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Catching drug dealers is a job the Los Angeles Police Department takes seriously. But just how far should officers go to make an arrest? Some people are calling one method entrapment.
Entrapment is word lawyers use when they believe the police persuaded someone to commit a crime he or she would never have committed without their suggestion. If a judge decides entrapment was used, a defendants case could potentially be dropped.
One man accused by the LAPD of drug crimes says the police entrapped him, and then arrested him for crimes he never would have committed on his own.
Mike (not his real name) was a medical student home for winter break. He wanted to meet someone, but was not good with pick-up lines.
My social skills aren't always up to par, said Mike, given that I'm always in the books.
Mike looked at the ads on Craigs List under Women Seeking Men and Casual Encounters.
He responded to one.
Her ad was a provocative picture of a girl, and it said let's party together. It pretty much guaranteed sexual interaction, something that I haven't had for a while, and being a lonelier guy at the time, having been home from school, it was tantalizing.
Gina was interested in him too, a little too interested, Mike would soon discover. She sent photos she claimed were her and her friends. Mike says she guaranteed sex, if he would bring some drugs.
She was pretty much open to anything, said Mike. Any hard drugs, pretty much. She seemed pretty persistent on making it happen.
Mike said he called some people he hardly knew, and bought one-hundred dollars worth of cocaine. When he showed up at the location, Gina wasnt there, but the cops were. Gina was really an undercover LAPD officer who had used Craigs List to catch a supposed drug dealer.
Attorney James Blatt says his client is not a drug dealer. He has represented Mike and two other clients in similar situations.
Not one of these individuals that I represented were involved in drug sales, said Blatt. They were third and fourth year graduate students. Some of these students were in medical school. Some were going for their PhD's.
Theyre looking at the internet, Blatt continued. There is an offer that if you bring some drugs over, we can party, and have some type of sexual relationship. Unfortunately many men, young and old, aren't going to think about the ramifications once they see these provocative pictures. And that's exactly what happened.
When it is pointed out that his client broke the law, Blatt agreed. Yes he did. He did break the law. And Im not trying to explain that away. But did he have the original intent to commit the crime?
Blatt believes this case rises to the level of entrapment.
I think the LAPD crossed the line when they had provocative pictures of young women inferring strongly that if you brought drugs, they would have sexual relations with you, he said. That to me is manufacturing the crime.
Charged with possession of a narcotic substance, and an attempt to sell or transport a controlled substance, Mike could have gone to prison for three years. Instead, he did community service and went to rehab, even though he says he never had a drug problem.
When asked if this is an effective use of the LAPD's time, or in the end do they end up with more worker bees, users, than queen bees, dealers, defense attorney Blatt was clear. I think that it's an embarrassing use of their time. Overall they're a superb department. But to waste time, where you're out on the internet promoting yourself as an attractive woman willing to have sexual relations in order to have an exchange for drugs and party with these individuals, you can manufacture any number of these cases all day, all week long, and what have you done.
Despite repeated requests for comment, the LAPD told us they wont talk about this operation. In one letter sent to us, they said narcotics detectives are concerned about giving away their secrets.
Court documents verify that it was the LAPD who sent the pictures in Mikes case, and posed as Gina.
This is a novel way to get a drug dealer, whether it's this kid or somebody else, said Retired Lt. Richard Lichten. Lichten used to work for the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, and now is a consultant on police practices.
Lichten says the LAPDs methods are not entrapment, but a smart way for the police to catch some dealers.
This individual I assume wanted sex, said Lichten. He went out and scored some dope, and here I am, here's the drugs, and now he gets in trouble.
Shame on him.
Mike does feel shamed, but told us the police are as much to blame as he is. He hopes the Los Angeles Police Department will end the practice, and no one else like him will be labeled a drug dealer.
Interviewed in this piece were:
Lt. Richard Lichten Consultant-Sheriffs Lieutenant, Retired www.policeandjailprocedures.com
Attorney James E. Blatt Criminal Defense Attorney www.jamesblatt.com
Entrapment is word lawyers use when they believe the police persuaded someone to commit a crime he or she would never have committed without their suggestion. If a judge decides entrapment was used, a defendants case could potentially be dropped.
One man accused by the LAPD of drug crimes says the police entrapped him, and then arrested him for crimes he never would have committed on his own.
Mike (not his real name) was a medical student home for winter break. He wanted to meet someone, but was not good with pick-up lines.
My social skills aren't always up to par, said Mike, given that I'm always in the books.
Mike looked at the ads on Craigs List under Women Seeking Men and Casual Encounters.
He responded to one.
Her ad was a provocative picture of a girl, and it said let's party together. It pretty much guaranteed sexual interaction, something that I haven't had for a while, and being a lonelier guy at the time, having been home from school, it was tantalizing.
Gina was interested in him too, a little too interested, Mike would soon discover. She sent photos she claimed were her and her friends. Mike says she guaranteed sex, if he would bring some drugs.
She was pretty much open to anything, said Mike. Any hard drugs, pretty much. She seemed pretty persistent on making it happen.
Mike said he called some people he hardly knew, and bought one-hundred dollars worth of cocaine. When he showed up at the location, Gina wasnt there, but the cops were. Gina was really an undercover LAPD officer who had used Craigs List to catch a supposed drug dealer.
Attorney James Blatt says his client is not a drug dealer. He has represented Mike and two other clients in similar situations.
Not one of these individuals that I represented were involved in drug sales, said Blatt. They were third and fourth year graduate students. Some of these students were in medical school. Some were going for their PhD's.
Theyre looking at the internet, Blatt continued. There is an offer that if you bring some drugs over, we can party, and have some type of sexual relationship. Unfortunately many men, young and old, aren't going to think about the ramifications once they see these provocative pictures. And that's exactly what happened.
When it is pointed out that his client broke the law, Blatt agreed. Yes he did. He did break the law. And Im not trying to explain that away. But did he have the original intent to commit the crime?
Blatt believes this case rises to the level of entrapment.
I think the LAPD crossed the line when they had provocative pictures of young women inferring strongly that if you brought drugs, they would have sexual relations with you, he said. That to me is manufacturing the crime.
Charged with possession of a narcotic substance, and an attempt to sell or transport a controlled substance, Mike could have gone to prison for three years. Instead, he did community service and went to rehab, even though he says he never had a drug problem.
When asked if this is an effective use of the LAPD's time, or in the end do they end up with more worker bees, users, than queen bees, dealers, defense attorney Blatt was clear. I think that it's an embarrassing use of their time. Overall they're a superb department. But to waste time, where you're out on the internet promoting yourself as an attractive woman willing to have sexual relations in order to have an exchange for drugs and party with these individuals, you can manufacture any number of these cases all day, all week long, and what have you done.
Despite repeated requests for comment, the LAPD told us they wont talk about this operation. In one letter sent to us, they said narcotics detectives are concerned about giving away their secrets.
Court documents verify that it was the LAPD who sent the pictures in Mikes case, and posed as Gina.
This is a novel way to get a drug dealer, whether it's this kid or somebody else, said Retired Lt. Richard Lichten. Lichten used to work for the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, and now is a consultant on police practices.
Lichten says the LAPDs methods are not entrapment, but a smart way for the police to catch some dealers.
This individual I assume wanted sex, said Lichten. He went out and scored some dope, and here I am, here's the drugs, and now he gets in trouble.
Shame on him.
Mike does feel shamed, but told us the police are as much to blame as he is. He hopes the Los Angeles Police Department will end the practice, and no one else like him will be labeled a drug dealer.
Interviewed in this piece were:
Lt. Richard Lichten Consultant-Sheriffs Lieutenant, Retired www.policeandjailprocedures.com
Attorney James E. Blatt Criminal Defense Attorney www.jamesblatt.com
