Confidential informants, will have always have their own agendas and will sometimes be motivated to lie and obstruct justice while claiming to be help. But as that investigation started, ICE's prized snitch came under suspicion. But Bencomo stayed on, and so did Lalo. Whether you are a first-time offender or you have received charges in the past relating to drugs or other criminal activity, the team at Weinstein Legal is here to help. Although these types of cases can be difficult to defend, there are several ways to fight evidence gathered from a confidential informant. Informants are another kind of source (ie persuading activists already in political groups to pass on information about the activities and intentions of their fellow protesters). Our firm serves clients in local communities including Birmingham City, Irondale, Mountain Brook, Vestavia, Homewood, Hoover, Pelham, Alabaster, and Helena. The team at Weinstein Legal will evaluate your case and can best advise you on the strategy we will use in regard to how to beat a drug trafficking charge, therefore preserving your freedoms and constitutional rights. Keep in mind that courts often determine whether to accept a confidential informant's evidence as credible based on the totality of the circumstances in that case -- which may include other factors not listed here. Therefore, they wont be able to provide any information. A decade ago, at 2 a.m., a Mexican drug runner walked over the international bridge that links El Paso, Texas, with Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and asked to speak with a U.S. agent. Unlike with anonymous tipsters, law enforcement and prosecutors typically have evidence that their CI has lied or been forthright with them and others. There should be an audit trail detail who has seen the true identity and when they saw it. On the tape, Lalo looks more like a victim than a drug thug. The government could decide to charge someone who does that with obstruction of justice, among other things. hide caption. This website is for general informational purposes only. 142 0 obj<>stream will know how to maneuver in the courtroom and lead a witness to provide information that supports the defenses theory of the case. hide caption. Evidence from CIs who have been busted for fraud or other crimes involving lying may be given less weight. A confidential informants information can possibly be used against you for your arrest and later in your trial if you request a jury trial. Do not allow any of these things to happen to you. Human motives and motivation is a complex subject with many competing theories. Copyright 2022, Thomson Reuters. We contacted our attorney in the state where we live and he recommended Matt to us. Understanding motive and motivation. Justin is an absolute professional and took the time I needed to explain the process and his role thoroughly. Copyright 2023 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. "That was the first incident that I ever came across that he was working both sides," Bencomo says. For a free case evaluation that is completely free of obligation, contact Weinstein Legal law firm today and ask for defense lawyer Matt Shafran. ", Members of Mexico's Federal Agency of Investigations excavate the yard at the House of Death after two bodies were found there. The Confidential Informant may be a drug dealer, a significant other, someone you are friends with, someone that works for you, someone that you work for, etc. Raul Bencomo, then an agent with U.S. Customs, assigned code No. Guadalupe Juarez/AFP/Getty Images Learn more Dead men tell no tales.1 tilizing confidential informants to obtain incriminating information has been described as "dirty business."2 And it certainly is. Identifying an informants true motives for providing information increases the chances of maximizing the quality and quantity of information they provide and being able to conduct an effective criminal investigation while at the same time , keeping everyone involved safe. In this hour of need and when this medical pro Mat was such a relief to our family! Then, at trial, the Government calls the . Possess equipment or chemicals, or both, for the purpose of manufacturing a dangerous drug. Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings are the gold standard in attorney ratings, and have been for more than a century. We came back night after night to see how many they dug up.". Mr. Shafran has years of experience defending the rights of clients in a court of law and has secured a successful outcome for many individuals. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome and Martindale-Hubbell accepts no responsibility for the content or accuracy of any review. 0000001540 00000 n If a defendant doesn't ask for disclosure of the identity at one of these two times, then the issue is waived (meaning that the defendant can't find out the identity later). Confidential informants ("CIs") often provide law enforcement and prosecutors with valuable evidence that can lead to arrests and even convictions of criminal suspects. 0000001889 00000 n The CI is not really taken to jail or if the CI is taken to jail, the CI is released later. of this site is subject to additional 913, though most called him by the nickname Lalo. reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and But this is nearly non-existent in state cases and rare, at best, in federal cases. "So where are we going to find any help if we can't trust the U.S.?". On the other hand, police and prosecutors' concern for confidential informants is not misplaced. A controlled buy is basically a situation setup by law enforcement where a confidential informant is sent in to buy drugs from a suspect. Thank you Mathew!! We called after our son was arrested for a crime he committed nearly 9 months earlier. Though widely acknowledged as vital to law enforcement, social scientists have largely ignored the practice of confidential informing. The informant is given money from the police department, with the serial numbers recorded, to ensure that the money is actually given to the suspect. Criminal defense attorney Matt Shafran at Weinstein Legal is precisely the representation you need. Contact Susan Williams today for a free consultation. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Contact us immediately for a free consultation where we can discuss the details of your case and how we can help. If youre worried about how to beat a confidential informant, let the, represent you. However, sometimes, knowing who a confidential informant is in the case can be crucial to the defense team. Marvin Christensen @MarvinChristensen988. Some training courses, available for law enforcement officers, will claim to be able to provide officers with everything they need to know about managing confidential informants, including motivation, in one or two days. The true identity of a confidential informant should be strictly limited to an identified number of people. Having gained this knowledge all that remains to be done is to transpose it into the environment of managing confidential informants. 0000001712 00000 n The El Paso Customs office (Customs later became Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE) had never gotten much recognition. There are legal defenses available to you. A Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer at our firm will work tirelessly to protect your rights and your freedom the way we have for other clients. I took the recording and I told my supervisor that I didn't wish to be part of the case. In fact, it is possible for a defense team to call a confidential informant as a witness during the court case, and oftentimes that person is able to provide valuable information that sheds light on the tactics of the prosecution. If the FBI has identified you as a person who has a connection to a criminal enterprise, activity or target, the Bureau may approach you to provide it with information. No, the identity of informants are not public record. When you have been arrested for a criminal offense, you want an attorney who understands the charges against you, the penalties you face and the options you have for defending yourself. There are two opportunities to find out the identity of a confidential informant: before and during trial. Confidential Informants: Engage in violations of Federal and state laws while providing information to the FBI. The team at Weinstein Legal will use all of the resources available to them to help prove your innocence, including private investigators and more. The Case Of A Confidential Informant Gone Wrong : NPR If the confidential informant is disclosed and proceeds to testify at trial, the way to beat them would be to make them appear unreliable. Are Confidential Informants Credible? Attorney Raul Loya, who represented them, said the federal agents handling Lalo were a joke. It is up to the police to decide how many deals you do, regardless of whether you have safety concerns or feel that the work you have already done is enough for the Government. When using an informant to make a drug purchase (called a controlled buy) the police often will wire the informant in advance, provide currency to make the purchase (after photocopying or writing down the serial numbers on the bills), search the informant for drugs right before the deal, transport him or her to the deal, and search the informant\'s person again right after they leave the site of the deal. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS If youre wondering how to beat a confidential informant at trial, you probably have serious charges against you, and the evidence from a CI is most likely damning. I am not saying my child didnt have a breakdown. 810 Seventh Street NW, Washington, DC 20531, United States, 1219 Prince Street, Suite 2, Alexandria, VA 22314, United States. So where are we going to find any help if we can't trust the U.S.? Even repeat offenders have the chance to beat their charges and avoid a conviction with the right legal help. That's all I'm doing right now.". While we continue to believe that the motives of a confidential informant can be summarized in one or two words, for example, fear, money or a reduced sentence, our interactions with them will always remain superficial and be fraught with risk. In my mind, he was given a license to kill. Highlight information that would indicate their dishonesty or bias. For example, if law enforcement arrests you with a larger quantity of a specific substance you may face a longer prison sentence. In the state of Florida, minimum prison sentences for drug trafficking charges begin at three years and may exceed a period of fifteen years depending on the circumstances surrounding your case. 3 man in the Juarez cartel. 913, though most called him by the nickname Lalo. If you need help defending yourself from these cases, our criminal defense firm can help. CIs are regular folks that provide law enforcement with confidential, possibly damning, information against you. The monograph is organized around the confidential informant's employment . I had to go to the restroom and throw up. Police and prosecutors generally want to keep the identity of their CI a secret. How to Become an FBI Informant | Legal Beagle Why did the chicken cross the road ? For example, if it can be shown that the confidential informant had the opportunity to obtain drugs and plant them, the evidence obtained in the controlled buy would be useless. The state makes a differentiation between the two charges in several ways, one of which is the amount of a specific drug found on your person or in your control at the time of your arrest. Your access of/to and use Territories Financial Support Center (TFSC), Tribal Financial Management Center (TFMC). At Weinstein Legal, we work diligently to uncover all of the facts surrounding your case and believe that this is essential when considering how to beat a drug trafficking charge. If you are interested in training in relation to motivation or details of our comprehensive human source training programs please get in touch: info@hsmtraining.com We provide the best confidential informant training available. This is a common issue people face when working as CIs. If the judge grants the motion to compel disclosure, the prosecution has some tough choices to make: If they dont want to burn their CI or if they dont have one, they wont disclose the identity, and the case will be dismissed. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. If you are working as a CI, you may be wondering, how many buys are enough to work off my charges? He responded the same day, always kept us abreast of the process, and although my son lives in a different city, he drove a few hours to attend court with my son, and was able to negotiate a pre-trial diversion program and drop the felony charges to misdemeanor charges. Notable: This rating indicates that the lawyer has been recognized by a large number of their peers for strong ethical standards. If youre worried about how to beat a confidential informant, let the Law Offices of MJ Snyder represent you. Specifically, ICE officials say Bencomo was terminated because he didn't tell supervisors that Lalo was still involved with murder and torture in Juarez. It should be noted as well that it is very risky and dangerous to put out on social media or in the rumor mill that someone is working as a CI. "He would say, 'We're going to have a barbecue.' How to discredit a confidential informant during a criminal trial - Quora Understanding an informants motives for providing information is fundamental to managing them effectively. This rating indicates the attorney is widely respected by their peers for high professional achievement and ethical standards. Can a felon be a confidential informant? What evidence is needed to Believe it or not it is legal for law enforcement to pay a government snitch! Revealing the CIs identity puts the informant and sometimes their family in great danger due totheir role. Confidential Informants can never be 100% protected by the Government or anyone else. "I don't know if they are going to keep me here for the rest of my life," he said. You may have signed up to be a CI under duress or felt forced into it after the police threatened to lock you up for the rest of your life or arrest other family members involved with drug activity. The purpose of the ruling is to establish an informant . You can be called as a witness to testify on the governments behalf if the person you snitched on requests a jury trial. Protecting confidential informant identities -breaches risk lives He was also very reassuring to us, the distressed parents, and always provided an almost immediate response to our questions and concerns. Im still baffled how a medical professional (term used loosely) can influence so many, manipulate and down right lie. Evidence that a CI has reliably provided accurate information in the past may indicate to the court that he or she is credible. All rights reserved. Ask a Question About Investigations, Arrests, and Trials in Our Community Forum, Anonymous 'Reliable' Tip Can Justify Traffic Stop. The video was shot four years ago at Sherburne County Jail in Elk River, Minn. (See clips from the video on the timeline of Lalo's case). Additionally, if a person dies as a result of your drug supply you may face a much longer sentence and possible manslaughter or homicide charges as well. The guidelines can be used to develop or revise written directives for using and managing informants. In a court case, the prosecution must disclose any evidence and witnesses they have against the defense during a discovery process. The use of informants by police is essentially unregulated by the courts. You will not be able to notice the marks. The content of the responses is entirely from reviewers. Even with the promise of payment, the decision to become a CI is very dangerous. Being a CI is a very dangerous, risky endeavor. 0000032339 00000 n Supplemental Terms. A confidential informant (CI) is someone that is typically facing criminal charges and law enforcement convinces the CI to work off their criminal charges. So how can a court find a CI's testimony to be credible? Because the officer involved does not understand or cannot see what is really motivating the informant, the informant ends up sabotaging the investigation or leads the officer into a corrupt relationship. He also helped crack a major international cigarette smuggling ring. A confidential informant, casually called a "snitch," is a person who tells the police about suspected criminals and tells them everything he or she knows about said suspect. Similarly, if you borrow a friend or family members car to run errands around town and law enforcement pulls you over, searches the vehicle, and finds illegal drugs hidden inside yet you did not know they were there, it may also be challenging to convict you. North Little Rock, AR Criminal Law Lawyers, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. You may not have enough time to talk to a lawyer about what your options are before deciding whether you want to be a government snitch. Typically, the process requires that the confidential informant be thoroughly searched before going into the controlled buy to ensure they are not already in possession of any drugs. I took the recording and I told my supervisor that I didn't wish to be part of the case.". Copyright 2022 Susan E. Williams, Summerville, SC, All Rights Reserved. The monograph also examines the responsibilities of the chief executive officers, investigations commander, investigative supervisor, and investigator. This is something that can be used to impeach him when he testifies. By declaring a CI provided the intel, the police may try to get away with introducing the information to the case without explanation. ICE says it learned some lessons dealing with Lalo. Bencomo says the agents were told that Santillan was the No. Lalo said his actions were necessary to maintain his cover. For now, he said, jail is better than the fate he faces in Mexico. and Raul Loya Confidential informants people who pose. It also shows how to gain maximum benefits from using informants while maintaining the integrity of the agencies and investigators who rely on informant information. The Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings process is the gold standard due to its objectivity and comprehensiveness. Here are five common factors courts will consider in judging the credibility of a confidential informant: 1. Answer (1 of 5): The first thing you need to do is know your enemy. To get started working on your case and to learn how to beat drug charges in the state of Florida, contact Weinstein Legal today. Ashok Dhamija In the United States, you must also remember that as a defendant in a criminal case you have the right to face your accused. Law enforcement may keep threatening jail or charges unless you work one more deal for them.

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