Pubdate: Fri, 09 Mar 2001
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (AR)
Copyright: 2001 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
Contact:  121 East Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201
Website: http://www.ardemgaz.com/
Forum: http://www.ardemgaz.com/info/voices.html
Author:  Jim Brooks, Cathy Frye and Amy Upshaw - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

CENSORED AFFIDAVIT CASTS LITTLE LIGHT ON ATF RAID

Carl Wilson, who was killed in a January shootout with police at his
rural Faulkner County home, was under investigation for drug
trafficking and possession of firearms, according to a federal
probable-cause affidavit unsealed Thursday.

Deleted from the affidavit are the reasons for the investigation
leading to the ATF raid.

"All I'm setting out to do is find the truth, the whole truth," said
Wilson's widow, Tammy. "I want to know who, why. ... That affidavit
doesn't tell me anything."

Seven of the 31 paragraphs and other information explaining why
federal agents wanted to search Wilson's home for a .30-.30 Winchester
rifle were removed. For example: "[NAME DELETED] stated that Carl owns
a .30-.30-caliber Winchester rifle [INFORMATION DELETED]. Carl has
possessed several firearms [INFORMATION DELETED]," the affidavit
states. "[PARAGRAPH DELETED]. [NAME DELETED] believes that Carl is
extremely dangerous [INFORMATION DELETED]." The affidavit also
mentions suspected drug trafficking, but all details pertaining to
this suspicion have been deleted.

U.S. Attorney Michael Johnson said he couldn't shed light on the
deletions. "Beyond what was released by the court in the affidavit, I
have no comment on the investigation, what we knew or how we knew it,"
he said. "That would be inappropriate for me to do that."

An inventory of items found under a search warrant last month includes
pipe-smoking paraphernalia, marijuana, a plastic bag containing white
powder, a triple-beam balance scale, a plastic bag containing
individual bags of marijuana and several weapons.

In the order to unseal the case Thursday, U.S. Magistrate J. Thomas
Ray also declared unconstitutional the Eastern District of Arkansas
rule that automatically seals all documents related to search
warrants. Wilson, 60, was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police
when the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms carried out a
no-knock raid at Wilson's isolated home an hour before dawn on Jan.
12. Until Thursday the probable-cause affidavit and a second document
related to the case remained sealed in federal court.

On Feb. 15 the Democrat-Gazette filed a motion, asking that all
paperwork related to the ATF investigation and raid be made public.
U.S attorneys initially objected, arguing that confidential
information related to the investigation would be compromised.

After a flurry of motions filed by both sides, prosecutors agreed on
March 2 to unseal everything on the condition that the names of
witnesses and any information that might identify them be deleted.

The Democrat-Gazette objected to the proposed deletions. "People who
get involved in giving information to the government ought to know
they may one day be identified or end up on the witness stand,"
attorney Jess Askew told the court.

Wilson's death means there will be no trial. And if there's no trial,
why do witnesses need to be protected, he asked.

Ray disagreed, however. In his ruling, he said the government had
proven that some details needed to remain secret because releasing
names would put "certain persons" in peril.

"None of the named sources of important information used to obtain the
search warrant could have possibly anticipated that Mr. Wilson would
be shot and killed during the execution of that warrant," the judge
states in his ruling.

"Once that unforeseeable event took place ... the sources suddenly
found themselves exposed to a new and unanticipated reason for
retribution." Tammy Wilson took offense at the implication that she or
family members might seek revenge.

"I don't get why these people are in danger. If they're scared of
little old me, I never raised a hand to hurt anybody. They want to
protect the rights of these witnesses? What about Carl's rights. He
didn't have any that morning.

"The only way I would retaliate is through the legal system." Johnson
declined to comment on why witnesses would fear retribution. It isn't
clear from the affidavit why the ATF took an interest in Wilson's gun
in late November.

As a four-time convicted felon, Wilson was forbidden to own firearms.
But his family and friends say he'd been an avid collector for
decades. Authorities even seized and returned his guns on more than
one occasion, Tammy Wilson said.

Wilson's last conviction was in 1968. He hadn't been charged in any
crimes since then, but he was questioned in two of Arkansas' most
prominent capital murder cases.

Wilson was involved in three shootings but was never charged. Only one
of those was referred to in authorities' request for a no-knock
warrant. This type of warrant allows police to enter a home without
announcing themselves.

No-knock warrants are typically granted in drug cases when there's a
risk of someone getting rid of evidence. They also are issued when
police believe that knocking could lead to violence.

In the Wilson affidavit, police refer to drug trafficking. The reasons
for their suspicions have been deleted.

"Based on [INFORMATION DELETED], the fact that drug trafficking is an
inherently dangerous endeavor, and Wilson's apparent willingness to
use and carry firearms," ATF agents believed Wilson "presents a danger
to the occupants of the residence and the executing officers," the
affidavit states. Tammy Wilson said she thinks police were acting on
accusations made by disgruntled family members who have their own
problems with drugs. That's why no one wants their names made public,
she theorized. That her husband owned guns was no secret. And while he
sometimes smoked "pot" and had experimented with speed, he never dealt
drugs, Tammy Wilson said. She questions where authorities got their
information. "Whoever this informant is, there's a great possibility
they have their own ongoing history of drugs. How credible were they
to take such a stand on somebody else's life?

"The way I feel is if they are going to put somebody's life on the
line, then they ought to be responsible for the life they just cost,"
she said. And why, she asks, weren't drugs listed on the search
warrant if that's what authorities wanted?

An Arkansas State Police investigation has been finished and was
turned over to Faulkner County Prosecuting Attorney H.G. Foster on
Wednesday. Once he's peruses the state police's conclusions, the
prosecutor can press charges, close the case or ask for additional
inquiry. Johnson expects the close of this investigation to ease
public concern about the raid's deadly outcome.

"As with all incidents involving the use of force by law enforcement,
there is an investigation. I assume that investigation will answer
most of the questions that I've read in your paper that are being
raised." The Democrat-Gazette intends to ask the judge to reconsider
the amount of information deleted from the documents unsealed
Thursday. But while the newspaper believes his decision leaves
questions unanswered in the Wilson case, the judge's ruling will
dispel the secrecy that once surrounded the execution of search warrants.

In the past, all documents pertaining to searches conducted in the
Eastern District of Arkansas have been automatically sealed under
Amended General Order No. 22.

Ray called the order unconstitutional, saying, "a simple request from
the public or press generally should be sufficient to gain access to
review all documents contained in a search warrant file, so long as
the search warrant has been executed and returned."

If the court's decision becomes final or is affirmed, the judge said,
the court clerk should treat these documents as they would any other
public record. Prosecutors who want a file sealed would have to make a
specific request to the court.
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