INFORMANT'S PAST TAINTS DRUG CASES

MCMINNVILLE, Ore. (AP) - Drug cases against more than 40 people have
been dropped because of the actions of an informant working for the
Yamhill County Interagency Narcotics Team.

District Attorney Brad Berry said information published by the
McMinnville News-Register led him to abandon the cases, which
primarily involved the delivery of small amounts of marijuana.

He said the drug team was not privy to the information when it
contracted with Marc Caven, 51, of Portland to help run a four-month
sting.

The newspaper reported that Caven had a felony criminal record and a
history of entrapment while working as an informant for several Oregon
counties during the 1980s.

In those cases, Caven enticed young people into acquiring small
quantities of marijuana by offering a high-paying job in construction
or landscaping. Those tactics lead to the dismissal of at least 33
cases.

Caven used the same tactics during a Yamhill County sting operation
that resulted in the 47 arrests in late June, according to the newspaper.

"Today the Yamhill County district attorney is dismissing all cases
based primarily on the involvement of informant Marc Caven," Berry
said in a news release issued Friday. "This office will continue to
pursue prosecution on approximately five cases that involve Mr. Caven
tangentially or that involved the delivery of a large quantity of
illegal drugs."

Berry promised to review a handful of cases in which plea bargains
were struck before the publication of information about Caven's
criminal past and deceptive tactics.

Sheriff Jack Crabtree, who serves on the policy board of the narcotics
team, said hw supports Berry's decision.