Pubdate: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 Source: Joplin Globe, The (MO) Copyright: 2002 The Joplin Globe Contact: http://www.joplinglobe.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/859 Author: Roger McKinney JUDGE GAVE PROSECUTOR UNTIL END OF DAY TO FIND MISSING PAGES OF DOCUMENT Hearing Halted COLUMBUS, Kan. - A pretrial motions hearing in Cherokee County District Court on Friday in the drug-possession case of former Cherokee County Treasurer Sharon Carpino ground to a halt after one witness. Judge John White asked the location of pages missing from an informant's agreement the sheriff's department made with Carpino. "That document appears to me to be promises made to her," said White, assigned to the case from Allen County. The missing pages apparently describe the sheriff's department's promises to Carpino in return for her acting as an informant in drug cases. He gave special prosecutor Steven Angermayer until 5 p.m. Friday to produce the missing information, if it can be located, and rescheduled the pretrial motions for Feb. 22. At the end of Carpino's preliminary hearing in October, White bound her over for trial on one count of felony drug possession, while dismissing two other counts. White ruled authorities could not link traces of methamphetamine found in her trash to her. She also faces misdemeanor charges that she made false payments totaling $1,305 from the county treasurer's office. Edward Battitori, Carpino's defense attorney, sought to suppress oral and written statements made by Carpino in a Dec. 3, 1999, interview in the sheriff's department. He sought to prove the statements were coerced. The interview was taped and attorneys frequently referred to the tape transcript. Former sheriff's deputy Mickey Rantz was the only witness to testify. Under questioning by Angermayer, Rantz said on the day of the interrogation, he considered Carpino an informant and not a suspect. He said he and former sheriff's detective Roger Wormington questioned Carpino in Sheriff Bob Creech's office. "She signed an informant memorandum," Rantz said. "Lt. Wormington was talking to her, telling her she was not a primary target. We wanted to use her as an informant, not a suspect." He said she voluntarily signed a consent to search her home. He said he, Carpino and former sheriff's detective Roger Wormington drove to her house in private cars to avoid calling attention to the search. When they arrived, he said Carpino led them to a bathrobe she said had a broken methamphetamine pipe in its pocket. He retrieved the pipe. Rantz said Carpino never asked them to leave or protested their presence. "Everything was very cordial," Rantz said. Asked if he had any contact with Carpino after the Dec. 3 interview, Rantz said Carpino and former county appraiser Wayne Weaver met with him at nearby softball fields a few weeks later. "She contacted me," Rantz said. He said that during the meeting Carpino said she wanted to talk about then county clerk Maurice Soper. He said she told him there were much bigger things going on at the courthouse than anything she had done. Soper committed suicide in March 2000. Battitori focused on a letter to the director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in his cross examination. Rantz testified that Wormington presented the letter to Carpino before starting the tape recorder. Sheriff Bob Creech wrote the letter to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation director and it includes a reference to the danger her child might face in a house where drugs are used. Under questioning from Battitori, Rantz said he recalled Wormington telling Carpino that the letter would not be mailed if she cooperated. Rantz also said he understood that to mean that if Carpino didn't cooperate, the letter would be mailed. Battitori asked Rantz if it was correct that no one ever removed the threat to mail the letter. "I guess, if she perceived it as a threat," Rantz said. "How else would she perceive it?" the judge asked. Rantz said he didn't understand how it was a threat. "Ultimately, the letter was used to extract statements from my client, correct?" Battitori asked. "I guess," Rantz responded. Battitori also asked Rantz if he and Wormington lied to Carpino during the interview. "Yes, deception was used," he said. Under cross-examination, Rantz said that he and Wormington used some of the information obtained in the interview to formulate a case against Carpino. Battitori also called Rantz's attention to a section of the transcript of the taped interview where Carpino said she didn't think she had any choice but to cooperate. Rantz said he didn't interpret the statement to mean she didn't want to cooperate but that she may feel threatened by the criminals she may contact as an informant. Battitori also asked Rantz about the handgun in Carpino's purse. Rantz said before the questioning started, he removed the gun from Carpino's purse, saying the action was necessary for his and Wormington's safety. He said Carpino stated she didn't know it was illegal to carry a gun in her purse. He said he had observed the gun in her purse earlier in her office. He allowed her to carry it downstairs, he said, to establish that it was her purse and her gun. White said the information missing from the informant's agreement could be important to the defense motions. There is no trial date. Carpino has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the county, Creech, Wormington and Rantz, alleging they violated her civil rights. That lawsuit is on hold until resolution of her criminal case. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens