The Virginian-Pilot
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CHESAPEAKE
Police misled a magistrate to get a search warrant for the home of Ryan Frederick, the man accused of killing a detective during a drug raid on his house, according to his attorney.
Police failed to tell the magistrate that their confidential informant had burglarized Frederick’s property to get evidence to support a search warrant, attorney James Broccoletti argued. The drug raid that followed on the night of Jan. 17 was a violation of Frederick’s Fourth Amendment right; therefore, all evidence collected should be thrown out, he argued in a motion filed this week .
Chesapeake Police Chief Kelvin Wright said Wednesday that his department does not condone the use of informants to commit burglaries in order to gather evidence for a search warrant.
Renaldo Turnbull Jr. told The Virginian-Pilot in February that he was one of two men who broke into Frederick’s garage to look for evidence of a marijuana-growing operation. Turnbull said he and an accomplice named “Steven” broke into Frederick’s garage to gather evidence for police.
Wright said Turnbull was not one of the informants. He said , police did not know of him before the shooting. Wright said Turnbull has some knowledge about the informants in the case, and said information about Turnbull’s motivation to speak to the media will be revealed during the trial.
Wright did not respond to a question about whether Turnbull played any role in a burglary at Frederick’s house.
Special Prosecutor Paul Ebert could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Frederick, 29, faces trial Jan. 20 on charges of capital murder, use of a firearm and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana. He is being held without bond in the Chesapeake Correctional Center.
He is accused of shooting Detective Jarrod Shivers as the 34-year-old and more than a dozen other officers attempted to gain entry into the home in the 900 block of Redstart Ave., in South Norfolk. Police said two shots were fired from inside Frederick’s home through the front door as officers outside used a battering ram on the door.
One shot hit Shivers as he stood on the front steps of the home.
Frederick has maintained that he was in bed when police arrived and that he fired through the front door at what he feared were intruders.
In an affidavit to obtain the search warrant for Frederick’s home, Detective Kiley Roberts stated that he was provided information from a confidential informant who claimed to have been inside Frederick’s residence and “observed” marijuana plants in a detached garage.
“In reality, the informer did not 'observe’ marijuana plants, he stole them,” Broccoletti argued in his motion. “The omissions in the affidavit were either designed to mislead the magistrate or were made in reckless disregard for the truth.”
Broccoletti’s motion comes two weeks after the special prosecutor in the case revealed the role of burglars in the case. Broccoletti, relying on information from the prosecutor, argues the detective did not tell the magistrate that the police informant burglarized the home.
“Detective Roberts swore to the accuracy of the information based on the informer’s reliability and credibility,” Broccoletti said in his motion. “Knowing the informer committed burglary within the previous 72 hours, he did not tell the magistrate the informer’s criminal history thereby intensifying his reckless disregard for the truth.’’
During a pretrial hearing Sept. 9, Ebert said more than one person broke into Frederick’s detached garage days before the drug raid, taking about half of the marijuana plants inside.
Police and prosecutors have not identified the burglars and no one has been charged in that crime. Frederick never reported the break-in.
Columnist Kerry Dougherty contributed to this report.
John Hopkins, (757) 222-5221, john.hopkins@pilotonline.com
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Re: looked
well written, I agree with your point.
Looked
at both sides, is exactly what I've done. Regardless of how nice a guy Ryan may or may not be, he still broke laws long on the books. He still shot, twice, a man who died from the wounds caused by those shots. It wouldn't matter if Mr. Shivers had been a civilian instead of an leo. A man is dead because Ryan consciously chose do open fire. He needs to accept responsibility for his actions. So should his supporters. His operation violated the law. His actions later took the life of another. He should be punished for both. His "character", outside of this situation, may be considered at the time of sentencing.
Frederick Case
Interesting, that after the Police Chief issues his missive about how this could not happen, the City Manager is getting ready to announce a reorganization in the PD? That can only mean that the Chief is leaving, otherwise the Chief would be making the changes. Makes me believe that there must be a lot more truth to Mr. Hopkins story than Chesapeake would like us to ever know. Maybe "The Shield" is not that farfetched afterall.
lawrenceb....
You sir, are wrong. The only time distribution of marijuana is a felony is if it is more than 1/2 oz. There are 2 separate levels of that felony: PWID 1/2 oz. but less than 5 lbs. and also PWID more than 5 lbs. You can have misdemeanor PWID but that it all comes down to what can be proven. I can have 1/2 oz. of weed in my house and if the police raid me but find no other items indicative of distribution I can be charged with PWID but I can guarantee my lawyer will get it knocked down to simple possession. What indications of distribution were present in Ryan's home? Scales? Baggies with the corners cut off? Paperwork indicating who owed him and how much, commonly referred to as "ledgers?" I'm not taking up for the guy, I'm going to let it play out in court and let the legal system work. However, I can't stand to sit back and watch people spout off misinformation because they think they know something based on how much Law & Order or CSI they watch each week.
Re:twomiler2
You said it, "Who knows?" I am not trying to Monday morning quarterback this issue. With that said to truly understand the issue you must look at both sides.
Not Necessarily
Do & Price. Ryan engaged in criminal behavior to the degree it came to the attention of the police. He may have been arrested at a later date. A raid may have been conducted at a time when a larger amount of drugs were present. Who knows? I find it ironic, that some who wanted Mike Vick locked up forever, are so concerned about a drug dealing killer's need to be shown compassion.
Doc
If we could only turn back the clock. Ryan would be at home with a little less cash after his lawyer fees and fines. Det. Shivers would be with his family.
Price, Lawrence
Price, you are correct that he would disqualify himself for a CHP if he answered #8 truthfully. I should have been more clear by writing that he could have passed the background check for a CHP. The point being he had no disqualifying criminal record. In any case, as a non-felon he had the right to have a firearm.
Lawrence, please read more carefully. The prosecutor did not say it was lucrative, he said it was significant (whatever that means) if NOT lucrative, essentially an admission that he was NOT dealing.
Frederick is at worst, a time warped hippie, and in no way a dangerous drug dealing gangster for whom such a raid might have been justified. The warrant could have been served peaceably, they could have written him a ticket, and everyone would have gone home to their families. The only reason anyone died was the disproportionate use of paramilitary methods when safer means were available.
Doc
I see your point, but after reading the Va. State police CW rules I think Fredrick might have been disquailfied under #8.
8. Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana, or any depressant, stimulant, or narcotic drug, or any controlled substance? The Federal Gun Control Act defines an addicted person, or unlawful user, as a person who has a conviction for use or possession of a controlled substance within the past year or persons found through a drug test to use a controlled substance unlawfully, provided that the test was administered within the past year.
Maybe not though since he had no arrest or test, but if he answered "no" to unlawful user then he would have lied on the form, correct? Really as of right now it really doesn't matter for him. #8 is a little bit confusing.
Dr,Tabor,
Mr. Frederick was in violation of Va. law. I went on numerous no-knock warrant raids. Most of the time, the quantity of illegal drugs, as described in the warrant, were accurate. Every blue moon, the amount was less than described. Most of the times this was the case, the dealer had just made delivery,(either by pick- up at his home base, or self delivery to a meet point), of large quantities of said illegal drugs. However, we could assess the true size of an operation by the evidence within the home or business used as the dealers base. It's a known fact that use of marijuana causes some to be overly paranoid. Perhaps this is the case with Frederick. Regardless, he is a criminal, by state definition, even if he hadn't fired a weapon at all. As the saying goes," don't do the crime, if you can't do the time."