DRUG BUST HINGES ON CHILD

Attorney questions stepson's word

A Covington drug case may hinge on whether authorities can search a parent's
apartment based on what his young stepson said during an interview at his
elementary school.

Narcotics squad agents said the child told them his stepfather was dealing
drugs from their apartment on 12th Street, according to a search warrant.

No mention of the child was made during a brief hearing Thursday in Kenton
District Court. Instead, Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force Agent Jacob Noe
testified that it was a reliable, confidential informant who gave them
information about Kelvin "Cheezy" Wallers.

The young boy is identified in the search-warrant application as a student
at First District Elementary School in Covington. The search warrant does
not mention any other informant.

"A search warrant based on the uncorroborated word of a child - who may have
an ulterior motive - is constitutionally thin," defense attorney Steve
Dowell said after the hearing.

Dowell said he is disturbed that the narcotics agents would use the word of
a child against his parents. He noted that Noe testified that agents found
no evidence of drug dealing when they went to the apartment.

Detective Gilbert Marksberry, who filled out the search warrant, said he
would have to check with his superiors before commenting. They were not
available for comment.

When its agents raided the 12th Street apartment of Wallers last month, they
found a small bag of what appeared to be cocaine, along with pills and a
marijuana cigarette, Noe testified.

After the testimony, Kenton District Judge Doug Grothaus sent the case
against Wallers to the grand jury. He allowed Wallers - who is charged with
possession of cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia - to remain free on
bond.

According to the application for the search warrant, which Marksberry filed in
district court, police interviewed Wallers' stepson at the school on Feb. 8.

The boy told them that "the sale of 'dope' and marijuana occurred on a daily
basis. "for as long as he can remember," according to the warrant.

The child said he knew what marijuana looked and smelled like. The child's
description of how his parents packaged and sold a powdery substance led
Marksberry to believe he was describing cocaine sales.

The boy also reported that he had been kicked out of his house and was
living with another relative.

Based on the boy's statement, agents staked out the apartment building, and
saw Wallers, 42, and Carmella Watts, 28, entering and leaving the apartment.
Wallers also met with a number of people, the agents reported, which they
said was an indication of drug dealing.

But when the agents raided the apartment, Noe said, they could find no
immediate evidence that drugs were sold. The marijuana, cocaine and pills
were mostly in the living room of the apartment, he testified.