The Virginian-Pilot
©
CHESAPEAKE
Ryan Frederick has asked the commonwealth's attorney to prosecute a Chesapeake police informant who burglarized his Portlock home.
"He should be held accountable like everybody else who breaks into people's houses," Frederick said.
Frederick made the request last month in a letter to Commonwealth's Attorney Nancy Parr. He seeks to have charges filed against Steven Wright, an informant who provided police with tips for a Jan. 17, 2008, drug raid on Frederick's house.
Detective Jarrod Shivers was shot to death while he and other officers tried to enter Frederick's home to execute a drug search warrant. Frederick, 29, said he fired his gun through the front door that night at what he feared were intruders.
Frederick was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and could face as much as 10 years in prison. Wright, 20, is free on bond awaiting sentencing for unrelated crimes.
Frederick said many people - from police to Shivers' family - suffered something in the ordeal, except Wright.
"They lost something. I lost something," said Frederick, who is being held in the Chesapeake Correctional Center. "But he gets a pat on the back. It was like they were condoning his actions throughout all of that."
Wright testified during Frederick's trial that he and another man broke into Frederick's detached garage to look for a marijuana-growing operation. Wright said a city detective told him a few days before the drug raid to go to Frederick's house to make sure marijuana plants were still there.
Wright also admitted his illegal actions to police and special prosecutors before the trial. Police never arrested Wright and said there has yet to be a formal complaint filed.
Parr said earlier this year that she could not prosecute Wright without a complaint being filed. Frederick said he addressed a letter to Parr two to three weeks ago but has heard nothing from prosecutors or police.
In response to the letter, Parr said she sent a letter to Frederick's attorney, James Broccoletti, on March 18.
"In that letter, I advised Mr. Broccoletti of the procedure," she said. "Also, because Mr. Broccoletti represents Mr. Frederick, I asked that he provide written authorization for a law enforcement officer to speak with Mr. Frederick. I have not heard from Mr. Broccoletti."
Broccoletti said Wednesday that he has not had an opportunity, while handling other cases, to speak with Frederick at the jail.
John Hopkins, (757) 222-5221, john.hopkins@pilotonline.com
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Miss informed
I agree Mr wright should be held accountable had in not been for his bad information & the cops blunder all would be well today. I attended the last 2 days of Fredrich trial & if I didn't know better I would think that Norfolk & Western Railway were running the so called murder trial, all because of very bad police handling an arrest for such a minor offence whitch should never never have taken place at that time of the evening.Very bad judgement on the cops part.
In defense of Mr.
In defense of Mr. Brocceleti, he behaved admirably in this case. As poster refers to him as a "bottom feeder" for running when the money was out. I assure you Mr. Frederick could not afford to pay his legal fees on his best earning year. The fact he had competent representation was pure luck. It is literally the best thing that happened to him in his life.
On a side note, I too despise attornies when the attack our doctors, businesses, and citizens via silly suits, but this is not the case here.
Mr. Frederick gets to pay for it all...
> The original charges against Ryan were arbitrary; i.e. not supported by any evidence…
> No evidence of an on-going marijuana grow operation was found; unheated, un-insulated garage (in January), no plants, no equipment hooked up and functioning; all equipment found was legally obtainable and stored in the attic…
> No evidence of distribution was found; no plants, no seeds, no unaccounted for funds, no packaging materials, no scales…
> No evidence whatsoever that was sufficient Probable Cause for a Search Warrant…
And Chesapeake Citizens continue to allow the city government to refuse to disclose the results of the investigation that was conducted regarding this matter. The cops, prosecutors and magistrate still have their jobs and freedom. The City Council still hasn’t decided about the Civil Review Board.
Government, by consent of the governed…
another "special prosecutor"?
The Chesapeake Commonwealths Attorney couldn't try the original case because of the "relationship" between the office and the police. If Wright was acting in behalf of the police I guess we need another special prosecutor......
Robbery?
Does the pilot still employ an editor? Does he own a dictionary? I'll give you a hint, a burglary is alleged to have occurred. A robbery is a completely different crime.
I call it wrong
Let's pretend that your neighbor is out of the country on vacation or business. You see person or person's breaking into your neighbor's property. You call the police. They arrive and catch the perp(s) on the property. The perp(s) admit, just like Wright did, that they were burgularizing the premises. What do the police do? Do they arrest the perp(s) and take them to jail? What if the owner can't be reached to 'file a complaint'? Do they release the perp(s) because of the TECHNICALITY being preached by Chesapeake's procecutor? You can't file on behalf of the neighbor unless you have a 'Power of Attorney'. Well, we all know what would happen. The attorney just doesn't want to do what would otherwise be done because of the 'victim' in this case. Also, the behavior of Ryan's attorney only goes to perpetuate the notion that all lawyers are bottom feeders. Their only true concern is the greenbacks they can pull in. How many lawyers ever gave a dang about their clients once the money dried up?
Shameless
Since Nancy Parr, as well as the Chesapeake Police Department, are well aware of the January 14, 2009, break-in at Ryan Frederick's home, a formal complaint from the victim is not necessary to prosecute Steven Wright for the crime. But, as Wright is her boy, you can expect her and the CPD to stonewall this as best as their incompetent selves can allow. Having known Nancy Parr, the poster child of the Peter Principle, since she was a child in Suffolk, I can vouch that she can muddle and tap-dance with the best political hacks, which is how she managed to get through UVa and that hotbed of jurisprudence excellence, T.C. Williams.
A felony burglary does not
A felony burglary does not require a person to file a complaint to be prosecuted. While this is true of misdeameanors, it is not the case w/ felonies. The police, as well as prosecutors around the state have been witness and in some cases a party to an admitted felony. From where I am sitting there only seems to be one reason to not prosecute. It would be like a bike chain prosecuting it's main link. The entire chain would fail. They really think we are all stupid. Regardless of your stand on the case, LEO or not, you know this stinks that this guy has not been prosecuted. Every 'why' leads to a worse answer.
Ryan Frederick
Detective Jarrod Shivers death is mourned and it's a terrible incident. However....something has stunk about this case from the beginning and the authorities will not tell us the truth. When the truth emerges....and it will... the police department will have to be replaced.
(and that's my two cents worth)
Steven Wright's stupidity
Steven Wright put this tragedy in motion when he set up this drug bust.
He told the police there was a major grow operation in Ryan Frederick's garage and then stole the evidence he swore to the police was there.
Ryan Frederick was afraid that Steven Wright was breaking into his house 3 days later and was armed to protect himself. Sadly, Chesapeake police were serving a search warrant.... like a home invasion, exactly how MOST police departments conduct drug raids!
Steven Wright put this nightmare in motion but our insane drug policy made it easy for him to do so. I am angry every day that a police officer was killed in this stupid, stupid game.