Judge
orders subpoenas for officers in hearing linked to police corruption trial
A federal judge issued an order Wednesday to have several
former and current law enforcement officers, including convicted Tulsa Police
Cpl. Harold R. Wells and Officer John K. “J.J.” Gray, appear in court to
testify, court records show.
U.S. District Judge
James Payne issued the order to subpoena Gray, Wells, Tulsa Police Capt. Nick
Hondros, and federal agents Stuart Hockfelder, Dave Argo and Pat Lynch,
according to the order.
The law enforcement
officers will be subpoenaed to testify in the case of Jeffrey Dan Williams, who
pleaded guilty in a 1997 case related to a methamphetamine manufacturing ring
Williams was convicted of operating, records show.
Soon after he pleaded
guilty and several times since, Williams has tried unsuccessfully to withdraw
his guilty plea, arguing he was coerced to make the plea, according to court
documents.
The defense is trying
to link the case to corruption within the Tulsa Police Department because Gray,
who has been convicted in connection with a sweeping corruption investigation,
served multiple search warrants in Williams' case based on information
reportedly from confidential informants.
The federal
investigation of Tulsa police officers and a federal agent began as early as
2008 and resulted in charges against six current or former Tulsa police
officers and the federal agent, as well as accusations of criminal behavior
against five officers who were never indicted.
Many of the charges
involved falsified search warrants based on information supposedly from
confidential informants.
The current hearing
before Payne is a result of a Williams’ motion to withdraw his guilty plea,
which the court accepted as a motion that alleged fraud upon the court,
according to the order.
Prosecution and
defense attorney rested their cases in late May, but Payne put the hearing on
hold until June 25 to tie up “loose ends.”
Payne’s order for
three former or current Tulsa police officers and three federal agents to
appear in court is apparently related to witness testimony that alleged several
incidents which would have occurred prior to the scope of the police trials.