Baltimore prosecutors are dismissing dozens of drug cases from two police officers banned from testifying in court amid suspicions they have been untruthful in charging documents.
Several area defense attorneys told The Examiner that prosecutors have informed them they will no longer be calling Sgt. Allen Adkins or Detective Deryl Turner ? both formerly of the Southern District ? as witnesses in trials, and will be dismissing dozens of the officers? pending cases.
“The state?s just saying, ?We?re dropping all charges,? ” said defense attorney Nicole Egerton, who added that two of her clients? drug cases will be dropped. “They?ve confirmed my clients? cases will be dismissed.”
Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld received a letter from Baltimore City State?s Attorney Patricia Jessamy on Monday informing him that her office will no longer use either officer in any criminal case.
Police spokesman SterlingClifford said the officers have been assigned to the Warrant Apprehension Task Force. He declined to comment further. Prosecutors also declined to comment.
Members of the task force do not need to testify in court, because statements of probable cause are already contained in the warrants they serve.
Neither Adkins nor Turner has any open or sustained internal affairs investigation, but, sources say, the duo raised the suspicions of prosecutors when their statements of probable cause in some drug cases were sharply contradicted by witness statements or police pole-camera evidence.
Adkins has 146 pending criminal cases and Turner has 92; a majority of which involve narcotics charges, court records show.
Defense attorneys described Adkins as smooth on the witness stand.
“He actually was very good for the state,” said one attorney, who asked not to be named. “He was very good at testifying ? so he came across as very credible.”
Defense attorney David Lutz said he recently observed Adkins arguing with a city prosecutor in the hallway of the Baltimore City District Courthouse in South Baltimore.
“He was saying, ?Don?t make a deal. Don?t make a deal,? ” Lutz said of Adkins. “Nevertheless, the
case was placed on the stet [inactive] docket.”
Egerton said she knows Adkins and considers him a “pleasant gentleman.”
“The shame is there are a lot of really good officers out there, and the public trust is destroyed when you have one or two officers without integrity,” she said. “A lot of times they do know who?s selling drugs, but instead of protecting constitutional rights, they arrest them immediately without following the procedures in place to keep us all safe.”
Neither Adkins nor Turner immediately returned a phone call to the Warrant Apprehension Task Force office.
