ATTORNEY: EX-CHIEF NOT DRUG RUNNER

Deville Accused Of Picking Up Pot In Texas

LAFAYETTE -- The attorney for a former Duson police chief on trial in
federal court for his alleged part in a multistate drug smuggling operation
said his client never knew it was marijuana he picked up during a trip to
Texas.

Former Duson Police Chief Tom Deville is facing counts of conspiracy and
possession with intent to distribute marijuana, interstate travel in aid of
a racketeering crime and carrying a gun during a drug crime.

He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

The leader of the drug operation -- Deville's neighbor and friend -- Lanier
"Pop" Cherry has already pleaded guilty along with the 14 other people
charged in the federal indictments.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Mickel told the jury that Deville picked up a
duffel bag and box full of marijuana from a Houston drug dealer on Nov. 17,
1998, at the request of Cherry.

"He had the perfect cover for a drug runner," Mickel said. "He had a badge.
He had a gun, and he had the confidence of the people of Duson."

But Deville's attorney Daniel Stanford argued that Cherry told Deville he
would be picking up horse supplies.

Cherry has been raising and training horses for almost 30 years, Stanford
said.

Deville had been approached by Cherry to make a drug run in October, but
Deville had refused, Stanford said.

Deville, who needed money after unsuccessfully waging a campaign for
re-election as police chief, assented to make the November run for $1,000,
but only after being assured the pick-up was legal, Stanford said.

After meeting Cherry's Houston connection Avel Garcia -- who has already
pleaded guilty -- Deville brought the bag and box back to Duson in the back
of his truck. Stanford said he never looked inside.

Deville later told that story to investigators from the FBI and State Police
when they visited his home in March. He then signed a written statement,
which Stanford wanted U.S. District Judge Richard Haik to throw out.

Stanford pointed out that the FBI agent wrote out the statement himself
after Deville said he could read and write but was a terrible speller.

Stanford pointed out the statement did not include Deville's insistence he
knew of nothing illegal about his activities.

Judge Haik ruled that the statement could be presented to the jury.

Attorneys questioned 25-year-old Jason Deckard, who testified that he lived
in Cherry's house for almost two years and made about 20 runs to Texas to
pick up marijuana.

Deckard was testifying against Deville as part of his plea agreement when he
pleaded guilty in the conspiracy.

Deckard said Deville would go by Cherry's house for occasional friendly
visits.

Once, Deckard said, he and Cherry's common-law wife, Linda Bullara -- who
has also pleaded guilty -- had just finished smoking a joint when Deville
walked into the house.

"Y'all better not be smoking anything," Deckard said Deville warned them.

But Deville -- who was police chief at the time -- did not investigate or
ask any questions, Deckard said.

Much of Wednesday's testimony came from State Police Sgt. Dirk Bergeron, who
led the multi-agency investigation dubbed "Sweet Dixie."

Bergeron painted a picture of an organization based from Cherry's Duson home
with a reach into Texas, Mississippi and Alabama.

The indictment charges that the group conspired to transport and sell more
than 1,000 pounds of marijuana in Acadiana.

The investigation wire-tapped drug-related conversations on Cherry's home
phone for 60 days, Bergeron said.

Bergeron said Deville's name was not mentioned in those 60 days. Mickel
pointed out that the wire-taps stopped in October 1998, while Deville's
alleged drug run happened in November.

Bergeron said investigators were clued into Deville's trip by two sources.

Cherry once bragged to an undercover agent wearing a wire that the police
chief was in his pocket and had even made a drug run for him, Bergeron said.

A confidential informant, who was not indicted, also claimed to have seen
the red bag in Deville's truck and that Cherry had told him the bag
contained marijuana.

Cherry is not on the list of witnesses to be called.

Stanford contended that the bag could not hold the amount of marijuana the
prosecution claims. He wheeled in a 70-pound bale of alfalfa hay, then
placed the much smaller bag on top.

Seventy pounds of marijuana was the largest of the types of buys Deckard
would make from Texas.

Bergeron testified a drug dealer could make the hay fit by squeezing it in a
trash compactor.

Testimony resumes this morning.

Deville is facing other business in court. His case in state District Court
- -- where he is charged with indecent behavior with a juvenile and
malfeasance in office -- was scheduled for a pre-trail hearing today. It is
not clear if that hearing would be canceled.

Deville is accused in those charges of asking a 16-year-old girl about the
size of her breasts and telling her he would have to see them to believe
they were the size they appeared to be. He also is accused of offering her
to drive without a license in exchange for sexual favors.