STATE DRUG AGENT FROM O.C. CONVICTED OF COCAINE THEFT

A federal jury Thursday convicted a former state drug agent from Orange
County of the 1997 theft of nearly 650 pounds of cocaine from an evidence
room, the largest theft of drugs from a police agency in state history.

Jurors deliberated about one hour in Los Angeles before convicting Richard
Wayne Parker of stealing the cocaine from the state Bureau of Narcotic
Enforcement's office in Riverside. The conviction comes four months after a
different jury nearly cleared Parker, deadlocking 10-1 in favor of acquittal.

Parker, 45, a state drug agent for more than 10 years and a police officer
for two decades, faces a sentence of up to life in prison, said Assistant
U.S. Attorney Beverly Reid O'Connell. The cocaine was on loan to the state
agency from Anaheim police at the time of the theft.

Defense lawyer Richard Hamar said he was disappointed that the jury reached
its verdict so swiftly, most likely without reviewing 350 pieces of
evidence admitted at the trial.

During an eight-day trial, O'Connell presented evidence that Parker had
access to the evidence locker at the time of the theft and was found in
possession of nearly $600,000 in cash, bundled like drug proceeds, when he
was arrested in July 1998. Scientists also testified that several handbags
found in Parker's possession were coated with cocaine residue.

Federal agents arrested Parker after watching an admitted cocaine
trafficker - Parker's former girlfriend - hand the agent a manila envelope
containing $47,000 in cash. Parker's lawyer, Richard Hamar, contended in a
closing argument Thursday that Parker thought the money came from
legitimate means.

The agent's ex-girlfriend, Monica Pitto, testified that she sold about 308
pounds of the cocaine for Parker. The 650 pounds of stolen cocaine had a
street value in excess of $3 million. O'Connell presented evidence that
Parker led an elaborate lifestyle, paying his girlfriend's rent and
furnishing her apartment while raising his own family in San Juan
Capistrano.