FORMER NARCOTICS DETECTIVE GETS FIVE YEARS' PROBATION

Former narcotics detective Christie Richardson was sentenced yesterday to
five years' probation in connection with one of the largest police
corruption cases in Jefferson County history.

Jefferson Circuit Judge Steve Mershon said sending Richardson, convicted in
February of 20 felony charges, to prison would be a ''miscarriage of justice.''

Mershon said the actions of Richardson and her Metro Narcotics partner,
Mark Watson, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence, made a mess of the
legal system. In the aftermath of the case, charges have been dismissed and
convictions set aside in circuit and district court cases, involving more
than 50 defendants.

But Mershon said he agreed with the jurors who believed that Watson was
almost entirely to blame in a case that involved bogus search warrants,
theft of money intended for informants and claims for overtime that wasn't
worked.

He also noted that Richardson had no criminal history and that in
discussions after making a recommendation for a one-year sentence, the
jurors asked him to grant probation.

Richardson, 36, hugged a friend after the sentencing and left the courtroom
without answering reporters' questions. Her attorney, Steve Schroering,
said, ''Certainly, she's very relieved.''

But the matter may not be over because prosecutors are considering seeking
a new indictment of Richardson, regarding a search warrant bearing her
signature that has a photocopied judge's signature on it.

Prosecutors used that warrant as evidence in Richardson's trial, but she
had not been charged in connection with it.

A decision on whether to seek a new indictment will be made soon, Jonathan
Dyar, assistant commonwealth's attorney and one of the prosecutors in the
case, said yesterday.

''That decision's going to be based solely on whether we believe Christie
Richardson committed other crimes and whether she should be punished for
that,'' he said.

Asked whether, during the trial, prosecutors said that the warrant
indicated wrongdoing, Dyar said, ''I think that's probably fair.''

A new indictment connected to the warrant ''would be a much simpler case,''
Dyar said.

When her first trial started, Richardson faced 284 charges stemming from
allegations involving events that occurred over a period of more than a year.

''No matter how many cases or charges were against her, it was going to be
a very complicated case against her regardless,'' Dyar said. ''It wasn't
simply the number of charges that made it complicated. It was the vastness
of what was done that made it complicated. I do think that had an effect on
the jury. I'm not 100 percent sure they followed all the evidence.''

The jury found Richardson guilty in February of 20 felony charges: 19 of
tampering with public records and one of criminal possession of a forged
instrument. The jury also found her guilty of official misconduct, a
misdemeanor.

Near the beginning of the trial, Watson pleaded guilty to 299 felony
counts, admitting to burglary and theft and using photocopied judges'
signatures to create bogus warrants. As part of the plea agreement, he
testified against Richardson.

Attorneys in the case said most of the charges the jury convicted
Richardson on were related to overtime she claimed on cases where
confidential informants were supposed to have been paid. The informants,
however, said they didn't get the money.

If Richardson were to violate the conditions of her probation, she could
serve a year in prison -- the punishment formally recommended by the jury.
Along with probation, Mershon ordered Richardson to pay a $2,500 fine and
perform 100 hours of community service.

Mershon noted that she faces ''much greater financial consequences'' in
four civil lawsuits alleging that she and Watson violated the rights of
suspects.

Schroering said that Mershon's sentencing decision was fair.

''She's been punished a lot more than any normal person who was convicted
of this type of crime would have ever been punished,'' he said. ''For the
past 14 months, her life, this is all she thinks about when she wakes up.
This is all she thinks about when she goes to bed. She's on the news
continuously. She's been punished quite a bit.''

Richardson is not working currently, but Schroering said he believes she
will be able to find a job.

Dyar had asked Mershon to run some of Richardson's sentences on the
felonies consecutively, for a total of 10 years in prison with a $10,000 fine.

He argued that Richardson still hasn't shown any remorse and that she had
victimized more than the people she and Watson broke rules to investigate.
He said she had victimized the police in general and those assigned to
Metro Narcotics and everyone in Jefferson County.

''The victims in this case are too numerous to mention,'' Dyar said.
Mershon said of the sentence, ''I hope and pray the police department
doesn't perceive this judgment as any sign of disrespect for the police
department.''

Watson is currently serving his sentence at the Frankfort Career
Development Center, a minimum-security prison. A state corrections Web site
says the 205-man facility provides supplemental labor for state government
agencies.