PHILLIPS DRUG-SALE SUSPECT FREE

Courts:Daryl Allen Smith was accused of selling rock cocaine to the
ex-Angels outfielder.Police belatedly admit paying an informant.

The man jailed for a year for allegedly selling rock cocaine to
then-Angles outfielder Tony Phillips was free Wednesday after Anaheim
police lost a taped interview and didn't disclose that they paid the
exotic dancer who worked as their informant.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Dennis S. Choate dismissed the
drug-sale charge against Daryl Allen Smith, 41. It carried a possible
17-year sentence.

Smith was allowed to plead guilty Tuesday to possession of drugs and
was released for time served.

The case against Phillips and Smith was based on the exotic dancer's
claim that she acted as a go-between for them in the sale of $30 in
rock cocaine at an Anaheim hotel.

Deputy Associate Defender Lee I. Blumen said police failure to
disclose payments to the dancer months ago and the "destruction" of
the tape, in which police interviewed the dancer, raised doubts in the
case.

"You should have seen the judge when (the exotic dancer) said she had
been paid. Everybody went, 'Whoa,'" Smith said.

Information about payments to the exotic dancer would ordinarily be
provided to the defense, Deputy District Attorney Michael Murray said.

"I wasn't aware that she had been paid," Murray said.

He added that several prosecutors have worked on the case and it was
unclear who should have provided the information.

The tape, he said, had been "inadvertently lost."

Sgt. Joe Vargas of the Anaheim Police Department said the tape was not
preserved because she was not yet a witness at the time of the
interview. He said the department tries to provide all information
required by the court.

Phillips pleaded guilty in November to drug possession and entered a
rehabilitation program. His lawyer, Alan Stokke, said the conviction
is due to be dismissed as part of the diversion sentence. Otherwise,
the new information would be critical to his defense.

"They were using tactics they only use for dealers in order to catch a
user," Stokke said, referring to the paid informant. "They were out to
catch a big name."

Phillips now plays for the New York Mets.

Smith said he entered the guilty plea only because he wanted to get
out of jail and feared the 17-year sentence.

Choate had ordered a hearing Tuesday on motions by Blumen to dismiss
the case and the dancer was called to testify by Murray. During
cross-examination by Blumen, she admitted to receiving payments from
Anaheim police, including one for $100 shortly after the Phillips arrest.

Anaheim police then confirmed the payments.

Smith said in an interview Wednesday that he was at the hotel to
inquire about enrollment in a local computer school.

He said he had watched Phillips arrested with much fanfare as he was
checking into the hotel and was shocked later, "when they kicked in my
door, slammed my head and handcuffed me."

He contended that the dancer identified him because he was a stranger
and she feared retaliation if she fingered any local drug dealer.

Law enforcement officials said her life and the life of her child
would be in danger if she is identified by name.

"Most drug informants are either working off an arrest or working for
money," Vargas said. "Not too many people set up drug deals for us
because they are good citizens."

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady