FAKE-DRUG VICTIMS STRUGGLING

'Because Of The Police, I Lost Everything'

Lorenzo Escamilla lost his wife and four children. Yvonne Gwyn's auto
repair shop went out of business. Victor Alvarado Deleon missed the birth
of his second son.

Less tangible but just as difficult to reclaim are the feelings of
self-respect, dignity and peace of mind that faded as they sat in jail for
crimes they didn't commit.

"I couldn't sleep thinking about my family and why they did this to me,"
said Jorge Hernandez, who spent more than three months behind bars. "It's
not easy to forget."

On the eve of the federal criminal trial for the former Dallas detective
who arrested them, some of the 24 victims of the city's so-called fake drug
scandal are still struggling.

Those arrested in the scandal share an immigrant heritage and a strong work
ethic as mechanics, day laborers, small-business owners and carpet layers.
All were arrested between April and October 2001 by the same detective, who
worked with a stable of corrupt criminal informants.

Three informants have pleaded guilty to fabricating drugs and setting up
innocent people for arrest. The motive: more than $275,000 in cash paid by
Dallas police for the seizures of white powdery substances that ultimately
proved to be mostly crushed gypsum, the main ingredient in pool chalk and
wallboard.

Four of those falsely arrested will testify in the federal civil rights
trial of fired Senior Cpl. Mark Delapaz that is to start Monday. Others say
they want to attend but are wary of returning to a courtroom and a justice
system that almost swallowed them whole.

They spent months in jail unable to pay their high bail amounts. Debts
piled up. Savings were depleted.

Jacinto Jesus Mejia spent his children's college savings on attorney fees.

Jose Vega was so disconsolate at the prospect of spending a lifetime in
jail for something he did not do that he suggested his wife leave him. She
did not.

A handful of others pleaded guilty despite their innocence and agreed to
return to Mexico rather than serve time in prison.

For Mr. Hernandez, more than two years have passed since he was arrested on
a bogus felony drug charge. He said he still has trouble sleeping and gets
teary-eyed thinking about his wife and four children visiting him in jail.

Now competing with family photos for wall space in his small southeast
Dallas home is an 8-by-10 framed copy of the court order dismissing his
first-degree felony drug charge "in the interest of justice." The Mexican
immigrant takes comfort in the document, even though he can't read English
and is uncertain what it says.

The truck driver has difficulty explaining his past to prospective
employers. He approaches life outside his home tentatively, still fearful
that he'll be stopped.

"Because of the police, I lost everything," he said.

The Cases

Based on interviews and police and court records, these are the details of
wrongful arrests of the 24 people whose cases involved fake drug evidence:
Victor Alvarado DeLeon, 26

Occupation: mechanic

Date of arrest: April 19, 2001

Time spent in jail: three months

What happened: Mr. DeLeon was arrested at a mechanic's shop after a
confidential informant told police he had purchased drugs from Mr. DeLeon.
Police never recovered the money used in the drug buy. Even though lab
tests showed the drugs were fake, his case was set for trial. Prosecutors
dismissed the charges only after the informant did not show up to testify.
Mr. DeLeon, whose second son was born while he was in jail, works as an
auto body mechanic in Dallas. He suffers panic attacks when he sees police
cars and is in psychotherapy for depression and post-traumatic stress
disorder. He is expected to testify against Mr. Delapaz.

Jose Arevalo, 34, and Lorenzo Escamilla, 31

Occupation: painters Date of arrest: April 26, 2001

Time spent in jail: five months

What happened: Mr. Arevalo and Mr. Escamilla were at a bar in the 4600
block of Maple Avenue when a confidential informant turned over cocaine to
police that he claimed he had bought from the two men. The men were
arrested and charged with possession of a half-pound of cocaine that turned
out to be fake. Mr. Escamilla's marriage broke up while he was in jail.

Luis Julian Senan, 61

Occupation: bar manager Date of arrest: May 4, 2001

Time spent in jail: four months

What happened: An informant using $2,100 in marked money claimed he
purchased cocaine from Mr. Senan inside a bar in the 4600 block of Maple
Avenue. Only $100 of the marked money was recovered.

George Sifuentez, 49

Occupation: warehouse clerk Date of arrest: May 8, 2001

Time spent in jail: four months

What happened: Two informants told police they had purchased drugs from Mr.
Sifuentez and saw more drugs stashed inside a barbecue pit in a warehouse
in the 2300 block of Shorecrest Drive. The arrest report said police
witnessed Mr. Sifuentez loading the grill into the informant's car. Only
$200 of the $4,800 given to the informants for the drug buy was recovered.

Jaime Ortiz, 25, and Javier Pacheco, 45

Occupations: laborer and mechanic, respectively Date of arrest: May 17, 2001

Time spent in jail: Mr. Ortiz spent eight days before posting bond. Mr.
Pacheco's time in jail was not clear.

What happened: Mr. Ortiz went to an auto repair shop operated by his
brother-in-law in the 4200 block of Willow Avenue to get his brakes fixed.
A confidential informant told police he had purchased cocaine from Mr.
Ortiz. Police arrived and arrested Mr. Ortiz on suspicion of possession of
14 pounds of cocaine that turned out to be fake. Mr. Pacheco, who worked at
the shop, was charged with possession of cocaine. Jacinto Jesus Mejia, 42

Occupation: mechanic Date of arrest: May 22, 2001

Time spent in jail: seven months

What happened: Mr. Mejia was working at his small car repair shop in the
4700 block of Singleton Boulevard when a confidential informant told police
he bought a large amount of cocaine from Mr. Mejia. Police seized more than
28 pounds of fake cocaine from a bag on the floorboard of an unlocked 1965
Chevrolet pickup parked outside the shop. Mr. Mejia and his family
exhausted their children's college savings to pay attorney fees.

Bernardo Ortuno, 54

Occupation: mechanic Date of arrest: June 4, 2001

Time spent in jail: five months

What happened: Mr. Ortuno was asked to fix a car at the repair shop where
he worked in the 2600 block of Chalk Hill Road. An informant told police he
had purchased cocaine from Mr. Ortuno. Police searched the business and
seized 46 pounds of fake cocaine in a vehicle left by the informant.

Jaime Siguenza, 31

Occupation: mechanic Date of arrest: June 5, 2001

Time spent in jail: 5 ½ months

What happened: Two strangers asked Mr. Siguenza to work on their car. As he
was fixing the vehicle, police arrested him and seized more than 6 pounds
of fake drugs from inside the car. A confidential informant claimed Mr.
Siguenza had sold drugs to him.

Roberto Amador, 47

Occupation: painter Date of arrest: June 6, 2001

Time spent in jail: court records unclear

What happened: A man called to inquire about purchasing Mr. Amador's tow
truck. During negotiations with the man, who was secretly working for
police, officers swarmed the business where Mr. Amador's truck was being
worked on. He was arrested after police and the informant claimed that he
placed a cooler containing more than 28 pounds of drugs, which were fake,
in the informant's car. He is expected to testify against Mr. Delapaz.

Israel Pineda, 33

Occupation: tire repair shop employee Date of arrest: June 22, 2001

Time spent in jail: seven months

What happened: Mr. Pineda was arrested at a tire shop in the 10800 block of
Elam Road after an informant told police Mr. Pineda had a large amount of
cocaine in the trunk of an old Cadillac. Police seized 30 pounds of fake
cocaine.

Hugo Rosas, 28

Occupation: day laborer Date of arrest: June 29, 2001

Time spent in jail: six months

What happened: Mr. Rosas was standing at the corner of Ross Avenue and
Carroll Street, looking for work, when he was approached by two
confidential informants offering him $100 for a day job. Mr. Rosas was told
to drive the men's vehicle. Moments later, police stopped the car, searched
it and confiscated more than a pound of fake narcotics. Mr. Rosas was
deported after he was released from jail.

Abel Santos, 28

Occupation: mechanic Date of arrest: July 16, 2001

Time spent in jail: two months

What happened: Mr. Santos was arrested by police as he returned from
running errands at the Fort Worth Avenue mechanic's shop where he worked.
Police confiscated 24 pounds of fake cocaine in the back of an abandoned
pickup on the lot.

Emigdio Esparza, 39

Occupation: day laborer/painter Date of arrest: July 19, 2001

Time spent in jail: five months

What happened: Mr. Esparza was looking for work on an Old East Dallas
street corner when he was approached by two confidential informants with an
offer of painting work. The men gave him a set of car keys and told him to
follow them in the car to a convenience store to meet someone before going
to the job site. As he was driving, Mr. Esparza was pulled over by Dallas
police, who confiscated 140 pounds of fake cocaine inside the car.

Daniel Rico Licea, 24, and Denny Ramirez, 25

Occupation: day laborers Date of arrest: Aug. 7, 2001

Time spent in jail: five months

What happened: Mr. Licea and Mr. Ramirez were standing on an Old East
Dallas street corner looking for day work when they were hired and asked to
drive a minivan to a work site. As they waited in a restaurant parking lot,
they were arrested. Detectives searched the vehicle and seized more than
150 pounds of fake cocaine. Mr. Licea returned to Mexico after he was
released from jail.

Jose Vega, 37

Occupation: mechanic Date of arrest: Aug. 16, 2001

Time spent in jail: three months

What happened: Mr. Vega was working under a vehicle when police arrived at
an Oak Cliff transmission repair shop in the 2800 block of West Clarendon
Drive. A confidential informant told police he had purchased cocaine from
Mr. Vega. Police seized about 50 pounds of fake cocaine from an unlocked,
abandoned car on the property. Since his jail release, Mr. Vega has become
friends with Mr. Mejia, and the two now work together.

Yvonne Gwyn, 53

Occupation: car repair shop owner Date of arrest: Sept. 7, 2001

Time spent in jail: three months

What happened: Police seized more than 64 pounds of fake cocaine and
methamphetamine from an unlocked car parked outside Ms. Gwyn's car repair
shop in the 1300 block of Fort Worth Avenue after an informant claimed he
had purchased drugs from her. Since Ms. Gwyn's release from jail, her shop
has gone out of business. She is expected to testify in Mr. Delapaz's trial.

Jorge M. Hernandez, 37

Occupation: truck driver Date of arrest: Sept. 24, 2001

Time spent in jail: 3 ½ months

What happened: The married father of four took his car battery to a repair
shop in the 1600 block of Fort Worth Avenue. When he arrived, police at the
shop arrested him and seized 8 pounds of fake methamphetamines from a gym
bag inside the shop's office. Although he had no connection with the
business, a police confidential informant claimed that Mr. Hernandez was a
drug dealer. Mr. Hernandez had to sell his truck to pay expenses while in
jail and is now trying to find work as a truck driver.

Erubiel Cruz, 48

Occupation: mechanic Date of arrest: Oct. 1, 2001

Time spent in jail: 3 ½ months

What happened: The mechanic was working at a body shop in the 600 block of
East Eighth Street when he was approached by two men asking whether he
could fix their car. As he was examining their vehicle, police arrived and
confiscated 19 ½ pounds of fake methamphetamines from inside the car.

Guadalupe Mendoza, 35, and Francisco Mendoza, 37

Occupation: carpet layers Date of arrest: Oct. 9, 2001

Time spent in jail: three months

What happened: The brothers were hired by a confidential informant for a
carpet-laying job. The two were arrested minutes after a confidential
informant placed a roll of carpet in their pickup in the parking lot of a
Pleasant Grove grocery store. Police seized more than 3 pounds of fake
cocaine and methamphetamines hidden inside the carpet roll.

Estanislao Mendoza, 39

Occupation: mechanic Date of arrest: Oct. 18, 2001

Time spent in jail: three months

What happened: Mr. Mendoza received a call with a request to use his tow
truck to pick up a disabled vehicle near Peak and Carroll streets in Old
East Dallas. After he hooked up the vehicle, police stopped him and
confiscated more than 24 pounds of fake methamphetamines inside the
disabled vehicle.