Authorities Seeking Clues on How Gun Got Into Court’s Holding Cell

Authorities Thursday were still seeking clues about how a small handgun eluded three searches before being found Tuesday in the boot of an inmate in the prisoner holding area at Westminster Court.

“There is speculation as to whether the weapon was brought in for use by another inmate who is on trial for murder,” said Orange County Marshal’s Lt. Leslie E. Weaver, who is in charge of security at the branch court’s holding tank.

The two-shot deringer revolver was found in the boot of Joel Matthew Drouillard, 29, of Huntington Beach, who was arrested by surprise Tuesday morning when he appeared in court to answer charges of contacting his estranged wife in violation of a court order.

Conversation Overheard

Previously, an unidentified person had overheard a conversation in the main Orange County Jail in Santa Ana. The informant told police that another inmate, murder defendant Troy Navey, said he was going to “kill the bailiff and take out the court,” according to Weaver.

Drouillard and Navey were in the same holding tank Tuesday.

After deputy marshals searched Drouillard a fourth time and found the gun, he was placed back in the holding tank, where Navey punched him once. Deputies broke up the altercation and separated the two.

“There’s speculation to the effect that they were jailhouse acquaintances,” Weaver said. “But I don’t know . . . how close friends they were.”

Drouillard and Navey were placed in separate cells pending an investigation by the Orange County district attorney, sheriff’s and marshal’s offices.

But Superior Court Judge Phillip E. Cox said Thursday that he believes Navey’s purported threat and Drouillard’s gun were unrelated incidents and not part of a murder plot.

“I think it was just a whole lot of circumstances that came together,” Cox said. “I think it’s a coincidence. I don’t believe he (Navey) was trying to get me.

“On a day-to-day basis, maybe we just haven’t been security conscious enough. Maybe this is what we need to shake things up a bit.”

Drouillard’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Marri Derby, said Thursday that her client had never met Navey before the two men were placed in the holding tank with about 140 other inmates awaiting court appearances.

“The (alleged) conspiracy to murder Judge Cox is ludicrous,” Derby said. “This whole scenario of a conspiracy started with Navey’s bragging. I’m sure (deputy marshals) really believe a conspiracy happened because that explains how . . . they missed (the gun).”

But Derby said the truth is that deputy marshals “were just lax” in their initial searches of Drouillard. Derby said her client was unaware he would be arrested when he appeared in court Tuesday. When Superior Court Judge Luis A. Cardenas ordered Drouillard arrested, he tried to run from the courtroom but was caught by a bailiff and police officers. He was then searched the first time.

Derby conceded that at some point “it appears other inmates knew that a weapon was in the (holding) tank.” But she insisted that her client did not intend to smuggle the gun into the tank.

“He (Drouillard) had no idea he was going into custody that day,” she said.

Tried to Flee

Derby reasoned that if Drouillard had intended to smuggle the gun in, he would not have tried to flee: “Why would someone run (if) he’s trying to get in? That’s ridiculous.”

Weaver said the marshal’s office first learned that someone in the holding tank had a concealed gun when the attorney for another inmate reported that his client had told him about it.

Drouillard was moved from the holding tank to a courtroom and back during the searches.

“It is an extremely small deringer two-shot revolver that are commonly hidden and they can be very difficult to find,” Weaver said.

Drouillard had been originally released on his own recognizance while awaiting court proceedings for the burglary of papers and a gun from his wife, Derby said. He has been booked on a charge of contempt of court stemming from his attempt to flee Cardenas’ courtroom.

“My client is a guy who has never been in trouble before except for a drunk driving and having trouble with a divorce,” Derby said.

Murder Trial

Navey is awaiting trial in the murder of Juan Suarez, who was killed in a 1984 Westminster jewelry store hold-up. A co-defendant in the case, Hans Swaving, has been convicted in the case and now faces a possible life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Sheriff’s department spokesman Lt. Richard J. Olson declined Thursday to comment on the investigation.

“In 20 years,” Weaver said, “that’s the first weapon we’ve ever had. We’re certainly studying our procedures. These kinds of things serve as learning experiences for all of us.”