Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jul 2001
Source: Fayetteville Observer-Times (NC)
Copyright: 2001 Fayetteville Observer-Times
Contact:  http://www.fayettevillenc.com/foto/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/150
Author: Tanya S Biank

MP AWAITS COURT DECISION ON DRUG CHARGES

An investigating hearing officer should decide by Tuesday whether to 
recommend that a Fort Bragg military police officer go before a general 
court-martial on charges of using and distributing drugs.

Spc. Robert Ybarra, who is 22, is charged with three counts of distributing 
ecstasy, using ecstasy and communicating a threat.

He is also charged with using LSD and marijuana. Those two charges had not 
previously been made public.

Ybarra, who is from San Jose, Calif., is assigned to the 65th Military 
Police Company at Fort Bragg.

On Wednesday, military officials held an Article 32 hearing to hear 
evidence in Ybarra's case. An Article 32 is similar to a civilian grand 
jury. The investigating officer, Maj. Stephan Deville, will make his 
recommendations to Lt. Gen. Dan McNeill, who will decide if the case goes 
to court-martial.

An Army investigator and two MPs testified during the hearing about MP drug 
use in December and January at It'z, a popular Fayetteville nightclub.

Spc. Albert Hazzard, an undercover Army investigator, testified that an 
informant he was with bought ecstasy from Ybarra on two occasions.

Hazzard said the first time was on Jan. 26 at It'z on Legend Road. Hazzard 
said the informant bought 10 ecstasy pills for $250 inside the club. 
Hazzard was in the parking lot at the time.

Hazzard said the second transaction was the following day at Ybarra's house 
on Woodberry Drive in Raeford. Hazzard said he remained in the car while 
the informant went inside. When Ybarra came out of the house, Hazzard gave 
him $175 for five ecstasy pills, Hazzard said.

Hazzard said the informant, who had gone into Ybarra's house, told him that 
Ybarra took out a 9 mm pistol, pulled the slide exposing a bullet, and 
said: "If this (expletive) is a CID agent, I'm gonna kill him and then you."

Focus On Informant

Ybarra is represented by Capt. Thomas Thompson. Throughout the proceeding, 
Thompson questioned the credibility of the informant and why his name was 
kept secret. Thompson said the informant is well-known and his name appears 
in court papers.

Thompson wanted an opportunity to question the informant.

"The defense wants an opportunity to cross-examine him instead of just 
using statements," he said.

Capt. Alyssa Schwenk, the prosecutor, argued that the informant's identity 
is protected under Army investigation regulations. Schwenk said it would 
require an order from a military judge to make the informant available for 
questioning.

Witness Testifies

Spc. Jillian Torres, an MP who received an Article 15 for using ecstasy on 
Dec. 29 at It'z, testified that she went to the club that night with a 
group of nine after a barbecue at her house.

They went to the club in Ybarra's Ford Explorer, which Torres was driving. 
They stopped at a gas station on Cliffdale Road to get gas and money, 
Torres said.

She testified that in the car, Ybarra, Spc. Lisandro Grullon and Spc. Jason 
Jones talked about buying ecstasy.

Grullon, an MP, is also charged with using LSD, distributing ecstasy and 
using ecstasy. The Fort Bragg public affairs office said Wednesday they did 
not know if Jones had been charged.

Torres said that when they got to the club, the group went inside while 
Ybarra, Jones and a third person she does not remember went to buy the drug.

"They were going to meet Mike to get ecstasy," she said.

Mike, she said, was a bouncer at a strip club.

"That's where they went to buy it," she said.

Later that evening, Torres said her husband gave her ecstasy at the club 
and she took it. She said it was the first time she had taken the drug.

Torres said she never saw Ybarra using or selling drugs at her house. 
Ybarra, a friend of her husband's, was living at the couple's house in 
Raeford at the time.

Ybarra denied using or selling drugs at her house when she confronted him, 
she said.

Spc. India Gordon, who is also an MP, received immunity for her testimony.

She said she has known Ybarra since last July and had dated him in the 
past. She testified she never saw Ybarra use or sell drugs.

Gordon said that on one occasion when Ybarra was at her house, Jones 
brought marijuana inside and gave it to Ybarra.

"I told them they couldn't have it here," she said. "It was in a bag and 
they left."

She said Ybarra and Jones also had a conversation about the effects of 
ecstasy and acid.

Gordon said she was with the group that went to It'z in December. She said 
she was drunk, but she said she did not take ecstasy.

She said she didn't see anyone use or give money to buy ecstasy that night.

Thompson asked that Jones appear in court.

"I believe he has information that can exonerate my client," Thompson said. 
Thompson said he made the request last week.

Schwenk said she opposed it and that Jones is unavailable. She said she 
believes he is stationed in Europe.

Deville, the investigating officer, called for a break to see if the 
prosecution could locate and reach Jones. It could not.

Court-Martial Urged

During closing arguments, Schwenk said Ybarra's case should proceed to 
court-martial.

"For the type of offenses that are charged and the circumstances 
surrounding them, it is clear this needs to go before a general 
court-martial," she said.

But Thompson said the government failed to prove that Ybarra used or 
distributed drugs.

"There was no evidence presented that Spc. Ybarra used LSD or marijuana," 
Thompson said. "No one has ever seen him use drugs other than a CID source 
who has not testified or been cross-examined to see if he is credible."

Ybarra was one of 11 MPs investigated for alleged drug use. The 
investigation began April 26.

Grullon, who is 24, has been arraigned. He goes before a bad conduct 
discharge court-martial Sept. 19.

Nine other MPs, all from the 16th Military Police Brigade, will receive 
lesser punishments for using ecstasy, LSD or marijuana, officials said. 
Their names have not been released.

One of those MPs, who turned down his punishment, will have his case 
referred to an evidence hearing.
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