Sunday, Sep. 13, 2009

Kahlotus pot bust gone bad

By Paula Horton, Herald staff writer

A large underground marijuana-growing operation discovered and dismantled near Kahlotus last year should have been a coup for the Tri-City Metro Drug Task Force.

Instead, the discovery of more than 500 marijuana plants and the seizure of several weapons was thrown out of court, and the botched case set off an internal investigation that raised serious concerns about Metro's operation.

The internal inquiry was sparked by suspicions that the sergeant who was leading Metro had leaked word of the impending bust. He eventually was removed from Metro and demoted for other reasons, including insubordination for conducting an unauthorized investigation into another officer who he suspected was involved with drug peddlers.

And -- although officials say the blown pot grow case and concerns about Metro's supervision weren't the reason -- oversight of the special drug unit was moved in January from the Pasco Police Department to the Kennewick Police Department. For more than a decade, Pasco had run Metro, which is made up of detectives from the Tri-Cities' police agencies.

Details of the internal investigation by the Washington State Patrol were included in more than 500 documents the Herald obtained from the city of Pasco through a public records request. The documents contained redactions of names of Metro detectives and witnesses and suspects in the pot bust investigation. Some portions are heavily blacked out because of unsubstantiated allegations, officials said.

Big marijuana grow

The case began in early 2008 with an investigation by Franklin County sheriff's deputies into stolen snowmobiles in Kahlotus. Deputies received information leading to a remote home where a suspect in a Metro drug case lived. Deputies got a warrant to search for the snowmobiles and Metro detectives tagged along.

According to the state patrol's internal information, detectives said they could smell a strong odor of marijuana as soon as they stepped onto Les Gardner's property at 2040 Gill Road on Jan. 30. Detectives said they also could see warm air from the underground grow coming up from vents and melting the snow.

Gardner, 59, and his two sons, Josh, 25, and Joey, 20, were questioned after detectives found the well-hidden entrance to the growing area and underground apartment. Gardner was found inside and arrested without resisting.

More than 500 marijuana plants, electric fans, timers, carbon dioxide generators, electric air blowers and grow lights were found in the buried metal shipping containers.

Several rifles, shotguns and handguns also were found on the property.

Suspicions of a leak

Detectives quickly became suspicious that the Gardners had been tipped off about the impending drug bust.

Fresh tire tracks in the snow made them believe something recently had been moved away. Detectives said they had suspected Les Gardner was involved with drugs other than marijuana and had stockpiled illegal weapons and explosives, but nothing was found other than about a dozen guns.

"We didn't find any explosives. We didn't find any automatic machine guns and we didn't find any cocaine," a Richland detective on the task force later told the state patrol investigator. "All three things that he referenced as the bread and butter of his operation weren't there.

"We did find that day, in retrospect, fresh tire tracks up to the (buried) Conex box. Somebody had unloaded a ton of stuff, presumably, because there was a ton of traffic in the snow," he added.

Gardner, however, reportedly later told detectives that if he had known they were going to raid his place, the detectives would have come "into a hail of bullets."

He had a gun inside the grow area and has since said he initially thought about firing at cops when they found him, but changed his mind.

Officer's relative linked

According to transcripts from the internal investigation, Metro detectives became concerned about then-Sgt. Randy Roach working on the marijuana grow case after learning earlier that the Pasco officer had a relative who may have been involved with one of Gardner's sons.

Detectives said they didn't believe Roach had directly tipped the Gardners, but suspected he had mentioned it to the relative, who lives in Kahlotus, and it then got back to Gardner.

Roach denied he had talked to anyone outside of law enforcement about the case.

"I would never put my family ahead of my job. Never. I never discussed any of this with my (redacted) whose (redacted) was involved," Roach told the state patrol investigator.

Roach said he had realized his possible conflict of interest as the case progressed and that he had advised Pasco police Capt. Jim Raymond he would have to back out of the investigation because of it.

He said he also told Pasco Police Chief Denis Austin. "I was very up-front about it," he told investigators later.

Austin said he appreciated being told and appreciated Roach looking out for his family, Roach said, but he was never ordered to remove himself.

But Raymond later told investigators that he had told Roach, "You need to detach yourself from the hands-on portions of the investigation of this case."

Some Metro detectives, however, said concerns about their safety and the possible conflict of interest led them to talk to supervisors in their own departments.

Because of those concerns, Austin ordered Raymond to investigate what had happened in the case and Roach was placed on paid administrative leave.

Information uncovered during Raymond's investigation then led Austin to ask the state patrol to conduct an investigation to determine if Roach had violated department policies and procedures, including unbecoming conduct, abuse of authority and insubordination.

That WSP investigation uncovered other troubling concerns about how Metro was being run -- complaints about lax supervision, communication breakdowns and issues with administrative oversight.

Alleged dirty cop

During Raymond's initial investigation, he learned of an apparent unauthorized investigation conducted by Roach and other Metro detectives into another officer they suspected was involved in narcotics trafficking.

Raymond said he talked to Roach in the summer of 2007 after Kennewick police administrators asked Austin if Metro was investigating a Pasco police officer. An informant had alleged the officer was seen selling drugs while in uniform, but the age and height described by the informant did not match the officer in question.

Raymond said he told Roach then that he was not authorized to investigate a fellow officer, and that any suspicious activity involving an officer would be investigated by internal affairs. The captain said he also told Roach he should have notified Raymond immediately about the allegations.

"...I told him he was to cease and desist, that it was going to be assigned as an (internal affairs case), and that he was to do no more," Raymond told investigators.

But Roach, who was concerned about the officer potentially interfering with prearranged drug buys, apparently continued his secret investigation.

Detectives had become suspicious of the officer because they said they'd seen him drive past areas where they were arranging undercover drug buys that later were called off after the dealers apparently received phone calls warning them.

Raymond didn't find out that the investigation into the alleged dirty cop had continued despite his orders until March 2008, when he talked to the Metro secretary about the Kahlotus case.

The task force secretary told Raymond the investigation had been going on for about six months, but that there was no case file on it.

An FBI agent was asked to check the cop's phone records, and Roach had told Metro detectives no one could know about the investigation -- including Capt. Raymond, the state patrol's internal investigation shows.

One Kennewick detective said task force members knew there was something going on "secret squirrel," but he wasn't sure if they were specifically ordered not to tell Raymond.

"We were told not to talk about it outside the office," he said.

Roach maintained he had shared concerns about the officer with his administrators after other officers talked to him. He told investigators he did not knowingly take part in an unauthorized investigation and that he dropped it after being told to stop.

Roach told state patrol investigators that the allegations about the alleged dirty officer were "frustrating 'cause of the tendency to think where there's smoke there's fire. ... Frustration is a very good word. Very frustrated, but I did as I was ordered."

'Egregious conduct'

Some Metro detectives said Roach appeared to have lost faith in the Pasco Police Department, including its ability to investigate the alleged dirty cop.

Roach said the department had recommended the other officer be fired after a previous, unrelated investigation, but that City Manager Gary Crutchfield kept him on the job.

The Herald reviewed personnel records of the officer in question and found he had been recommended for termination for unsatisfactory performance and rude behavior to the public but instead received a second chance and probation.

It's unclear, however, if allegations about the officer's drug involvement were investigated.

One detective said he was "sympathetic/ empathetic to Roach because I believe he had the right intention when he opened the investigation on (the officer). ... I wouldn't have done ... what he did, but I understand why he did it.

"He has zero faith in his captain and his chief and his city manager and his city administration in general," the detective added. "I believe that he is a product ... they got exactly what they earned in him."

After the WSP internal investigation was completed, Austin summarized the disciplinary findings in a memo to Crutchfield, noting that the "very seriousness of those violations cannot be understated."

Roach used "very poor judgment" while supervising and protecting the crime scene in Kahlotus, and by staying involved in the case after being ordered to withdraw, Austin wrote.

The "most egregious conduct," however, was Roach's "conscious disregard in following orders" about conducting an unauthorized investigation, Austin said.

He said Roach had several opportunities to tell Raymond about that investigation, but "to make matters worse, he instructed Metro personnel not to tell anyone, including Capt. Raymond ... thus concealing his culpability."

The Herald could not reach Roach about the investigation. The Herald was directed to call Seattle attorney Patrick Emmal, who represents the Pasco Police Officers' Association for comment, but calls were not returned. A voicemail message also was left for Roach at the Pasco police station.

Roach, a 23-year veteran with the Pasco Police Department, was demoted from sergeant back to patrol officer, as well as removed from Metro and suspended without pay for 15 days. He spent about five months on paid leave.

-- Paula Horton: 582-1556; phorton@tricityherald.com