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Put crudely . But Bencomo stayed on, and so did Lalo. Courtesy Texas DMV, U.S. D.O.J. But former DEA Special Agent Phil Jordan says in Lalo's case, every federal rule and regulation was broken. In this hour of need and when this medical pro Mat was such a relief to our family! His performance in court was outstanding and gave me a big victory. A conviction can have far-reaching negative impacts on your life and you stand to lose quite a few freedoms. For example, there is a difference between the criminal offense of drug possession and drug traffickingbut what is the difference and how do you know which is applicable in your specific case? Confidential Informants - Law Office of Perry A. Craft PLLC NPR went there with veteran Juarez crime reporter Carlos Huerta. (The capacity for telling lies is called "mendacity," in case you were wondering.) Defending Against Informants in Drug Sales Cases | Ray Kimble If the CI works enough drug deals and/or provides enough information to the police that leads to a conviction or arrest, the prosecutor decides whether the charges will be dropped or lessened to a plea agreement for the CI. 129 14 Those are . The informant is given money from the police department, with the serial numbers recorded, to ensure that the money is actually given to the suspect. Mr. Shafran has years of experience defending the rights of clients in a court of law and has secured a successful outcome for many individuals. The recording devices used have become very sophisticated and are virtually undetectable. However, very few CIs have a clean criminal record, and many of them are "flipped" by law enforcement to avoid harsher punishment for their own crimes. Informants. The more motivated a confidential informant is, the more likely they are to apply themselves to the tasks that the law enforcement officers gives them and the more committed they will be r to achieving success. "He would report a murder, and either we heard it on a phone, nobody told us to stop doing the case," Bencomo says. Yes, in some circumstances the police will pay a person to be a CI. An attorney may help you weigh your options. Once you sell to the CI, you are busted/arrested by the police (typically undercover federal or state agents and/or other law enforcement). But that is the sobering truth of being a CI. by swilliamslaw | Aug 4, 2020 | Criminal Defense, DUI. So where are we going to find any help if we can't trust the U.S.? Details for individual reviews received before 2009 are not displayed. As a former prosecutor, Mr. Shafran has a unique advantage in the courtroom. There are basically three types of informants: those who agree to cooperate with the police in exchange for favorable treatment in their own cases; those who inform in exchange for money; and citizen-informants who inform out of a sense of civic duty. Our consultant Dr John Buckley will be. Opinion | Want to make a million? Become a DEA informant. The memo stated that those rules would be part of a new policy handbook. Lorenza Magana, who works with victims of violence in Juarez, sat vigil with relatives of missing family members outside the house the night that Mexican authorities began unearthing the remains. If law enforcement learns otherwise, all deals or hopes of deals could be off between the Government and the CI. Informants who fully cooperated and provided truthful information to law enforcement can cause significant damage to their co-conspirators but in order for them to do this we need to know what will motivate them to do so. 913, though most called him by the nickname Lalo. The faces of Guillermo Eduardo Ramirez Peyro through the ages, from various drivers licenses, a passport and a video of him in jail. 142 0 obj<>stream CIs are regular folks that provide law enforcement with confidential, possibly damning, information against you. And Lalo was with them. Notable: This rating indicates that the lawyer has been recognized by a large number of their peers for strong ethical standards. "They are poorly trained, they have limited education, which is fine, but they had no business being involved in a cross-border covert operation involving drugs and murder.". If you agree to work with the FBI, you will be . For example, if it can be shown that the confidential informant had the opportunity to obtain drugs and plant them, the evidence obtained in the controlled buy would be useless. Contact us. Revealing the CIs identity puts the informant and sometimes their family in great danger due totheir role. You may not have enough time to talk to a lawyer about what your options are before deciding whether you want to be a government snitch. And he didn't need the money he was already making plenty in Juarez's drug trade. The amount of a drug for which trafficking charges are applicable varies depending on the substance. How to Become an FBI Informant | Legal Beagle CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANTS - Official FBIretired Website TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Please enter a legal issue and/or a location, (city, How To Beat A Confidential Informant - Wakelet Attorney Raul Loya, who represented them, said the federal agents handling Lalo were a joke. A CI reporting that he heard a suspect may commit "a crime sometime" is far less credible than a detailed account of the future crime's elements, those involved, and descriptions of the locations and vehicles involved. The penalties appointed by a judge will vary on several circumstances surrounding your drug trafficking charges in the state of Florida. It may be challenging for law enforcement to prove that you were the source of the narcotics that led to the individuals death and suspicion alone is not enough to convict a person and send them to jail for many years. How Can Mitigation Help Get Me The Lowest Possible Sentence? The monograph also examines the responsibilities of the chief executive officers, investigations commander, investigative supervisor, and investigator. Official websites use .gov The CI will contact you or maybe you contact the CI. This decision can affect you and others for the rest of your life. As part of the review process, respondents must affirm that they have had an initial consultation, are currently a client or have been a client of the lawyer or law firm identified, although Martindale-Hubbell cannot confirm the lawyer/client relationship as it is often confidential. What are the different Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings?*. It can also be risky for the prosecution if they must give the CIs identity to the defense later. Confidential Informants, a.k.a. "Police Snitches - Susan Williams Law Lalo's information was on the mark. Call 954-845-0505 any time, day or night, to speak with a member of our team. See are article relating to Missouri's witness protection program and the lack of uptake. Drug Use and The Use of a Confidential Informant | Ketcham Law A. "He had a lot of information, and the type of information that he started providing was at a high level," Bencomo says. North Little Rock, AR Criminal Law Lawyers, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Here in Mexico, there is no justice, only impunity," Magana says. Law Enforcement may have some input on whether the charges are dropped or lessened, but the prosecutor has the final say. Our son had been in substance abuse treatment for almost My son, a student at the University of Miami, was facing 2 serious drug related felonies. %%EOF It is not like the old school movies where you can see a wire taped under someones shirt. A confidential informant (CI) is an individual who gives information about on-going criminal activity to the police. Possess a dangerous drug for sale. We came back night after night to see how many they dug up.". Call 954-845-0505 today. The high court held that reliance on informant testimony implicates . Other times that it may be more difficult to secure a conviction include drug trafficking charges that result in another persons overdose. Specifically, ICE officials say Bencomo was terminated because he didn't tell supervisors that Lalo was still involved with murder and torture in Juarez. "It just made me sick," he says. The report by the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General (IG) found serious deficiencies with the DEA's confidential-source program, including poor oversight that "exposes the DEA to an. He got involved after two DEA operatives in Mexico were targeted by the Juarez drug gang that Lalo worked for. Is a Confidential Informant Truthful? But he had his reasons for informing on the drug gang. If the said information was procured outside of standard procedure (illegal or questionable means), they might use the CI excuse. advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or All rights reserved.|Disclaimer|Privacy policy. I would recommend Justin without reservation to anyone seeking representation. It is possible to beat drug trafficking charges. He says that the agency's guidelines for using confidential informants are sound. Justin is an absolute professional and took the time I needed to explain the process and his role thoroughly. Beating a Confidential Informant Before a Trial Generally, informants may enjoy more protection from being identified or forced to testify in court than other laypeople. But in Lalo's case, he says, rogue agents didn't properly follow them. In other words, the police claim that your charge will be lessened or maybe even go away if you work as a snitch for the police. Criminal defense attorneys have a host of tools to do this. Now, with Lalo on board, agents set their sights on a Juarez kingpin known as the Engineer: Heriberto Santillan Tabares. Evidence that a CI has reliably provided accurate information in the past may indicate to the court that he or she is credible. While we continue to believe that the motives of a confidential informant can be summarized in one or two words, for example, fear, money or a reduced sentence, our interactions with them will always remain superficial and be fraught with risk. No one. 0000000966 00000 n When the El Paso DEA office got wind of what was happening, the agent in charge was stunned. Mexican law enforcement officials load a corpse found at the Juarez drug cartel's House of Death into a truck in January 2004. However, the above measures are extra insurance for the police, they are not required. You may feel you are being watched. Anyone considering being a CI should first talk to a criminal defense attorney. On the tape, Lalo looks more like a victim than a drug thug. The team at Weinstein Legal will use all of the resources available to them to help prove your innocence, including private investigators and more. A conviction can have far-reaching negative impacts on your life and you stand to lose quite a few freedoms. There is no obligation from the Government to protect you the rest of your life because you served as a CI. The use of informants by police is essentially unregulated by the courts. It is important for law enforcement to protect the credibility of the informant as much as possible. The Drug Enforcement Administration blacklisted him. He is already one step ahead of the prosecutor and is well familiar with the techniques they will likely employ in an attempt to convict you. Only attorneys practicing at least three years and receiving a sufficient number of reviews from non-affiliated attorneys are eligible to receive a Rating. Just think if the police say your charge will be dismissed if you work as a CI and later on your charges are not dropped Who are you going to complain to? Confidential informants, will have always have their own agendas and will sometimes be motivated to lie and obstruct justice while claiming to be help.