FORMER OFFICER TO TESTIFY AGAINST PARTNER

LOUISVILLE - A former narcotics detective accused of police misconduct
pleaded guilty yesterday to hundreds of felony counts and agreed to testify
against his co-defendant and former partner.

Mark Watson pleaded guilty in Jefferson County Circuit Court to 299
felo-nies, including 21 counts of burglary and 133 counts of tampering with
public records. Other charges include theft, perjury and bribing a witness.

The plea agreement calls for a sentence of 20 years in prison for Watson --
the maximum sentence allowed -- when he is sentenced March 24 by Jefferson
County Circuit Judge Steve Mershon. In exchange, Watson has agreed to
testify, if called, against Christie Richardson, his co-defendant and
former partner of four years.

Prosecutor Scott Davis says he will object to any probation for Watson.

Mark Miller, one of Watson's defense attorneys, declined to comment.

Watson and Richardson, also a former county detective, were arrested last
March and accused of numerous crimes, including photocopying judges'
signatures for bogus search warrants.

Steve Schroering, Richardson's attorney, also declined to comment on the
plea agreement, citing a gag order imposed by Mershon.

Before the trial, Schroering pushed for separate trials for the two former
officers because Watson had given a taped statement to police while his
client had not.

In his opening statement Tuesday, Schroering again attempted to separate
Richardson from Watson, this time in the minds of the jurors.

"You need to look at what did he do and what, if anything, did she do,"
Schroering said. "They're two different people."

Schroering said that Richardson, who transferred to the narcotics unit in
1998, was trained by Watson and unaware of many of his alleged scams.

Richardson's trial continued yesterday.