PHONY WARRANT DISCOVERY FORCES PROSECUTORS TO VACATE SENTENCES

PLANT CITY - Suspected drug dealer Eric Contreras was well-known to police
here.

In August 1999, the police special investigations unit wanted to search the
home Contreras shared with two family members, according to an affidavit
filed in federal court.

But the officers didn't have a warrant.

So former Officer Robert David Dixon went to the front door and flashed
some paper, a federal affidavit stated. The officer didn't tell Contreras
the search warrant was for another residence, according to the affidavit.

The search yielded guns and drugs, and the suspects eventually entered
pleas to various state charges, the affidavit said.

But because of the police misconduct, prosecutors are preparing an order to
vacate prison sentences for the suspects. It wasn't clear when the suspects
would be released, but authorities said Contreras will remain in custody on
charges stemming from an unconnected drug-related homicide.

"They should not have this on their record," said Pam Bondi, a spokeswoman
with the state attorney's office.

State and federal authorities said they were were tipped off by an
unidentified source that the police unit was stealing property from
suspects, lying to obtain search warrants, and using misleading and illegal
tactics. That led to a probe of the unit, a squad of officers who
specialize in fighting street crime and community policing.

Three current and former officers have been charged in the corruption probe.

Tampa attorney Ronald K. Cacciatore, who represents Police Chief Bill
McDaniel and Mayor Mike Sparkman, called the investigation a "witch hunt."

"I think that it is designed so that they can shake some trees and scare
someone into saying there was wrongdoing of which I am not aware,"
Cacciatore said.

However, the affidavit filed by special agent Steve Peterka of the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement paints another picture.

Through his investigation with the U.S. attorney's office, he detailed
"warrantless searches" and other misconduct by special investigations unit
members.

Federal officials released details about the alleged illegal search in the
Contreras case Wednesday after charging one of the unit's officers, Armand
Cotnoir, 27, with conspiring to deprive citizens of their civil rights.

A five-year veteran of the force, he was suspended with pay from his
$38,000 a year job, said Sanders Bush, human resources director for the city.

On Tuesday, Dixon pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the
civil rights of citizens. Another former officer, Shawn C. Corgan, pleaded
guilty to lying to a federal grand jury last year in the same
investigation. Corgan and Dixon have agreed to cooperate with federal
authorities.

According to records, Dixon, Corgan, Cotnoir and another unnamed officer
went to Contreras' home at 1706 Hughes Drive on Aug. 14, 1999, with a
warrant from another unrelated case.

Dixon "flashed" that warrant, "misleading [Contreras] into thinking that
the conspirators had a valid judicially authorized warrant," records show.

But, in fact, he did not.

The search yielded trace amounts of marijuana and methamphetamine,
narcotics paraphernalia, and guns, including a Norinco SKS rife (an AK-47
Chinese assault rifle look-alike), records show.

State prosecutors and defense attorneys were not aware of the facts
surrounding the "illegal entry, search and seizure," the affidavit said.

Prosecutors are investigating whether there are other cases that could have
been compromised, Bondi said.

"We are waiting on law enforcement to provide any additional information to
our office," she said. "I believe there may be others."

It was after the investigation into the Contreras case, federal and state
officials said, that they set up a sting operation to catch the officers in
the act.

The officers were lured to the Plant City Days Inn on April 4, 2000, by a
female undercover agent who told Dixon on the phone that drugs were being
used and sexual activities were being videotaped in a room at the hotel.
Dixon, Corgan and Cotnoir were involved in a warrantless search of the
empty hotel room, during which a videotape was stolen from a camera,
Peterka's affidavit said. The initial informant said the officers
previously had been involved in the theft of pornographic tapes and other
property from suspects during searches, Peterka wrote. The officers'
actions in the hotel room were recorded, his affidavit said.