Judge Who Convicted Tow Truck Driver in Drug Dealing Case Grants Him New Trial

A Compton tow truck driver facing up to 30 years in prison for allegedly taking part in a drug deal has been granted a new trial by the same judge who convicted him.

Citing new evidence, Chief U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. threw out his conviction of Gregory Jenkins.

Hatter based his decision last week on conflicting statements by the only witness against Jenkins, an undercover agent from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The agent, Eric Harden, denied at Jenkins’ trial that he wore a so-called body wire during the drug transaction. In a later court proceeding, the ATF agent said he believed that he had worn one.

The prosecution insisted that the agent misspoke and that no tape recording was ever made.

However, Jenkins’ lawyers raised the specter of government misconduct, noting that ATF agents had inexplicably lost other tape recordings made during the 1991 investigation. The government has denied any wrongdoing.

Both sides acknowledged, however, that the case boiled down to Harden’s word versus Jenkins’.

According to court records, Harden and a government informant, who was never called to testify, were involved in an undercover drug buy from the owner of a Compton auto repair shop. Jenkins routinely parked his truck at the shop when he wasn’t out on calls.

The shop owner, who was convicted in a separate trial, handed Jenkins a small paper bag containing about an ounce of cocaine while he left to fetch the rest of the cocaine that was to be sold.

Jenkins testified at his nonjury trial last year that he didn’t know the bag contained cocaine. But Harden said that he and Jenkins had talked about illegal drug deals while they waited for the shop owner to return. Jenkins denied having any such discussion.

A tape recording of that conversation, if it existed, would be crucial in deciding who was telling the truth, Jenkins’ lawyers contended.

Harden was asked about a tape recording at Jenkins’ trial in November. He denied wearing a body wire during the June 18, 1991, drug buy. But when he testified in April of this year at a sentencing hearing for the auto repair shop owner, John Washington, Harden said he believed he had been wired.

Defense attorneys Ronald J. Nessim and Elizabeth A. Newman cited other inconsistencies in the agent’s trial testimony.

During a subsequent drug deal at the auto repair shop on July 1, 1991, Harden said, he observed Jenkins stationed outside the garage apparently watching for any “heat” (police) in the area. But Harden’s written report of the events that day put Jenkins inside the garage and made no mention of him serving as a lookout.

The defense also raised questions about the government’s acknowledged loss of a wire worn by Harden during the July 1 drug transaction and tapes from two telephone conversations with Washington.

Assistant U.S. Atty. David R. Fields denied any government misconduct and contended that the missing tapes had no bearing on the case against Jenkins.

In setting aside the verdict, Hatter referred only to the contradictory testimony at Washington’s sentencing hearing.