TheAgitator.com
Update in Chesapeake
Friday, January 30th, 2009Over the weekend, I’ll put up a more thorough review of the last few days in the trial of Ryan Frederick, the Chesapeake, Virginia man charged with capital murder for shooting a police officer during a botched drug raid.
But here’s one item of note: Earlier this week, we heard the unlikely testimony of Steven Wright, the police informant in the case. Wright gave damning statements about buying marijuana from Frederick dozens of times over about a six month period, and state that Frederick threatened to kill both him in his family. Wright also admitted to both illegally breaking into Frederick’s home three days before the raid (to collect probable cause for the search warrant), and to lying to the police about said break-in for months. His testimony was not only harmful to Frederick, it helped assuage allegations that Chesapeake police officers were sending informants to break into private homes in order to look for evidence for search warrants.
Wright has been in jail since last October on several charges stemming from his theft and use of credit cards, including a charge of grand larceny. He was supposed to appear in court last December on those charges, but that appearance was delayed, rather conveniently, until two days after his testimony in Frederick’s trial.
Yesterday, Wright was released on bond. He still hasn’t been charged for breaking in to Frederick’s home, nor has he been charged for obstructing the investigation of Frederick and the raid by allegedly lying to police about the break-in for months.
No surprise here. He told his lies just like rehearsed and now he gets his cookie.
Yeah, I wonder if Brocolletti can bring this up in his closing statements? Sure would make it look like quid-pro-quo.
You would have to be brain-dead to not see this as a quid-pro-quo. Here you have a scumbag who has a personal vendetta against the defendant, is wanted on felony charges and conveniently is offered help on his felony if he helps nail the defendant. No conflict of interest there. No sir…
Ditto Steve Verdon and Mike T. Took the Latin right out of my mouth.
None of this guy’s testimony even makes sense in light of the lack of evidence.
Not only that, but any cop who believed it would have to be a completely, utterly irresponsible member of law enforcement.
Hey, I’m sorry an officer died in this case, but it’s looking to me like the guy was a totally irresponsible loose cannon trying to put “notches on his gun” instead of protecting the public.
Let’s say this was me… I’ll play the Detective. A guy I’m interviewing (Wright) tells me he has damning testimony, a guy who sells him pot all the time and has a grow op in his garage.
great shit, right? Man, I’d love to take that down! (Remember, I’m playing the Detective… my job is to uphold the law regardless of how I feel about it.) I just have to verify that this guy a) sells drugs. b) Grows drugs for sale. Should be easy, right?
I ask him: “Great! Can you set up a buy? We just want to document an actual sale of drugs.” His possible responses are “Sure, I buy drugs from him all the time” or any variation of “No”.
If he says no for any reason I instantly know he’s full of shit and making this crap up.
Interview over. Case closed.
Whatever Wright’s testimony, it does not affect the fact that Frederick was woken by unknown people who tried to break into his house and, to defend himself, shot at them.
if this was in Mississippi, he still wouldn’t have a prayer of getting out. This looks like a decent judge- I think we might see some justice, yet!
Does VA have a felony murder law? And if so could Wright be charged with it?
“Does VA have a felony murder law? And if so could Wright be charged with it?”
the guy may be guilty of “Felony: Dirtbag” but he didn’t tell the cops to just roll in there and risk lives on his say so. The cops decided to do that all on their own. If anyone is culpable in that manner, it would be the detective that justified the raid with crap evidence.
I was wondering if they may have used such a law to pressure Wright into ‘cooperating’.
Remember, Wright has tried to screw Ryan Fredrick twice to serve himself. Once with the original tip, and now with his perjured testimony. I know I’m preaching to the choir, but this is one of the unintended consequences of the drug war, a bunch of liars with personal vendettas using the criminal justice system to escape punishment of their own crimes.
If I knew someone that grew or sold marijuana I could get away with all manner of theft and violence. If I get caught, the grower/dealer is my Get Out of Jail free card.
Just to clear somethings up:
The Assistant Chesapeake Commonwealth’s Attorney OBJECTED to Wright’s release on bond. His defense attorney (maybe a friend of Broccoletti’s) was able to convince the judge otherwise. But, I have a feeling if they were able to keep him in jail, the spin you guys would put on it is that “they just want him available so he can continue to testify against RF” or something to that effect.
Also, maybe any Va. Bar practicioners perusing this can clear this up if I am wrong, although the State can bring charges in a felony matter without the victim’s consent, they still need a victim to testify and make the case. It is highly unlikely Frederick is willing to be that victim in the burglary. No victim, no charges, no case. After all, he’s not been willing, until this trial, to admit it was dope that was stolen. I guess he could still make that report now if he wanted to, but I doubt it.
SJE, there is nothing to suggest Frederick was asleep, of course only him saying so, but he’s been shown to be a liar to.
Just wanted to put things into perspective.
CEH,
That was a stupid post. Please don’t do that again.
CEH,
Didn’t Wright admit to burglarizing RF’s garage in open court in his RF testimony? That sounds like airtight evidence to me.
Nice Steve, great argument there. Was that an intelligent post?
Scooby, absolutely…if he denied it later – perjury (I guess – I’m not a lawyer). Still need the victim to help with the prosecution though (again, perhaps one of the attorney’s that post on here can clarify for all).
Stupid enough for you Steve?
I was wondering if they may have used such a law to pressure Wright into ‘cooperating’.
A felony murder charge is supposed to require that the victim’s death was the result of a foreseeable chain of events stemming the accused’s actions. If the state were to argue that Wright should have foreseen the possibility that the raid would get somebody killed, they would have to concede that the police should also have foreseen that possibility. The failure of the police to take measures to reduce the risk would only be reasonable if the level of risk involved with the raid was negligible (thus implying that Shivers’ death was unforeseeable).
While one might argue that police act in unreasonable fashion sufficiently often that it should not be “unforeseeable”, I really can’t imagine a prosecutor making that argument. Such argument would be an outright admission that police cannot be reasonably expected to obey the law. Totalitarian anarchists will never admit that.
Affirmative self defense was not proven in this case. What has been proven is a willful deliberate premeditated killing of a police officer during the performance of his duties. Forget all the witnesses besides RF and the cops, based on that alone, RF’s lies convict him. Dipshit just kills a police officer but has the presence of mind to deny that he had plants in his house when he’s interviewed as the officer is dying next to him on the sidewalk. Yeah, sure he didn’t know it was the police. All lies.
LC: Explain why someone with a pre-meditated plan to murder police wouldn’t arm himself with something better than a 6-shot .380 pistol, or for that matter even put his shoes on prior to their arrival. More generally, explain how someone who was even remotely mentally competent could formulate the plan you ascribe to Mr. Frederick. I just don’t see it.
What were the lies that Fredrick told? I’m gathering that you’re saying he lied about having plants. If what has been reported here is true, then he indeed had no plants.
According to the testimony of Ryan Frederick he disposed of the plants days before the raid, so his statement is true if he did dispose of the plants. Your claim that he is a liar appears to be based on nothing more than your own opinion.
I disagree. If I were on the jurry, based on what I have read so far I’d be voting not guilty. Maybe there is evidence that has been posted by Radley or Don Tabor, but other than that I disagree with your opinion.
CEH,
Yes, still stupid.
[...] – The jury heard closing arguments in the case of Ryan Frederick, the Virginia man who is facing capital murder charges for shooting police office Jarrod Shivers during a drug raid. Frederick maintains that he had no idea that Shivers was a police officer, and reacted the way he did because his house had been broken into a few days before. As prosecutors have tried to paint Frederick as a cold-blooded cop killer, their case has been falling apart around them, eventually revealing that the informant who told the police that Frederick was growing marijuana was the same guy who broke into his house. [...]