Pubdate: Sat, 02 Feb 2002
Source: Mobile Register (AL)
Copyright: 2002 Mobile Register.
Contact:  http://www.al.com/mobile/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/269
Author: Joe Danborn, Staff Reporter

CORRUPTION JURY STILL STALEMATED

Former Prichard Detectives Await Verdict In Racketeering Trial

Jurors in the federal corruption trial of two former Prichard narcotics 
detectives deliberated all day Friday without reaching a verdict and hinted 
around midday that they did not seem close to agreement.

The panel is set to resume deliberations in the case against Anthony Diaz 
and Frederick Pippins around 9 a.m. Monday.

A grand jury in Mobile last summer indicted Diaz, Pippins and four other 
men -- former Lt. James Stallworth Jr., former Sgt. John Stuckey and former 
detectives Derek Gillis and Nathan McDuffie -- on racketeering and related 
charges. The indictment alleged in part that the six took money from drug 
suspects in exchange for letting them go.

The defendants went on trial together in October, but jurors deliberated 
for three days before declaring themselves deadlocked, prompting a mistrial.

All of the men except Diaz and Pippins pleaded guilty Jan. 4 and agreed to 
cooperate with prosecutors. They are to receive sentences ranging from 
probation to three-year prison terms.

Diaz and Pippins went back on trial Monday, with Stuckey and Stallworth 
testifying against them. Closing arguments took place Thursday. Jurors 
deliberated for about an hour before adjourning until Friday morning.

Shortly before noon, jurors sent a letter to Chief U.S. District Judge 
Charles Butler Jr. seeking advice on resolving their different 
interpretations of the law.

"The gist of it was everyone was not of the same opinion," said Lila 
Cleveland, Diaz's lawyer.

The jury sent another note around 4:30 p.m. asking for permission to go 
home for the weekend. Butler thanked them and told them to get some rest.

If the panel remains stalemated, Butler could opt to use what is called an 
Allen charge or a "dynamite" charge, a set of further instructions intended 
to break a deadlock. Essentially, the judge tells jurors to consider each 
other's opinion in addition to the evidence in the case.

Butler unsuccessfully issued such a charge in the first trial.

The trial has taken place and deliberations are to resume on the second 
floor of the federal courthouse downtown on St. Joseph Street. If found 
guilty, Diaz could face more than 15 years in prison, while Pippins could 
face as many as nine years.
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