THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 13, 1996 TAG: 9603130508
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER AND LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
After a night in lockup and the threat of 18 months in prison for contempt of court, a key prosecution witness in the trial of five purported members of a Portsmouth drug gang agreed to testify Tuesday, despite fears for his safety.
Edward Wiggins, 28, was the fourth prosecution witness to tell the judge that he was afraid to testify in the River Edge drug trial in Norfolk's federal court, and the third to be threatened with contempt of court for refusing to testify.
Wiggins was taken into custody for contempt of court Monday afternoon after he refused to testify. He was brought back to the courtroom in handcuffs Tuesday morning and asked by Judge Robert E. Payne why he refused to testify.
``My safety, sir. . . ,'' Wiggins repeated. ``From what I understand, those people don't care nothing about me. All they want is what they want.'' He did not say specifically who threatened him, or how.
Payne ordered prosecutors to meet with Wiggins and inform him of federal protection options. After the discussion, Wiggins returned to testify.
He told the jury how he was shot once during a car chase as he fled from gang members and once as he was pumping gas.
The drug conspiracy trial has been marred by fear among witnesses that there could be retaliation if they testified.
The trial is the first major case to come out of a federal task force created to help stop violence in Portsmouth. The task force is moving cases out of state courts because Portsmouth officials have said witness intimidation has kept them from getting convictions.
Instead, the intimidation has followed the cases to federal court.
Friday, Robert Veal - the father of alleged kingpin Robert Winfield - was arrested and is being held without bond on charges of threatening a witness. Three other men were banned from the courthouse, one for allegedly shaking his head ``no'' at witnesses as they testified.
Another suspect, known only as Gary, was being sought by the FBI late Tuesday for allegedly threatening another witness over the weekend.
Witnesses who do not show up or who refuse to testify are cited with contempt of court. Warrants are issued for their arrest and they are held on the judge's order. Those who decide to testify are released and the charges dropped.
Contempt charges were dropped against prosecution witness Robert Carney after he agreed to testify Tuesday. Warrants for Carney's arrest were issued late Monday when he did not show up to testify. Carney was picked up by federal agents at work Tuesday morning.
Tuesday, Carney testified that one of the defendants, John Cobbs, threatened to kill him during an argument at Carney's home in the summer of 1994.
Contempt charges were dropped against another witness Tuesday after prosecutors said they no longer needed her testimony.
Yet another witness, Tonya Carter, suddenly became reluctant to testify Tuesday, simply saying she didn't know or couldn't answer questions from prosecutors. Prosecutors told the judge her testimony was at ``significant variance'' from the testimony she gave before the grand jury.
The judge ordered her questioned by federal agents in light of ``the situation'' of witness intimidation.
Prosecutors are expected to end their case today. The jury may start deliberating by the end of the week, the judge said.
KEYWORDS: DRUG GANGS DRUG ARRESTS TRIAL
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