Jury clears L.A. man of drug, gun charges
Federal panel finds against prosecutors in case involving ‘reverse sting’ tactic.
A federal jury on Friday cleared a Los Angeles man of drug- and gun-related charges, finding against prosecutors in a case involving a controversial tactic used by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that lured suspects into plotting a robbery of a fictitious stash house.
Jurors found Antuan Dunlap, 25, not guilty of drug conspiracy, gun usage and firearm possession charges after deliberating less than a day. The panel deadlocked on a fourth count of robbery. Prosecutors have the option of bringing a new trial against Dunlap on the robbery charge.
The case against Dunlap was previously thrown out by a U.S. District Court judge who made the extraordinary ruling that the federal agents’ actions in the case amounted to “outrageous government misconduct” when they made up a nonexistent crime opportunity and tempted poor people with the promise of a quick payday.
Dunlap was arrested as part of a “reverse sting” operation that the ATF has been using for more than a decade, in which an undercover agent poses as a disgruntled drug courier and proposes robbing a fictional house stashed with piles of cocaine.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in December overturned Judge Otis D. Wright II’s ruling and revived the case, with the justices writing that they “question the wisdom” of the tactic but were bound by previous decisions that have repeatedly upheld cases brought by using the sting operation. The appellate court also granted prosecutors’ request that the case be assigned to another judge rather than sending it back to Wright, who dismissed the case and scathingly rebuked the ATF practice.
Other judges in different parts of the country, including some on the 9th Circuit and the 7th Circuit in Chicago, have been similarly critical of the stings, finding they disproportionately affect the impoverished and are an improper use of the federal government’s resources.
Friday’s verdict, acquitting Dunlap of most counts, marks a rare outcome in stash-house cases, which have resulted in more than 1,000 convictions across the country. Because of the hefty mandatory minimum sentences triggered by the arbitrary quantity of fake drugs devised by agents, the majority of defendants opt to plead guilty on lesser charges rather than risk lengthy prison terms.
In Los Angeles, where agents have been using the tactic since 2002, about 100 people have been convicted, resulting in sentences of up to life in prison.
Dunlap’s attorney, Lawrence Jay Litman, said Dunlap had a strong case because he was brought into the scheme at the last minute by two other men who had been plotting to rob the stash house for two months. The two others, who have pleaded guilty, had initially wanted to recruit another man to join the robbery crew, but that man was out of town, Litman said.
In this week’s trial, Dunlap took the stand in his own defense and told jurors he met with the two men and an undercover agent five days before the robbery was to take place but never agreed to commit the crime, Litman said.
“They were planning the robbery for 62 days and he was brought in on the last five days,” the attorney said.
Katharine Tinto, a Cardozo School of Law professor who has written about stash-house cases, said the outcome was notable, given that conspiracy charges have a low threshold of proof. “They must’ve believed him,” she said. “It is unusual for a jury to believe the defendant over a law enforcement officer.”
Prosecutors declined to comment.
Carlos Canino, head of the ATF’s field office in Los Angeles, said he respected the jury’s decision but believed the tactic was appropriately applied in the case.
“It’s a good tool, it’s innovative, and when it’s right to use, we’ll use it,” he said.
Canino, who has worked on hundreds of such stash-house stings, said he was aware of only one or two acquittals in cases resulting from the tactic.