AGENT IN TULIA CASE ADMITS ERRORS IN FOUR OTHER BUSTS

TULIA -- Tom Coleman, the lone undercover agent in the controversial 1999
drug sting operation in Tulia, stood by his actions Thursday in an
evidentiary hearing ordered by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

"My cases are not questionable," he said. "I stand by what I did."

A short time later, though, Coleman testified that there were discrepancies
in other cases in which he made drug buys, including one that was tossed
out after a woman proved she was in Oklahoma at the time Coleman said he
bought drugs from her.

"There are some mess-ups in four cases," Coleman testified.

Coleman had a one-word "Yes" for defense attorney Mitchell Zamoff when
Zamoff said, "Really, but for your word, there's no evidence in any of
these cases that these buys took place."

In the Tulia case, the convictions of four men, whose sentences were as
long as 90 years, were upheld on direct appeal. But the appeals court asked
the trial court for clarification on whether Jason Jerome Williams,
Christopher Eugene Jackson, Freddie Brookins Jr. and Joe Moore were
convicted solely on Coleman's word. The court also wants to know whether
the state failed to turn over information from Coleman's background that
may have impeached his testimony.

It was Coleman's uncorroborated testimony that led to prison sentences for
many of the 46 people arrested -- 39 of whom were black -- in the July 1999
busts, which civil rights groups have claimed were racially motivated.

Coleman worked alone during an 18-month undercover operation in Swisher
County and did not use audio or video surveillance, often writing notes on
his leg about drug buys he'd made.

Coleman will return to testify today at the Swisher County Courthouse in Tulia.

Jeff Blackburn, an Amarillo attorney representing two of the four men
involved in the hearings, said Coleman is an elusive witness.

"I think the problem many attorneys encountered with (Coleman) in the past
is they don't stay on him," Blackburn said. "We're going to keep asking
questions until we get good answers."

Swisher County District Attorney Terry McEachern, who prosecuted nearly all
of the drug cases, said he was pleased with the way the proceedings were
going. He declined to comment further.

Earlier Thursday, Swisher County Sheriff Larry Stewart testified that
Coleman's reaction was "surprise and disbelief" in August 1998 when Stewart
approached him with a Cochran County arrest warrant on charges of theft and
abuse of official capacity.

Coleman, who is no longer in law enforcement, was involved in the
undercover operation at the time he was charged. He paid restitution, and
the criminal charges against him were dropped.

Defense attorneys claimed Coleman knew about the pending charges because of
a waiver of arraignment form he signed in Cochran County with his attorney
on May 30, 1998.

They asked whether Stewart would consider it dishonesty on Coleman's part
if he knew about the coming warrant but acted surprised when Stewart
presented it.

"It appears to be dishonest," Stewart testified.

In cross examination, John Nation, the state's prosecutor, asked Stewart,
had he known that Coleman was "a liar and a criminal," if he would have
been willing to throw out the nearly 120 cases that sprang from the bust.

"Yes, sir," Stewart said.

Stewart's comment surprised Zamoff.

"Quite an admission by an elected official," he said while court was in recess.

Stewart also testified that he took Coleman's word when Coleman returned
from Cochran County and told him the charges had been dismissed. He said he
asked Coleman for a copy of the dismissal document.

"Did you get it?" Zamoff asked.

"I did not, no sir," Stewart testified, adding that he never called to
verify that the charges had been dismissed.