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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Questioning the credibility of a Utah Highway Patrol trooper, U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart has thrown out evidence in a drug case.
The judge ruled that the traffic stop of Jose Honorio Flores-Ortega was illegal.
Stewart followed a recommendation by U.S. Magistrate Samuel Alba, who conducted an evidentiary hearing in the case in March.
Stewart said testimony of Trooper Robert Nixon, who pulled over Flores-Ortega on Sept. 4, showed "a pattern of inconsistency and poor memory, and perhaps a conscious flaunting of department policy."
Vanessa Ramos, an assistant federal defender who represents Flores-Ortega, said the charge of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance likely will be dismissed. Her client, a Mexican citizen who lives in Arizona, has been in custody since the stop.
Melody Rydalch, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney, said prosecutors are reviewing the ruling.
UHP spokesman Wade Breur said the agency respects Stewart's decision.
"This is an example of the criminal justice system in action," he said. "Sometimes we win, and sometimes we lose cases. We're the kind of organization that wants to learn from mistakes and do better."
According to court records, Nixon said Flores-Ortega failed to properly signal for a lane change on Interstate 15 near St. George, so he activated his lights and pulled him over. Flores-Ortega said the lane change was proper.
Nixon testified that Flores-Ortega appeared nervous and told him the car was registered to his wife, who lived in Colorado. The fact that the vehicle was registered in South Carolina gave him reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and prompted him to get Flores-Ortega's permission to search it, Nixon said. Flores-Ortega said he did not remember being asked whether the car could be searched.
The search found a hidden compartment with seven packages containing a total of about eight pounds of methamphetamine, the UHP said.
Although his patrol car had recording equipment, Nixon testified he did not have videotapes with him -- a UHP policy violation -- and could not record what happened once he started flashing his lights.
Alba said the trooper's failure to supply his vehicle with videotapes affects his credibility. The magistrate said two defense attorneys testified that Nixon in several of their past cases had either not recorded a traffic stop or had supplied them with a tape of the wrong defendant.
Alba said that among other factors were the trooper's failure to include important details in a written report, and that he was not forthcoming about a meeting held the day before the evidentiary hearing involving other troopers and prosecutors.
Alba said, "The court understands that some or even many aspects of Trooper Nixon's testimony may be accurate; however the court is unable to know which aspects are credible and accurate and which aspects are not credible and accurate."
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
