WRITER PLEADS GUILTY TO GHB POSSESSION

A true crime writer whose son was fatally shot during a 1999 drug raid at
her North Richland Hills home pleaded guilty Friday to possession of GHB.

Barbara Davis, 50, showed no emotion as she entered her plea to a charge of
possession of a controlled substance, 4 ounces to 200 grams, before senior
state District Judge C.C. "Kit" Cooke in a Fort Worth courtroom.

"I thought it was legal. I had bought it through a pharmaceutical company,"
she said. "I have insomnia, and that's why I bought it. This was not street
GHB."

Because of the plea, a charge of attempted manufacture of a controlled
substance/GHB over 400 grams was dismissed.

GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, is also known as a date-rape drug. A
misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana/over 2 ounces was dismissed
in March 2000. Cooke ordered an investigation before he sentences Davis.
That could take 30 to 60 days, he said.

"We're sure the judge will come to a right decision," said prosecutor Betty
Arvin, who declined to comment further about the case.

The drug possession charge is a second-degree felony punishable by a
maximum of 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

"Our process has been taken care of," said Larry Irving, a spokesman for
the North Richland Hills Police Department. "We've left it with the
district attorney's office."

Bill Lane of Fort Worth, Davis' attorney, said an October ruling by Cooke
impeded the defense. The judge had ruled that the warrant for the drug raid
was valid.

"Once he ruled against us, we didn't have many options," Lane said. "We
think he's wrong, and we're going to appeal it."

A federal lawsuit is pending against North Richland Hills and the police.
It states that officers used excessive force and violated the son's civil
rights.

The raid and shooting occurred Dec. 15, 1999, when 17 tactical team
officers raided the house in North Richland Hills. Police said Troy Davis,
25, was pointing a loaded 9 mm pistol at officers when he was shot by
tactical team member Allen Hill.

Police said they found three marijuana plants and enough GHB to make 600
doses. Police also found 16 guns, all legal, authorities said.

Barbara Davis has said that her son was not armed and that police placed
the gun near his body.

Davis and her attorneys have said that Troy Davis had a weapon in his room
because his mother had received death threats related to her writing. She
has also said that the raid was improper because it was based on a tip from
a disgruntled relative.

A Tarrant County grand jury declined to indict Hill in the shooting. He has
since resigned from the Police Department.