Pubdate: Wed, 28 Mar 2001
Source: San Antonio Express-News (TX)
Copyright: 2001 San Antonio Express-News
Contact:  400 3rd St., San Antonio, TX 78287-2171
Fax: 210-250-3105
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Author: Maro Robbins and Bill Hendricks, Express-News Staff Writers

NO BOND FOR 'RINGLEADERS'

Believing he had just transported 10 kilograms of cocaine in his squad car, 
San Antonio Police Officer David Anthony Morales daydreamed aloud about the 
future while his police radio squawked in the background, according to 
documents filed Tuesday by prosecutors.

Photo: Accused San Antonio Police Officer Manuel Cedillo Jr. walks with an 
unidentified woman Tuesday after posting a $100,000 bond in federal court.

The prosecutors charge that Morales, on duty and in uniform, offered to 
guard cocaine shipments in a gated community around the clock and asked for 
an automatic weapon so he could kill intruders at "close quarters."

However, court records say, he drew the line at shooting drug enforcement 
agents.

Federal authorities claim they recorded that conversation on one of the 250 
videotapes that form the foundation of a police corruption case unveiled 
last week after a dozen arrests.

Prosecutors filed a transcript of the comments they attribute to Morales in 
preparation for Tuesday's detention hearings, which ended with U.S. 
Magistrate Judge John Primomo denying bond for the two San Antonio 
officers, Sgt. Conrad Fragozo Jr. and Patrick Bowron, who are accused of 
leading the group.

"These are the two ringleaders of this conspiracy," Assistant U.S. Attorney 
David Counts said.

The judge's decision stunned the two officers' families, partly because 
four of the officers prosecutors say were accomplices walked away earlier 
in the day after posting the $100,000 bond set Monday by Primomo -- $10,000 
in a cashier's check and the rest pledged in property by friends and family.

Officers Arthur Gutierrez Jr., Manuel Cedillo Jr. and Lawrence Bustos, 
still threading a belt though the loops of his slacks, emerged from the 
U.S. Marshal's Office at the courthouse just after 11 a.m. Officer Peter 
Saenz left about three hours later.

A 15-year veteran of the police force, Gutierrez said he didn't know what 
the future holds as he walked into the cold drizzle.

"I told my wife it's like a nightmare," Gutierrez said.

The others had nothing to say.

Also Tuesday, Primomo set a $75,000 bond for civilian Edward Fragozo, the 
sergeant's uncle.

Two more law officers, patrolman Alfred Valdes and former reserve Deputy 
Constable Gilbert Andrade Jr., are set to have detention hearings today, as 
is Albert Mata, a civilian.

Officer Morales' chance to argue for release is scheduled later this week.

In all, 10 law officers and two civilians are charged in federal 
indictments, which claim as their centerpiece a conspiracy among six 
officers and a relative.

Richard "Bucky" Rowlett Buchanan, a Bexar County sheriff's deputy, is 
charged with theft of $2,000.

All but Buchanan are accused of attempting to possess and distribute what 
they believed to be cocaine. The government alleges they transported and 
guarded bogus drugs supplied by an undercover FBI agent posing as a drug 
trafficker identified only as "Ricardo."

According to court documents, Morales offered Ricardo advice on how to run 
his smuggling business, suggesting April 24, 1999, that Ricardo rent an 
apartment in a gated complex as a stash house. Morales is accused of twice 
moving what he believed to be cocaine, for a total of 15 kilos.

Morales declared he would protect the stash house, 24 hours a day for at 
least a week, according to court records.

"If some thugs other than DEA come up, I'm going to kill a couple of people 
and then I'm gonna leave and your (cocaine is) gone," he tells Ricardo, 
according to the transcript.

To defend himself, Morales said he needed Ricardo to buy him an automatic 
weapon, the records say.

During the conversation, prosecutors allege, Morales received a call from a 
police dispatcher.

"... And after having a beer, (Morales) stated that he guessed he should 
respond to the accident," according to the document signed by Counts.

During the court hearing, three police officers, a fraud investigator and 
more than a dozen other witnesses labored to convince magistrate Primomo 
that officer Bowron, Sgt. Fragozo and Edward Fragozo posed no danger or 
flight risk.

Friends and family described them as a former hallway monitor in elementary 
school, a former altar boy and a reformed cocaine user, respectively.

On the witness stand, Laura Fragozo, the sergeant's wife, emphasized her 
husband's dedication to the force.

The two Fragozos and Bowron sat at the same table throughout their separate 
detention hearings. When the surveillance videos were played, Bowron leaned 
forward, squinting at the projection screen while Edward Fragozo looked away.

Sgt. Fragozo craned his head to get a better look, then lowered his head 
and shielded his eyes.

At one point, Primomo noted the videotape appeared to depict Sgt. Fragozo 
intent on guarding what he believed was cocaine. Then, the magistrate asked 
a question of Alejandro Balderas, the third police officer to testify on 
behalf of Fragozo.

"What do you think he would have done if you or another officer had showed 
up at the door of the hotel room?" Primomo said.

"I don't know," Balderas responded.

In the end, Primomo set bond for Edward Fragozo but declared the two others 
would be too tempted to flee since they both face life sentences if convicted.

Sgt. Fragozo's attorney, Joel Perez, said afterward that he intends to 
appeal the decision.
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