as informants,
Reed said, "You can't take a choir girl and buy drugs with them."

Charges against two defendants were dismissed after the state failed to
provide pre-trial evidence by a court-ordered deadline.