Ex-Partners Bring Drama to Drug Case : Court: The corruption trial of former DEA Agent Darnell Garcia has been highlighted by the testimony of another former agent.

The corruption trial of former Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Darnell Garcia has had its dramatic moments during the first two weeks of testimony in a Los Angeles federal courtroom.

Most of those moments have been provided by another former DEA agent, 41-year-old John Jackson of Claremont, who, like Garcia and a third former agent, was indicted two years ago for drug-trafficking, touching off a major DEA scandal.

Jackson and the third agent pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Garcia, 43, of Rancho Palos Verdes.

Among those moments was a poignant encounter Jackson said he had Aug. 9 with his former partner, Garcia, at a federal prison facility in downtown Los Angeles.

Under questioning Wednesday from Assistant U.S. Atty. Joyce Karlin, Jackson said he was leaving the Metropolitan Detention Center when he spotted Garcia in a glassed-in area where inmates are allowed to make telephone calls.

Garcia, Jackson said, motioned for him to come closer. He could not talk to Garcia because of the partition, but said Garcia pressed a note to the glass.

According to Jackson, the note read: “Can you cut me out of the 150-kilo conspiracy?”

This was a reference to the “Big Rip” which, the indictment alleged, was a November, 1985, theft by the agents of a massive amount of cocaine from a Pasadena garage. The DEA agents became rich overnight by selling the cocaine through drug traffickers.

On the witness stand, Jackson had answered questions about how he and Garcia participated in the Big Rip and other drug thefts, a crime spree which included stealing heroin from the DEA’s evidence vault.

His description of the Garcia note provided a final touching moment to his courtroom appearance. He said he replied by holding up one of his own to the glass.

“I will try,” he scribbled.

Four days later, Jackson began a series of meetings with government investigators in preparation for testifying against Garcia in the hope he would receive a reduced prison sentence. He testified that he told the truth to the investigators about the roles he and Garcia played in major drug thefts.

But under questioning from defense attorney Mark E. Overland, Jackson admitted he lied on occasion to the investigators to help Garcia. Overland was seeking to impress on the jury that Jackson is out to save his own neck.

Jackson said he initially lied to investigators about some events--even after agreeing to tell the truth about the scandal--because old friendships die hard.

Garcia’s main defense has been that he amassed a $3-million fortune by smuggling gold jewelry into the United States on behalf of an Italian jewelry firm.

To bolster this alibi, Jackson said he lied when he told investigators that he saw the owner of a jewelry firm hand Garcia a bag of cash in Los Angeles.

Sometime later in August, however, Jackson said, he decided to tell the whole truth about the scandal.

“I realized I couldn’t play both ends against the middle,” he said.