EX-AGENT INDICTED IN TULIA DRUG CASES

The undercover officer who ran a controversial drug investigation in Tulia
four years ago was indicted Thursday on charges of lying under oath during
recent hearings to determine if the convictions he obtained were legitimate.

A three-count indictment handed up by a Swisher County grand jury accuses
Tom Coleman, 43, of making false statements about legal problems he faced
in another county while working for the Panhandle Drug Task Force.

"These were the three strongest cases," said Rod Hobson, a Lubbock attorney
who is working as a special prosecutor on the Tulia investigation.

Coleman could not be reached for comment.

In the summer of 1999, Coleman's 18-month sting operation ended with the
arrest of 46 residents of Tulia, a small town of 5,000 about 50 miles north
of Lubbock. Some charges were later dismissed, but 38 people were convicted
and 13 remain in prison.

Because 39 of those arrested were black, charges that the sting was
racially motivated arose, but that was only part of the controversy.

All of the convictions were obtained solely on the testimony of Coleman,
who worked alone, kept few notes, and had no audio or video surveillance
evidence to support drug buys. During the pre-dawn roundup of the suspects,
no cash or drugs were found, raising questions about the task force's
characterization of them as "major dealers."

And, after most of the convictions and plea bargains were obtained, details
of Coleman's checkered law enforcement history surfaced. In fact, while the
Tulia sting was in progress, he was charged with theft of gasoline in
Cochran County, where he had previously worked as a deputy sheriff.

Appellate attorneys argued that Coleman's problems were not disclosed at
the time of the trials and therefore could not be used to cast doubt on his
testimony. If Coleman gave false testimony during those trials, he could
not be prosecuted now because of the statute of limitations.

Last month, in evidentiary hearings ordered by the Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals to determine whether the convictions should be reconsidered,
Coleman was questioned about when he knew he was facing a criminal charge
and his actions afterward.

The indictment alleges that he gave conflicting testimony. At one point, he
testified that he did not learn of the Cochran County theft charge until
August 1998, but other testimony indicated he knew about it three months
earlier but continued working as an undercover agent.

The indictment also alleges that he lied about stealing the gasoline in
Cochran County and about contacting the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
Officer Standards and Education to notify it of the charge against him.

Those hearings were scheduled to resume April 1, with more testimony from
Coleman, but were halted when prosecutors agreed with defense lawyers that
his testimony was unreliable.

Retired Judge Ron Chapman then ruled that Coleman "is simply not a credible
witness under oath" and said he would recommend that the Court of Criminal
Appeals set aside all 38 convictions and order new trials.

Hobson has said the state would dismiss the cases rather than retry them
because there is no evidence against the individuals except Coleman's
testimony.

If convicted, Coleman, who is no longer in law enforcement, faces up to 10
years in prison and a $10,000 fine on each of the three charges.