DRUG CHARGES DROPPED AFTER JUDGE'S RULING

DURHAM -- Multiple drug charges against a Durham man have been thrown out
of court because of a judicial ruling that the Durham County Sheriff's
Office conducted an illegal and unconstitutional search of his house.

According to official documents examined by The Herald-Sun on Monday,
Superior Court Judge Howard Manning concluded during the holidays that
Deputy J.D. Clark used information that was "simply false and inaccurate"
to get a March 2002 search warrant for the home of [redacted] on Wake
Forest Highway.

Clark also based the warrant on "conclusory statements by unreliable
sources," Manning added. Webster's New World College Dictionary defines
conclusory as "asserted as a conclusion without supporting facts."

Among other things, Clark claimed in a sworn affidavit that a stolen purse,
wallet, checkbook and items of clothing had been discovered in [redacted]'s
house, the judge said. But Manning concluded that "this information is
false and none of the items ... were found in the residence."

As a result of such problems with the warrant, drugs seized in [redacted]'s
home were "the fruits of an illegal search" that violated the federal and
state constitutions, the judge wrote.

Manning said the drugs, which included 7.5 grams of cocaine base, 37.9
grams of marijuana, 5.6 grams of oxycodone and five tablets of diazepam,
could not be used as evidence against [redacted] in a trial.

Court computers indicate that Manning's ruling promptly led Assistant
District Attorney Bobby Croom to dismiss several charges against
[redacted]: maintaining a dwelling for drug sales, felonious possession of
marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of cocaine,
marijuana and other narcotics with the intent to sell them.

"It was just one of those things that happens," Croom said of Manning's
decision. "There's not much I can do about it."

Clark was a sheriff's detective at the time of the search. He is now a
patrol deputy.

No comment was available from the Sheriff's Office on Monday.

Spokesman Ricky Buchanan, a captain, referred questions to legal adviser
Cecily Smith. But a receptionist said Smith was on medical leave until Jan.
13. Clark could not be reached.

Chief Deputy Wes Crabtree said he would look into the situation and get
back to The Herald-Sun.

However, defense lawyer Bill Thomas hailed Manning's ruling as a major
triumph for the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects
citizens against "unreasonable" searches and seizures.

"The moral of the story is that our judicial system is very protective of
our constitutional rights," Thomas said Monday. "Our judges take this very
seriously. The Fourth Amendment is really the cornerstone of our democracy.
It is ingrained in our system."

The amendment is rooted in ancient English common law that prohibited even
the king from entering and searching people's homes without a properly
obtained warrant, Thomas noted.

[redacted], now 42, had another and less successful brush with the law 10
years ago, court records indicate. Then, he received a six-month jail term,
three years of probation and a five-year suspended prison sentence after
pleading guilty to charges that he maintained a dwelling for drug sales and
possessed marijuana with the intent to sell it