FALLOUT SPREADS FROM POLICE INDICTMENTS

Some Drug Convictions Shall Be Reviewed

The fallout from December's federal indictments of Jacksonville police
officers is intensifying as the Public Defender's Office is seeking to have
as many as a dozen drug convictions connected to ex-Officer Aric Sinclair
set aside, while new challenges have been made in two other cases.

A life prison sentence linked to Sinclair, who is charged in a slaying,
robberies and drug trafficking, was dropped last month because of a
challenge to Sinclair's credibility. Prosecutors said they will review new
evidence in other cases brought to their attention where there is no
independent corroboration of the indicted officer's testimony.

In the public defender cases, the defendants were charged with buying drugs
from Sinclair in undercover stings from 1996 to 1999. They told their
attorneys that they were either not the buyer, felt they were being robbed
or were intimidated into making a purchase, said Chief Assistant Public
Defender Bill White.

"I've got a feeling if not all 12, some of these people are telling the
truth when they said they didn't do it," White said. "Given the fact that
their stories are significantly different from Sinclair's, it's worth
looking at. I think he was just making numbers ... getting his arrest
numbers up."

Mark Rosenblum, one of Sinclair's attorney, declined to comment.

All 12 men pleaded guilty to drug charges in what White described as likely
matters of convenience rather than risk facing a police officer at trial
and receiving more jail time. Sentences lasted from a few days to a few months.

White said he wants applicable cases set aside by a judge -- hopefully with
an agreement from prosecutors -- to clear the records of those convicted.
White's office developed the cases from a list of 230 arrests made by
Sinclair since 1993.

White mailed letters to the defendants last week asking for their
permission to release confidential attorney-client information, such as
their statements at the time of the arrest. He said yesterday he has
received one positive response, while three requests have been returned
with no forwarding address.

While said he will turn over any pertinent information to prosecutors. The
next step would be for the defendants to file court motions to get the
cases set aside.

"When these cases came up, if the State Attorney's Office had known what
they know today about Sinclair ... they would have been dropped," White
said. "Once his reputation was established at the level where it is now, I
don't think the state would have gone forward with a simple hand-to-hand
purchase."

Chief Assistant State Attorney Jay Plotkin said each case will be judged
individually.

"Depending on the circumstances, the right thing might be to argue that we
should not agree to throw out the case," Plotkin said. "If the public
defender proves to be right, that the case was completely based on Sinclair
and that his testimony was incredulous given the circumstances of the case,
the right thing might be to throw the conviction out."

Sinclair's credibility became an issue after his arrest in December, along
with charges filed against former Officers Karl Waldon and Jason Pough.
Sinclair and Waldon, charged in crimes including the slaying of convenience
store owner Sami Safar, are awaiting trial. Pough has pleaded guilty to a
robbery and kidnapping and is cooperating against his former colleagues.

Other cases recently being challenged because of the indicted officers'
involvement.

Attorney Bob Willis has filed a court motion to have the 1998 conviction of
Malik Warthen set aside, claiming that Warthen was wrongly convicted of
drug charges stemming from a traffic stop ordered by Pough and Waldon.

Willis said Warthen, whose passenger happened to be Pough's second cousin,
was set up to be robbed by the two undercover narcotics officer.

Court records show Pough and Waldon were in an unmarked car when they saw
Warthen drive through a stop sign. They radioed for a patrolman to stop the
vehicle and he obeyed. The officer said he saw Pough and Waldon approach
the car with ninja masks on and their guns drawn.

Waldon and Pough said they had seen Warthen put a container under the car,
which they found had crack cocaine inside. The patrol officer, who said he
kept his eye on Warthen's vehicle, said he did not see Warthen open his car
door. Willis said Warthen was robbed of several thousand dollars by the
narcotics officers. Among the many crimes in the federal indictment are
charges that the officers ripped off drugs and money during traffic stops.

Warthen didn't bring up the cash rip-off during his case because a plea
agreement was arranged beforehand, Willis said. He pleaded guilty to
possession of cocaine and was sentenced to six months in jail rather than
risk facing a minimum of three years in prison, Willis said.

Willis said the lack of credibility of Pough and Waldon should negate their
claims about the drugs, especially since the patrol officer, as an
independent witness, said he never saw the drugs put under the car.

"This is a case the state should not be very proud of and should not have
much confidence in," Willis said. "For that reason, they ought to take a
hard look at if they want a conviction based on these circumstances."

Warthen could not be reached to comment. Plotkin said the case is under review.

Jacob Wilson, charged with selling marijuana to Sinclair in 1995, has filed
a motion in court seeking his 6-month sentence be set aside because he
claims Sinclair and other officers beat him and planted the marijuana on
him. Prosecutors have reviewed the case and haven't decided what action to take.