The Associated Press
BALTIMORE (AP) - A perjury probe of two detectives has caused nearly two dozen criminal cases to be dropped, and threatens the prosecution of another 70, prosecutors and police said.
“We realize the trouble we are going to have if we present a case with them as witnesses,” said William F. Cecil, team captain in the nonfatal shooting unit in the Baltimore state’s attorney’s office. “We’re trying to see how we can salvage every single case they’re involved in.”
The probe of detectives Clarence Grear and Kevin E. Jones follows a search they conducted in July of a suspect’s car and whether they lied about having a warrant at the time of the search.
The police powers of the two were suspended Aug. 20, police spokesman Matt Jablow said.
Dan Fickus, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, said Grear and Jones have been “exceptional officers” over the years.
“They are some of the best detectives in the Southern District,” he said.
If the investigation shows the detectives lied about the search, their credibility in every case they have been involved in would be damaged, prosecutors and defense attorneys said.
Prosecutors said they are dismissing only the cases they feel are hopeless without testimony from the detectives. The rest are being postponed in an effort to locate other witnesses or find some way to save them.
“It’s an overwhelming challenge,” said Baltimore State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy. “It’s very complicated because we had to dismiss cases of very violent people - shooters possessing guns and other violent folks.”
In July, Grear filed a search warrant application, seeking to search the home and car of Antoine Collins, 22, who has a history of drug arrests and was on probation for selling marijuana and illegally possessing a shotgun.
However, tow-truck receipts obtained by The (Baltimore) Sun show the vehicle was towed July 19 more than three hours before the warrant was signed. The driver, who asked not to be identified, told the newspaper that as soon as the vehicle was delivered to the police precinct the detectives asked the driver to borrow tools and broke into the car.
A day later, Grear wrote in a police document that the car was searched July 20 by a team including himself and Jones. Two guns, heroin, marijuana and three digital scales were found, according to the document.