FORT WORTH MAN TO BE FREED BECAUSE OF DEA AGENT'S FALSE AFFIDAVIT

FORT WORTH -- A federal judge threw out the conviction and 10-year prison
sentence of a man accused of being a drug dealer last week because a
federal drug agent fabricated evidence in a search warrant affidavit.

The judge's decision means that more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana and
other drugs seized at a Fort Worth "stash house" can no longer be used as
evidence against Adrian Valdez Garcia, who was convicted in 1996.

The ruling Friday will free Garcia from federal prison because authorities
no longer have any credible evidence against him, prosecutors said. Because
of computer problems at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, it could not be
determined yesterday where Garcia is incarcerated or how quickly he will be
released.

"I don't anticipate retrying the case," Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul
Gartner said yesterday. "We would lose valuable evidence. This case is
over." The case is rare in that a law enforcement official was caught lying
to obtain a search warrant and get a conviction, prosecutors and defense
lawyers said. However, the former Drug Enforcement Administration agent,
Will Travis, will not be prosecuted.

Travis no longer works for the DEA, and agents there said they did not know
where to contact him.

Valdez was sentenced to 10 years in prison Sept. 20, 1996, on charges of
possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to
distribute methamphetamine, maintaining an establishment to distribute
marijuana and methamphetamine, and conspiracy.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Terry Means chastised Travis for his actions
in Valdez's case. Means responded to Valdez's petition for habeas corpus
relief, which is a review of a case on the grounds of constitutional or
federal law violations after regular appeals have been exhausted.

"Without the fruits of the illegal search there is insufficient evidence to
sustain the defendant's convictions," Means concluded in his decision.

The search was illegal because a magistrate was given false information for
probable cause when members of a drug task force requested a search warrant
for a house in the 5900 block of South Hampshire on April 8, 1995, Means wrote.

Travis fabricated information saying that another DEA agent had witnessed a
drug transaction at that residence, Means wrote.

"Central to the finding of probable cause to support the search warrant was
the assertion in the affidavit that DEA Special Agent Terri Wyatt had
observed a black Buick back into the driveway of the residence, that two
black males exited the vehicle, loaded what appeared to be packages into
the vehicle and left the location," Means wrote.

"In fact, Wyatt made no such observation and never told Travis that she
had. The `observation' was a fabrication by Travis."

Other members of the drug task force and federal prosecutors were unaware
that Travis fabricated the statement about the drug transaction, Means said.

Travis resigned from the DEA in November 1997. DEA officials would not say
whether he was pressured to resign or was fired, but they consider him a
bad apple who tarnished the agency's reputation.

"He was not involved in any other case like that that we are aware of,"
said Michael Dromgoole, assistant special-agent-in-charge of the DEA office
in Dallas. "It was the exception from the rule. It's unfortunate because it
reflects badly on all of us in law enforcement." Karl Colder, the DEA
agent-in-charge in Fort Worth, said Travis' action "discredits everything
we do." But Colder also credited other DEA agents and task force members
who told the truth and helped correct a wrong.

"This individual is no longer on the job -- and I think that's good for
us," Colder said.

U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins of Dallas said prosecutors decided against
prosecuting Travis on perjury charges. "We had enough questions about what
was said to bring it to the attention of the court," Coggins said, "but it
was not enough to go before a jury and prove perjury beyond a reasonable
doubt."

Valdez owes his freedom to the prosecutor in his case, Assistant U.S.
Attorney Colleen Murphy, now a federal prosecutor in Florida.

Murphy discovered problems with Travis' statements while preparing for the
trial of one of Valdez's co-defendants in 1997, Coggins said.

Because of the flawed search warrant, the government dismissed all charges
against Victoria Roberta Barela in September 1997.

A third co-defendant, Ernest Vera, had pleaded guilty earlier and was
sentenced to 61/2 years in prison in 1996.

Valdez's appeals attorney, Richard Alley of Fort Worth, praised Murphy for
her honesty and professionalism in exposing Travis' lie.

"She is one hell of a good prosecutor and a good lawyer," Alley said. "I'm
not surprised she kept digging and didn't like what she found and reported
it." Police seldom are caught lying, said Alley, a criminal defense
attorney with 18 years' experience.

"The allegation is made a lot, but it's extremely rare that police are
actually caught lying or fabricating evidence," Alley said.

Valdez had to wait until the courts ruled on his original appeal before he
could file his habeas corpus petition with the new information about the
tainted search warrant affidavit in 1998.

The case took two more years to be resolved because his petition competed
with hundreds of other appeals and habeas corpus petitions for the judges'
time and attention, Alley said.

Toni Heinzl, (817) 390-7684