The jury in the trial of four St. Croix police officers accused of a host of federal and local crimes moved into deliberations Monday, almost a year after a grand jury initially indicted two of the officers.
Lawyers in the federal case against officers Ronald Pickard, Dean Bates, Renaldo Philbert and Victor Suarez wrapped up almost three weeks of testimony on Monday, allowing a jury of 10 women and two men to hash out the 31 charges against the quartet of officers.
In their closing arguments, federal prosecutors tried to convince the jury that it was up to them to make an example of rogue cops.
The defense, meanwhile, used a variety of arguments to cast doubt on thecharges: 31 counts of intimidation, physical assault, harassment and arresting persons without just cause between Jan. 1, 1995, and Oct. 31, 1999.
Pickard’s attorney, George Cannon Jr., said many of the government’s witnesses were crack-cocaine addicts or had a personal vendetta against his client. In his closing remarks, Cannon skirted the rape charge, saying that the incident was actually consensual sex.
"A few of these addicts indicated that crack didn’t have any effect on them," Cannon said. "When a crack addict says crack doesn’t really affect them, you have to be careful of what they say."
Last August, a federal grand jury indicted Pickard and Bates on charges of rape, conspiracy, firearms possession, witness-tampering and civil rights violations by assault and intimidation. The most serious charge against the two involves the alleged May 10, 1999, rape of a nightclub dancer on Shoys Beach.
A superseding indictment in February tacked on additional charges and also charged Suarez and Philbert with assault and witness intimidation. During the trial, District Court Judge Raymond Finch dismissed a charge of conspiracy against the four defendants.
Prosecutors had argued that as members of "The Primos," a group headed by Pickard, the four conspired to violate the rights of citizens. Finch, however, said there was no evidence to support the claim.
Cannon jumped on that victory and told the jury that the remaining counts against his client were just as suspect.
"The government is throwing all the counts out hoping you’ll find him (Pickard) guilty on one or two counts," Cannon said.
Federal prosecutor Barry Williams said the case was about the abuse of power, and said police officers should be held accountable for their actions.
"If we condone this kind of action, we might as well rip up the Constitution," Williams said.
Williams’ colleague, St. Claire Theodore, asked what citizens were supposed to do when the "peace maker becomes the lawbreaker…"
Theodore told the jury that they had a chance to make a "monumental" decision that would be felt throughout the entire V.I. Police Department. And while he acknowledged that some of the government’s witnesses were drug users, he blasted the defense’s portrayal of them as "subhuman."
Theodore said that if defense attorneys were trying a "million-dollar" lawsuit involving a car accident, "Those dope fiends would be the best witnesses on the stand."
Theodore also said that the rape of the stripper was just that. He noted that when the victim was examined at the hospital after the incident, about a half a cup of sand was found in her underwear. He argued that the existence of the sand confirmed the victim’s story that she feigned sleep during and after the attack because she was scared of Pickard and Bates.
If the sex was consensual, Theodore said, the victim would have put her own underwear back on without an uncomfortable load of sand.
The other defense attorneys — Jomo Meade, Martial Webster and Melody Walcott – said their clients were really being accused of doing their jobs with inadequate training.
They also accused FBI agent Robert Enriquez of fabricating evidence, threatening witnesses and the defendants.
Verdicts in the case are expected to be returned sometime on Tuesday.
