JURY CONVICTS FORMER POLICE CHIEF

Deville Faces Life In Prison On Conspiracy, Weapons, Drug Counts

LAFAYETTE - After three hours of deliberation, a jury convicted former
Duson Police Chief Thomas Deville of conspiracy, weapons and drug charges
Wednesday.

Deville, 50, was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to
distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute marijuana,
carrying a weapon in support of a drug crime and interstate travel in
support of a drug crime.

He faces a maximum possible penalty of life in prison.

Deville was accused of being part of Lanier "Pops" Cherry's drug ring,
which investigators said distributed more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana.

It was the target of a Southeast Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task
Force investigation called "Sweet Dixie." Agents from the FBI; Louisiana
State Police; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Customs
Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; the U.S. Marshals
Service and Lafayette Metro Narcotics participated in the investigation.

Deville's 14 co-defendants, including Cherry, all have pleaded guilty and
are awaiting sentencing.

The jury's verdict followed five days of testimony, which wrapped up
Tuesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Mickel and defense attorney Daniel
Stanford presented their closing arguments to the jury Wednesday morning.

U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik ordered Deville jailed, as is required
by federal law when a person is convicted of serious drug crimes.

After the verdict was read, Stanford said he believed Deville got a fair
trial.

"I'm not going to second-guess the jury. They heard the evidence," Stanford
said. "I did everything possible. I threw everything out there, including
the kitchen sink. From the defense point of view, we have nothing to
complain about. We were allowed to present our case to the jury."

Stanford said his client will appeal.

"Of course I'm disappointed," he said. "And I am surprised. I didn't think
the evidence supported the gun charge nor the conspiracy charge."

Mickel said he was not surprised.

"We had a very attentive jury, and I was confident from the beginning that
they were going to do the right thing," Mickel said. "I'm pleased they
convicted him on all counts, but it didn't surprise me. They paid very
close attention to the case, and that verdict was supported by the evidence."

In closing arguments, Stanford attacked the credibility of the admitted
drug dealers who testified against Deville.

"It's incredible that a man is sitting here in court, facing 10 years to
life today based on the word of people like that," Stanford said.

Stanford reiterated Deville's defense that he thought he was picking up
horse feed when Cherry offered to pay him $1,000 and put him up in a hotel
to pick up a package in Houston.

"Is it impossible to believe that Tom Deville went to Houston to pick up
something legitimate?" Stanford argued. "He acted with the best of
intentions. He went to Houston to pick up horse supplies."

Because the issue was raised, a bale of alfalfa hay, a sack of alfalfa
pellets and open bags of marijuana were set up in the courtroom Wednesday
morning for jurors to smell.

Stanford called the government's theory that Deville needed money "a bunch
of bull" and asked where the financial records were to support that motive.

He said that Deville's involvement in the conspiracy must have been
"telepathic" because there was no mention of him in the statements of most
of his co-conspirators or on Cherry's taped phone conversations.

In his closing arguments, Mickel ridiculed the horse feed defense.

"Who drives to Houston to get what you can buy in Carencro, Broussard or
Lafayette?" he asked.

Deville knew what marijuana smelled like, Mickel said. One witness
testified he could smell the marijuana from outside Deville's vehicle
following the run.

Mickel said it wasn't necessary for all members of Cherry's group to name
Deville in their statements.

"You don't have to be a charter member of a conspiracy; you don't have to
be on the board of directors," he said.

To believe Deville, one must believe that all of his co-defendants, all of
the confidential informants, all of the FBI agents, and all of the police
officers are lying, Mickel argued.

"And, I guess if you don't buy that, you can buy the story that he went
there to pick up horse feed," Mickel argued.

Mickel acknowledged that some of his witnesses were "not the cream of
society."

"These are dope dealers and dope users. They are criminals," he said. "But
even a clock that's broken has the correct time twice a day."

And, although his co-defendants described trips in which they concealed
marijuana in creative ways, it makes sense that Deville did not, Mickel
argued.

"Of course they concealed it," he argued. "They weren't police officers.
They weren't carrying guns and badges. They didn't have the perfect cover.
And they didn't have the trust of the people of Duson."

Deville, who was defeated in October 1998, was indicted in May last year.

In another case, Deville was indicted in 1996 on state charges of indecent
behavior with a juvenile and malfeasance in office, and re-indicted on
those charges in 1997 after the original charges were dismissed on a
technicality.

Deville has appealed the second indictment and has not been tried.