2nd Cosby Case Witness Faces Charges

A second prosecution witness in the pending trial of Ennis Cosby’s alleged killer is in trouble with the law--with one recent criminal conviction for theft and a felony prosecution ahead in a local drug case.

Gabe Drapel, 45, of Los Angeles was recently found guilty of stealing electricity from the city’s Department of Water and Power at a residence along Mulholland Drive. In addition, records show, Drapel faces felony drug possession charges in connection with a Sheriff’s Department search of that residence in July.

The drug accusation against Drapel also names his former roommate Tracy West, 35, of Los Angeles, who was indicted this week in New Jersey on charges of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute.

West’s charges, which carry a maximum 10-year prison sentence, stem from a 1997 arrest that occurred on the same day Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies raided the $2-million home where she and Drapel were living.

That Mulholland Drive residence, according to court documents and interviews, has been the site of numerous complaints about raucous parties over the years and is just over a mile from the Sepulveda Pass site where Ennis Cosby was found shot to death Jan. 16, 1997.

While a gag order has led authorities to publicly refrain from discussing the potential testimony of Drapel and West, it is believed that they will be called to talk about the hours leading up to Cosby’s killing and the whereabouts of his alleged killer, Mikail “Michael” Markhasev.

But if Drapel and West are called as witnesses, it is virtually certain that their criminal histories will become an issue at trial. Public records show that both have had numerous brushes with the law.

West, who authorities say also goes by the name of Nicole Lin Ashley, is free on bond and reportedly staying in New Orleans after being charged in New Jersey with possessing cocaine for sale. At the time of her arrest July 22, West had an estimated $5,000 worth of cocaine in her car, authorities said.

Her New Jersey attorney said Wednesday that he was reviewing allegations that West may have been set up in the drug case to muddy her as a witness in the pending murder trial here.

But Deputy Alternate Public Defender Harriet Hawkins rejected the notion that Markhasev’s defenders would have set up West. “We had nothing to do with informing or setting up the arrest, and it is ridiculous to think we did,” she said.

DMV records show that West’s driver’s license has been suspended four times since 1991 for driving under the influence. It is currently suspended. DMV records also show a driver’s license for a Nicole Lin Ashley, who matches West’s physical description and year of birth.

Drapel was recently found guilty by a Van Nuys jury of stealing electricity while living at the expensive Mulholland Drive residence where, according to various law enforcement and city reports, there were complaints of wild parties, prostitution and narcotics.

Drapel’s attorney could not be reached for comment, but city officials said Drapel faces up to six months in county jail for misdemeanor theft from the utility. Sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday.

In addition, court records show that Drapel and West face drug possession charges in connection with the Sheriff’s Department search of the Mulholland residence in July.

The search, according to a sheriff investigator’s affidavit, was prompted by an informant’s claim that Drapel was selling “quantities of cocaine” from the residence.

Noting that he knew of Drapel as a former West Hollywood detective, investigator Dameron Peyton said in his affidavit: “ ‘Gabe’ was the source of many citizen complaints as well as narcotics allegations.” Court papers cite a February 1990 conviction for the transportation and sale of narcotics.

In addition to drug allegations, Peyton wrote, Drapel had been considered a “slumlord” for owning and poorly maintaining “numerous drug-ridden apartment complexes in the area.”

Records show that Drapel and his parents over the years have had extensive property holdings in West Hollywood, with many of their apartment buildings cited for code violations.

At one point, West Hollywood officials took the unusual step of hiring a special housing inspector to look at every unit in the Drapels’ 18 buildings, many of them in the grittier east end of town, home to Russian immigrants and low-income minorities.

The next scheduled court date in the drug case involving Drapel and West is March 28.