Defense alleges forgery in drug case

An accused friend of the Hells Angels biker gang could escape drug charges if a judge determines that a Newport Beach detective lied in court papers used to search the man’s home.

Newport Beach police said they found cocaine and methamphetamine when they searched 39-year-old Brian David Heslington’s Costa Mesa home in July 2008. The search was part of a multi-city raid on members of the Hells Angels and Set Free Soldiers biker gangs, who had brawled a week earlier.

During a Friday hearing at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana, Heslington’s lawyer, Scott B. Well, pointed to the documents that the Orange County district attorney’s office had submitted to obtain a search warrant. Well said this was evidence that the search was improper, and therefore the charges should be dismissed.

Prosecutors had given the judge a search warrant, a second, confidential portion of the warrant, and an affidavit claiming that all the papers were certified by the court.

The problem: Only a part of those documents was certified.

According to Det. Kristen O’Donnell, the investigator assigned to the case, it was a simple misunderstanding by the prosecutor, Erik Petersen.

O’Donnell told the Daily Pilot that the department had mistakenly kept the sealed portion of the search warrant, which contained information about an informant, when it should have been stored with the clerk of the court in Newport Beach’s Harbor Justice Center. When Petersen searched for papers associated with Heslington’s case, O’Donnell handed over what she could, she said.

Instead of giving Petersen her only copy of the certified portion of the warrant, she photocopied the court’s stamp, which could be considered forgery, Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard M. King told the courtroom Friday.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Elizabeth Molfetta said it was meant as proof that a part of the warrant was certified. Petersen thought the stamp was for all the paperwork, Molfetta said.

Petersen was not immediately available for comment Friday.

Well countered that O’Donnell deliberately tried to pass off all the documents as certified, which should cast doubt on her justifications for the search.

“Did the officer commit perjury? That may be a discussion for a future day,” King said.

O’Donnell may be called to the stand Monday to discuss why she photocopied an official court stamp. If the judge rules she that tried to deceive the court or at least recklessly ignored the truth, the entire case could be in jeopardy, Well claims.

If the prosecution allows it to, the defense could try rebutting the claims for probable cause in the warrant’s confidential portion. If the prosecution withholds that opportunity, the judge could throw out those parts.

If the judge rules that without those key claims there isn’t probable cause to search Heslington’s home, the charges against him could be dropped.

O’Donnell, Heslington and the attorneys are due back in court Monday to wrap up arguments on the warrant’s validity.