WITNESSES TESTIFY AGAINST CAPE OFFICER

A Cape Girardeau narcotics officer paid for sexual acts with city dollars,
hid drugs in his locker and falsified receipts to steal at least $746 in
money meant for undercover drug buys, witnesses testified at a preliminary
hearing Tuesday.

Paul Tipler, 35, was fired from the Cape Girardeau Police Department in
December after internal and Missouri State Highway Patrol investigations.

Judge Hense Winchester of Scott County heard the testimony at the Cape
Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson. Winchester awaits a written
response from Tipler's attorney, Steve Wilson, who said he would submit one
by June 25.

Winchester will rule whether or not the evidence is sufficient to bind
Tipler over for trial. Tipler, who remains free on $10,000 bond, sat
quietly in the courtroom during the testimony, once or twice making brief
eye contact with his accusers.

Tipler, wearing a dark blue suit and hoop earrings, declined an offer from
Wilson before the hearing to look closely at the large bags of marijuana
and crack cocaine that sat on the prosecution's table. The drugs and a
firearm allegedly were found in his locker after Tipler, a 10-year veteran
of the force, was fired.

Felony, Other Charges

He faces felony charges of stealing, two counts of tampering with evidence,
distribution of a controlled substance, two counts of forgery and
misdemeanor charges of possession of a defaced firearm -- the serial
numbers were marred -- and two counts of patronizing prostitution.

Former confidential informants Chandra Edmonds and Elizabeth Albritton both
testified they were paid by Tipler with city money for sexual acts on
various occasions. Both women also admitted they had criminal backgrounds
and previous addictions to crack cocaine.

Edmonds said she was once given $30 for a sexual act after Tipler got the
money from an ATM. He then asked her to sign a city receipt for $30. Such
receipts are required to keep track of the money that the city uses for
drug cases.

"He told me he could get his money back from the department," Edmonds said.

Under cross examination, however, Edmonds admitted she was on
anti-depressants and crack cocaine that day and that her "memory isn't that
good" because of it.

Albritton testified while wearing her orange uniform from the county jail,
where she is incarcerated for a violation of her probation for an assault
charge. She said that she made a "buy" for Tipler once, in which case he
gave her $40 to buy two "$20 rocks" of crack.

Albritton said she told Tipler she was going to buy a $20 rock of crack for
herself with her own money, and Tipler had no problem with that.

"He said, 'Fine,'" she said.

Albritton said after the buy, she handed Tipler back all three rocks and he
gave one back to her. He also got her to sign a $60 receipt, she said, when
he had only used $40 in city money.

"Then he drove me up the block and let me out," she said.

A third female witness, Melena Broglin, was transported from prison in
Vandalia, Mo., to testify. After taking the stand, she refused to testify
on grounds it would incriminate her. That lead to two charges against
Tipler to be dropped -- a charge of distribution of a controlled substance
and a count of paying for prostitution with cocaine.

Fuzzy Memories

Wilson raised questions about the credibility of the witnesses. The women
were fuzzy on details and couldn't answer basic questions about where the
sexual acts took place, what time of day it was and what kind of car they
were in. They also couldn't describe what the receipts looked like, though
the women could identify their signatures.

Police also took the stand Tuesday. Lt. Mark Majoros testified to a
discrepancy between the amount Tipler was taking out of the fund and how
much his receipts totaled.

Majoros explained that narcotics officers have to sign a ledger when they
are taking money out of the so-called "drug fund," but often there is no
one around when they take money from the fund. That's because much of their
work is done late at night when other officers are at home.

Wilson suggested it could be an honest error.

"What says this isn't just bad bookkeeping?" Wilson said. "What evidence is
there that this isn't just a bookkeeping error and not stealing?"

Officers also found 5.48 grams of crack cocaine and 99.55 grams of
marijuana in Tipler's locker, according to testimony by Missouri State
Highway Patrol officer Phil Gregory. The patrol helped investigate Tipler's
case.

Former Cape Girardeau County prosecutor Kevin Zoellner, who now is with the
Missouri Attorney General's office, is serving as a special prosecutor for
the case.