BENTON - Several former drug suspects are now cooperating with federal authorities in their investigation of the 7th Judicial District by telling how they managed to escape prosecution by leaving large sums of money or property behind, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has learned.
Law enforcement sources who asked not to be identified said federal authorities have offered several of the former suspects immunity from prosecution and a"surprising" number have agreed to testify.
"They're really singing," one source said.
Federal investigators are said to be building a racketeering case against people associated with the now-defunct 7th Judicial District Drug Task Force. The unit operated in Saline, Grant and Hot Spring counties from 1990 until the state cut off its funding and forced its closure last week.
Sources have said that several witnesses have told authorities about being arrested, and then being allowed to leave with the assurance that they wouldn't be prosecuted if they failed to return.In return, the sources said, the suspects under reported the amount of money or property seized from them and promised to never try to recover it.
Many of the suspects were from out of state and posted little or no bail, the sources said, noting that such a group generally is considered a high risk for not returning for trial.
Prosecuting Attorney Dan Harmon of Benton, who headed the task force and prosecuted its cases, couldn't be reached and didn't respond to telephone messages left with his office.
Court records in the 7th Judicial District indicate that there are many unresolved or dismissed cases involving out-or state suspects. In several of the cases the prosecutor's office didn't seek the return of the suspects, nor did it issue arrest warrants after the suspects failed to appear in court.
One of the most prominent examples occurred in the Dec. 14, 1993, arrests of two Texans stopped along Interstate 30 in Benton.
A task force officer, Tim Osborne found five packages of"white powder" in the car and arrested Eddie Ray Rose Jr., 19,and Darius T. Arnold, 26, both of Houston.
Court records don't mention what other property, such as cash, the men might have had in their possession. But Saline County jail records show that Rose had only a door key and a driver's license, no money or credit cards, when task force officials brought him to the Benton jail. Arnold had only a driver's license.
A few days after the arrests,Harmon charged each of the men with a single count of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver.
Arnold pleaded innocent Dec.31,1993, and Harmon authorized his release on a $25,000 bond. The bond required no money just Arnold's written guarantee to pay that amount if he failed to return.
Harmon later turned Rose over to the Harris County, Texas, sheriffs office, which returned him to Houston. A jury there convicted him of robbery.
Records show that trial dates in Arkansas were never set for either man and their return to the state was never sought.
Arnold's whereabouts couldn't be determined, but Rose was found at a state penitentiary at LeMesa, Texas, where he has served nearly 18 months of a four year prison term. A prison spokesman said Rose will be released when he becomes eligible for parole because Saline County authorities never filed a detainer seeking his return.
Circuit Judge John W. Cole of Sheridan, who adjudicated the case, said Friday that it's the responsibility of the prosecutor or the police agency to seek warrants or detainers for suspects.
The Democrat-Gazette learned of the circumstances of the Rose Arnold case after an evidence package turned up Nov. 19, 1995,at a Garland County condominium. Holly Duvall Harmon, the prosecutor's estranged wife, had rented the lakefront home for the weekend.
Authorities said the package, which held a silicone-based substance, originally contained nearly 2 pounds of pure cocaine. It was part of the drug shipment, placed at between 12 and 25 pounds, seized in the arrests of Rose and Arnold.
Authorities have made no arrests in the Garland County case and have yet to say how the package got out of the task force evidence safe, how it got to the lakefront condominium or what happened to the cocaine originally in the package.
Harmon has declined to discuss the incident. He has said only that none of the items found at the condominium belonged to the task force.
Eighteen days after the discovery of the package, federal and state investigators swept into the prosecutor's office, his task force headquarters and the jurisdiction's three courthouses. The investigators seized and copied records, including dozens of court cases involving task force arrests.
The Democrat-Gazette was conducting its own review of court cases when federal agents arrived Dec. 7 at the Saline County Courthouse in Benton.
Besides the Rose-Arnold case, a number of other cases appear questionable. None of the records in the cases reflect whether any money or property was seized but do show that arrest warrants were never issued after the suspects failed to appear in court.
A sampling of the cases include:
The May 7, 1993, arrests of Jose Alfredo Ramos 21, and Arturo Gonora Prado, 27, both of Mexico. Task force officers arrested the men after stopping their vehicle on Interstate 30 in Saline County.
Osborne said in an affidavit that Prado signed a search consent form and the officer found "more than 10 pounds" of marijuana hidden in the vehicle.
Harmon charged each man with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
Although court records show no disposition in Ramos case, jail records indicate that Harmon dismissed the charge against him May 18.
Court records show that Cole allowed Prado's release after Prado paid 10 percent of a $15,000 bond June 29. But jail records show that Prado was released on $15,000 bail May 20.
Although uncertain of the facts, Cole said it was possible he knew of the release in May and didn't enter the record until the next month.
Also, court records show that Cole set a hearing for Sept. 13, 1993, and a trial for April 1, 1994. But court records don't tell whether anything occurred on those dates or the case was continued to a later date.
The final entry in the records indicates that subpoenas were issued for prosecution witnesses to appear in court July 15, 1994. The records show no disposition of the case.
Cole said he had no specific knowledge of why the case file lacked a disposition record, but he said it is the responsibility of the prosecutor or, on occasion the defense attorney to arrange for such records to be placed in case files.
Osborne said he stopped the men's car on I-30 in Saline County and obtained written permission to search it. During his search, he said he found a pound of cocaine.
Harmon charged each man with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
Court records show that Cole set hearings for June 7 and Sept. 13, but there is no record of what, if anything, happened on those dates. A trial was scheduled for April 1, 1994, but the records don't indicate whether it was held.
Also, the records fail to show the disposition of the case, whether bail was set for either man or if either posted bail.
They do show that Harmon dismissed the charge against Moore, who was released May 18. The records also show that Young was released on a $25,000 bond that same day.
When asked why the September hearing and the trial date were the same as those set in the unrelated Ramos-Prado case, Cole said it's not unusual to have multiple hearings scheduled on a single day. He said there are many reasons for that, including delays requested by attorneys and the necessity of meeting speedy-trial requirements.
"So many times, the defendants won't get serious about making a plea or plea agreement ... until it's set for trial," Cole said.
The March 12,1993, arrests of Francisco Galindo and Francisco Lucio, both of Mission, Texas.
Task force officers arrested the men after stopping their car on 1-30 in Saline County. Osborne said he seized a "large amount" of marijuana from the car, and Harmon's office charged each man with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
Circuit-Chancery Judge Phillip H. Shirron of Sheridan accepted guilty pleas from the two men 11 days after the arrests and sentenced each of them to three years of unsupervised probation. Shirron also ordered the forfeiture of $3,000 each within a year's time, plus $400 cash and a 1978 Volkswagen Rabbit.
The records don't show whether the defendants paid the money.
Asked if it's unusual to sentence out-of-state drug criminals to unsupervised probation, Shirron said he couldn't recall the case. But, he said, "I normally take the recommendation of the prosecutor."