DRUG SWEEP FAILS TO HINDER CRIME

Bail Deals Return Offenders To Streets

"All we can do on our end is make good cases and good arrests." - officer
involved in 'Playin' with the Fellas'

When the New Orleans Police Department unleashed "Playin' with the Fellas"
in September, the operation was touted as a head-on blitz against violent
crime, designed to sweep the streets clean of the low-level drug dealers
who make up a disproportionate share of the city's murderers and victims.

The narcotics squad left little maneuvering room for suspects, videotaping
hand-to-hand drug sales involving undercover officers cruising around in
inconspicuous "cool" cars. Nearly 200 suspects were caught in the sting,
the vast majority accused of selling one or two rocks of crack cocaine.
District Attorney Eddie Jordan applauded the cases as "high-quality," an
assessment backed by a nearly 95 percent acceptance rate.

More than two months later, however, the operation has shown no signs of
making a dent in violent crime or curbing street-level drug activity. Of
198 cases that led to arrests or arrest warrants, at least 47 percent of
the suspects remain free, and the pace of shootings and killings has
remained stubbornly high.

Most of the suspects who remain on the street either made bond arrangements
or were never picked up. And in the 15 cases that have been adjudicated so
far, 12 defendants pleaded guilty and received probation, compared to just
three -- all of them on probation for a prior offense -- who received
prison time.

As the cases make their way through the court system, the release rate is
expected to climb as more defendants get placed on probation. Normally, a
cocaine distribution conviction requires a two-year minimum sentence, but
that minimum can be waived if a case is referred to one of the city's drug
courts, a common practice in small-scale narcotics busts.

Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, a
nonprofit watchdog group, questioned the outcome so far.

"I would be surprised if 10 percent of these people did any serious time in
jail at the end of the day," Goyeneche said. "So what's the end result of
all the resources and all this manpower that went into this operation? Is
it any wonder that this has had a negligible impact on our crime problem?"

Police frustrated

An analysis of the 198 cases reveals a hodgepodge of dispositions as they
snake through Orleans Parish Criminal Court, a reflection of differing
judicial philosophies and personalities that make up the bench. For
example, while 21 defendants posted commercial bonds to cover bail amounts
ranging from $500 to $40,000, judges granted reduced bail to another 20
defendants, 17 of whom got a free pass back to the streets through
recognizance bonds or personal surety bonds.

Overall, the analysis of police and court records shows that in addition to
the 47 percent of suspects on the street, 44 percent remained locked up,
and 9 percent can't be tracked because they were juveniles or suspects with
aliases. At one point, the percentage of suspects behind bars was even
lower, records show, but 10 of the released suspects have been re-arrested
on new charges and jailed.

In the finished cases, the 4-to-1 ratio of probation to prison time is a
disappointing surprise to police. Several officers said they assumed
convicted offenders would face sentences of two to 30 years as specified in
the state criminal code for cocaine distribution, but the siphoning of
cases to drug court has altered that math. Some officers argued that drug
court should be reserved for small-time first-offenders, not the
street-corner desperadoes targeted in the "Fellas" sting.

"That's not what we intended," said an officer involved in the operation.
"But all we can do on our end is make good cases and good arrests."

Veteran defense lawyer Gary Wainwright, who is representing six defendants
caught in the sting, offered another viewpoint in suggesting that "Playin'
with the Fellas" could ultimately exacerbate the crime problem.

"This type of police activity does not decrease violence in our
neighborhoods," he said. "First of all, you're disrupting the pecking order
of dealers on the street when you conduct these sweeps. It leads to all
kinds of people trying to fill the vacuum. . . . Then, you're sending most
of the (defendants) back to the street on probation, with big fines and a
felony record. As felons, do you think they're going to be able to get good
jobs to pay those fines? No. It's just a recipe for more crime."

Prosecutors, however, were quick to declare the operation a success.

"We consider this to be a model crime-fighting operation," Jordan said.
"All of the cases are strong cases with quality audio and video. This kind
of crime-fighting will result in more convictions, even if a lot of them
end up being handled by (the state office of) probation and parole."

The Police Department also stands strongly by the operation, though some
officers grumble about the sting being diluted by other components of the
justice system. Even without an immediate and obvious impact on violent
crime, the "Fellas" operation has made a difference, spokesman Capt. Marlon
Defillo said.

"We believe that any time an effort is made to remove street-level drug
dealers, it benefits the community," Defillo said. "Maybe more than the
shootings and other violence, these types of criminals bring a general
deterioration in many neighborhoods. We're making impacts on the quality of
life in a lot of neighborhoods."

A tale of two judges

Both police and prosecutors, however, questioned the manipulation of bonds
in some of the cases, a long-standing complaint voiced by previous police
administrations and by Jordan's predecessor, Harry Connick, during his
lengthy tenure as district attorney.

For example, Jarell Brown, 20, was assigned to a court-ordered diversion
program when he was caught with illegal drug paraphernalia in June. But
after he allegedly sold crack to an undercover officer two months later,
his original bond of $20,000 was reduced to a free recognizance bond by
Judge Frank Marullo, records show.

In another case, Kevin Maxwell, 25, and Freddie Maxwell, 19, were each
charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Judge Charles
Elloie reduced Freddie Maxwell's bail from the $25,000 set by a magistrate
to a free recognizance bond, even though he was on probation for
third-offense possession of marijuana, records show. Kevin Maxwell has an
even more serious rap sheet, with felony cocaine and robbery convictions,
but Elloie reduced his bail from $35,000 to $5,000, the records show. Kevin
Maxwell gained his release with a commercial surety bond.

It wasn't long before both Maxwells were back in court for drug tests, and
both tested positive, records show. The penalties? Each was slapped with a
$500 fine and released.

Another case shows a stark difference between two judges.

Kenneth Dede, 54, is listed as a career criminal with convictions for
aggravated battery, possession with intent to distribute crack, possession
of crack, possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana. He's served
two prison sentences for probation violations. Days after Dede was caught
in the sweep and booked with distribution of marijuana, Elloie reduced his
bail from $20,000 to $5,000, which Dede covered by purchasing a surety
bond. But when the case was allotted to Judge Dennis Waldron for trial,
Waldron raised Dede's bond to $50,000. He remains locked up.

Jordan said bond reductions only serve to "complicate the crime-fighting
efforts of law enforcement."

"We're not happy with reductions of bonds that we feel are appropriately
high," Jordan said. "The modifications should not occur, but that's
something in the discretion of the court. . . . We've simply not been able
to prevail on the courts to hold these type of people on high bonds."

Defillo said police can't concern themselves with elements of the system
beyond their control. "We're just one leg of the judicial process," he said.

Goyeneche, though, said he thinks the Police Department took a good first
step with the drug sweep. But for the operation eventually to be labeled a
success, the other parts of the justice system need to do their part.

"There has to be some consequences for this type of behavior beyond a bunch
of people put on probation," Goyeneche said. "The tale of the tape is going
to be seen as these cases come to trial. The Police Department can't do
much more than what they did. Now it's up to the rest of the criminal
justice system to do its part."