THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 12, 1996 TAG: 9603120262
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
A third witness has allegedly been threatened in a federal trial of five purported members of a Portsmouth drug gang, and a fourth witness was jailed on contempt-of-court charges after he refused to testify Monday.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne ordered the FBI to protect the threatened witness in the River Edge drug gang trial and to ``make it a top priority'' to find the man who threatened him.
Larry Torrence, Norfolk's FBI agent in charge, said at the courthouse Monday that he has never seen a higher level of witness intimidation in a federal trial.
Friday, Robert Veal, the father of lead defendant Robert Winfield, was jailed on suspicion of threatening a witness during the lunch hour. Prosecutors say nearly all the witnesses have expressed fear for themselves and their families; several have failed to show up to testify.
Edward Wiggins was taken into custody Monday after he refused to testify despite the judge's admonishment that if he didn't he would be cited with contempt of court. He chose to be cited rather than testify without giving a specific reason.
And last week a witness refused to testify because he was afraid. When he was threatened with contempt he chose to testify.
``It's the first time I'm aware of anything like this in 27 years,'' Torrence said. ``It's extremely rare and unusual, especially threatening in the hallways and during the trial. It's overt.''
Torrence said the FBI will provide round-the-clock security to the witness, Desmond Corbett, and will seek the man who allegedly made the threat.
On Monday, Corbett told Judge Payne that over the weekend a man named Gary approached him on Frederick Boulevard in Portsmouth and told him, ``You're going to be dealt with for what you did.'' He described the man as black, about 6 feet tall and 160 pounds. Corbett did not know Gary's last name.
``I want this man found and arrested and charges brought, and I want a full report,'' the judge said. ``We're not going to have this. I want the FBI to give this the highest priority. Mr. Corbett, you are under protection from the time you finish your testimony until you no longer need it.''
Late Monday, FBI agents were still trying to determine the identity of the suspect.
Meanwhile, Joyce Tucker, the mother of defendant Taubari Latson, said the allegations of intimidation have been blown out of proportion. One of three men barred from the courtroom last week was a minister, Tucker said.
A fight in the hallway was between family members arguing over which side of the courtroom to sit in, Tucker said.
``Family members are arguing about where to sit,'' Tucker said. ``These allegations of witness intimidation are a cheap attempt to discredit these young men. There's no intimidation going on.''
A preliminary hearing was held Monday for Robert Veal, father of alleged kingpin Robert Winfield. Veal was arrested Friday on charges that he threatened another witness. Testimony Monday indicated that the witness - Walter DuPree - had been threatened again by someone else over the weekend.
DuPree told federal authorities on Friday that Veal, 42, had told him ``something else may happen to you'' after Veal found out that DuPree would testify against his son.
The judge ruled that there was probable cause to hold Veal and set a trial date. He is being held without bond.
Over the weekend, DuPree got a call at home, he told federal authorities Monday. The caller asked for him by name, then threatened him, FBI agent Paula Barrows said during Veal's preliminary hearing. The caller - who did not identify himself - said, ``Mr. Veal had just made the threat, but the caller intended to follow through on the threat,'' Barrows told the judge.
While DuPree is not in federal protective custody, Barrows said he had moved to a safe location.
The trial is the first major case to result from the federal task force assigned to Portsmouth in August to help stop the high level of violence in the city.
``Portsmouth had difficulty prosecuting the cases on a local level because of witness intimidation and witnesses not showing up,'' Barrows testified Monday. Now, the threats of intimidation are spilling over into federal court. Torrence pledged on Monday to put the full force of the FBI behind the judge. ILLUSTRATION: Color illustration
Drawing
Robert Veal was jailed Friday on suspicion of threatening a
witness.
KEYWORDS: WITNESS TAMPERING TRIAL U.S. DISTRICT COURT FEDERAL TRIAL
GANG by CNB