Controversy Swirls In Drug Trial

TULIA - The last of a series of trials stemming from a costly and
controversial drug bust last year in Tulia is expected to conclude today.

On trial is Kareem Abdul Jabbar White of Tulia, who is accused of selling
cocaine to an undercover officer. Testimony began Wednesday.

White is one of 43 defendants arrested after an 18-month undercover
operation. Many defendants pleaded guilty. Others went to trial in this
small community about 75 miles north of Lubbock.

The cases have rested largely on evidence provided by Tom Coleman, an
undercover officer who conducted the operation. He has testified that he
used no audio or video recording devices during the drug transactions.
Coleman has also testified that no other officers assisted him.

Defense attorneys have challenged the credibility of Coleman, a former
Outstanding Lawman of the Year.

While working undercover in Swisher County, Coleman was charged with theft
and abuse of his official position in Cochran County, records show. The
charges were later dropped.

Swisher County District Attorney Terry McEachern told The Avalanche-Journal
in April that he believes Coleman has acted lawfully and truthfully in the
undercover operation.

''If I did not 100 percent believe Tom Coleman was telling the truth, I
would not be trying these cases,'' he said.

Mike Culwell, a longtime farmer and rancher northeast of Tulia, told The
A-J in April that he's suspicious of the operation, which has cost Swisher
County taxpayers roughly $230,000 and caused the tax rate to climb by 5.8
percent.

''They're taking the word of one undercover agent who's been in trouble
himself to lock these kids away forever, and I'm not sure that's too
appropriate,'' he said.

Culwell also warned of ''a taxpayers revolt before it's all over.''

District Judge Jack Miller placed a gag order on attorneys and witnesses
associated with White's case.

In April, McEachern said that of the 43 people arrested, one was Hispanic
and two were white. The rest were black.

The Amarillo chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People has promised to examine the case. The Amarillo chapter
president, Alphonso Vaughn, attended the proceedings Wednesday.

McEachern said in April that one of the harshest sentences fell on a white
man, William Cash Love, who was sentenced to 434 years in prison for eight
drug-related charges.

One of the lightest sentences was given to Vickie Fry, a black woman who
received five years' probation for delivery of cocaine, he said.

The drug cases have caught national attention.

On Wednesday, representatives of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial
Justice from New York City attended the trial. Attorney William Kunstler
died in 1995. In 1968, he represented the Chicago Seven - seven men charged
with instigating riots to protest the Vietnam War. Five of the men were
convicted, but their sentences were later overturned.

Randy Credico, a representative of the Kunstler organization, attended
Wednesday's trial and described it as a ''modern day, small-town witch-hunt.''

The drug cases should have been moved out of Swisher County for trial, he said.

''Part of our mission statement is to oppose racism in the judicial
system,'' he said. ''This is as racist as it gets.''

White's attorney, Dwight McDonald of Lubbock, pointed out in Wednesday's
proceedings that Coleman gave conflicting statements concerning the time
frame in which he purchased drugs from White.

McDonald also brought in four witnesses - a district attorney, a narcotics
investigator, a former sheriff for whom Coleman worked, and a retired
banker who did business with Coleman. All testified that Coleman is a liar.

McEachern brought in witnesses who included a Texas Ranger, Swisher County
Sheriff Larry Stewart and a drug task force officer for whom Coleman worked
during the undercover operation. All said Coleman is truthful.