Former Newark Police
Officer Darious Smith had just been convicted of plotting with
colleagues to steal cash, narcotics and weapons from drug dealers. But the
expression on his face today didn’t tell the story of a man now staring at a
possible 10-year prison sentence.
"God is great," the 41-year-old said
with a smile outside the Newark courtroom, his parents and attorney at his
side.
The jury found Smith guilty of conspiracy to
commit official misconduct, official misconduct and theft. But because it also
found the amount he took was less than $200, Smith may avoid prison altogether.
He was also acquitted of four lesser charges.
The most serious count of second-degree
conspiracy may get bumped down to third-degree, which carries a prison term of
up to five years, but also the presumption of non-incarceration for first-time
offenders. If the conviction remains second-degree, Smith, who has no prior criminal
record, faces up to 10 years in prison.
The veteran officer, who has been suspended
since he was indicted in 2004, also would have been immediately handcuffed and
taken into custody. But Superior Court Judge Peter Ryan allowed Smith to walk
out of the courtroom with bail continued. State Deputy Attorney General Cynthia
Vazquez, who prosecuted the case, did not object.
Addressing the court after jurors filed out,
Ryan called it a "legal impossibility that (Smith) be found guilty of
conspiracy in the second-degree. He has to be found guilty in the
third-degree." The judge set June 15 for attorneys to file briefs in
support of their positions.
Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the Attorney
General’s Office, said its appellate section in the Division of Criminal
Justice is reviewing the issue but the second-degree conspiracy count may
survive intact. Smith’s lawyer, Raymond Beam Jr., also said he will seek a new
trial but did not provide an explanation. Sentencing is set for July 13.
Smith’s case was part of a larger
investigation by the state and Newark police that covered 2002 to 2004 and
yielded similar allegations of corruption against a half-dozen city officers.
The jury forewoman read the verdict just
before 4 p.m., after more than two days of deliberations in a trial that
stretched three weeks. Smith, clad in a gray suit with matching pink shirt and
tie, was acquitted of four lesser counts of tampering with public records and
falsifying records, for allegations he lied on his police reports. The charges stem
from two incidents in 2003 and two in 2004, in which the Attorney General’s
Office alleged Smith stole from and extorted drug dealers.
Five witnesses who testified for the state
accused Smith of stealing cash from drug dealers, planting drugs and guns on
them and making false arrests.
One of the witnesses was Lawrence Furlow,
Smith’s former partner on the force who faces identical criminal charges. The
state has tried Furlow twice, both times ending in hung juries. His third trial
is scheduled for next week, but will likely be pushed back.
Beam told jurors the witnesses, including
Furlow and Dudley, should not be trusted because they were either corrupt cops
or drug dealers who cut deals with the state to testify against his client.
Furlow backed out of a deal he had brokered with the state.
Outside the courtroom, Beam said he was
disappointed with the guilty verdict but noted that it showed jurors
"didn’t believe some of the state’s case. So they compromised."
But Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said the
verdict sent a clear message.
"This police officer betrayed the ho