AGENT ANSWERS CENTRAL QUESTION ABOUT 1999 STING

Officer May Have Damaged Cases

TULIA - The undercover agent who conducted the controversial 1999 Tulia
drug sting may have damaged four of his own cases Thursday when he answered
one of the central questions at issue in the evidentiary hearings that have
been going on in Tulia all week.

Taking the stand on the fourth day of testimony in the Swisher County
courtroom, former undercover agent Tom Coleman underwent rigorous
questioning by Washington defense attorney Mitchell Zamoff, who popped the
big question toward the end of the day.

"The only evidence that any of the buys you said were made in Swisher
County happened is your word, correct?" Zamoff asked.

"Yes," Coleman responded.

That one-word response could be crucial because it provides an answer
favorable to the defendants in one of two issues being contested at the
hearings.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals last year remanded the cases of Jason
Jerome Williams, Christopher Eugene Jackson, Freddie Brookins Jr. and Joe
Moore back to Swisher County to determine whether the state improperly
withheld evidence that could impeach Coleman's testimony and whether the
defendants were convicted based solely on Coleman's word.

The appeals court, in its order, said that the questions, if answered
positively, could provide a basis for relief of the defendants.

The four defendants have been in court all week as a series of witnesses
have taken the stand.

Clearly the most anticipated testimony came from Coleman, but Swisher
County Sheriff Larry Stewart answered some important questions as well.

Picking up Stewart's testimony Thursday morning, Zamoff continued to ask
questions that tried to show Stewart went to great lengths to keep secret
Coleman's background and his arrest on charges of theft and abuse of
official capacity out of Cochran County, where the former agent worked
prior to employment in Tulia.

On Wednesday, Stewart testified that he sent a letter to the Texas
Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, asking that
Coleman's law enforcement records be kept secret.

Today, Zamoff quizzed Stewart extensively about how Coleman was arrested.

In an effort to keep Coleman from being booked into the county jail,
Stewart said he fingerprinted Coleman in Amarillo, then drove with him down
Interstate 27 across the Swisher County line. Once in Swisher County,
Stewart arrested Coleman while sitting in a car, then filled out paperwork
on a personal recognizance bond, which had been previously been approved by
the Swisher County Attorney.

The Cochran County charges were dropped after Coleman made restitution. He
was put back on the streets in Tulia after passing a polygraph test,
Stewart said.

Stewart admitted that he was trying to keep Coleman's information out of
the public eye, but he said it was because he wanted to protect his
undercover officer, not out of any attempt to execute a cover-up.

On cross-examination, Stewart said he never lost confidence in his agent
during the investigation.

"If you had become convinced that Tom Coleman was a liar and a criminal,
would you have been willing to throw the cases out?" asked Special
Prosecutor John Nation.

"Yes, sir," Stewart responded.

Stewart was released from the witness stand in the afternoon, and the
courtroom started buzzing as observers waited for Coleman to make his entrance.

The former agent strode into the courtroom sporting a leather jacket,
mustache and a buzz cut with his hair slicked back on top.

Coleman spent much of his time testifying about his employment prior to
Swisher County.

The former agent said he left a job in Pecos County because he was going
through a divorce with a vindictive wife. He said he left Cochran County
because he witnessed illegal or unethical behavior from his fellow
deputies, and no one seemed to care.

Each time Coleman said something positive about the investigation, snorts
of derision sprang from the pro-defendant courtroom, eventually prompting
an objection from the state and an admonition from the judge.

During his testimony, Coleman admitted he was wrong in the case of Yul
Bryant, whose charges were dropped after he was misidentified. Coleman
refused to admit wrongdoing in the cases of Tonya White, whose case was
dropped after she produced an alibi, and Romona Strickland, who was
misidentified by Coleman as being six months pregnant.

Zamoff jumped on the statement to question Coleman about his faith in the
investigation.

"You're not sure everybody in jail belongs there, are you?" Zamoff asked.

"I'm pretty sure," Coleman responded.

"That means you're not totally sure," Zamoff countered.

"I'm totally sure," Coleman finished.

Coleman is expected to continue testimony this morning.