Drug suspect released; trial delayed

As the Seattle Police Department investigates allegations of lying by two of its own officers, the repercussions are already affecting two federal prosecutions.

A judge on March 19 ordered the release from jail of suspected drug dealer Tyrone Patin.

The order came after Patin's defense attorney was notified that Seattle police were investigating the arresting officers, Gregory Neubert and Michael Tietjen.

Separately, another federal judge on Friday postponed for six weeks the trial of Hubert Isabel on weapons charges because Neubert and Tietjen were the arresting officers.

Another 15 King County Superior Court felony cases, most alleging cocaine possession, could be affected by the inquiry into the officers.

For defense attorney Mark Tackitt, whose client was charged in Superior Court after Neubert arrested him for allegedly selling crack cocaine last June, the investigation into the officers was like "drawing a great hand in a poker game."

Deputy Police Chief John Diaz acknowledged Thursday that Neubert and Tietjen are under investigation. The officers allegedly lied about a January drug arrest in written reports and during questioning by department detectives, according to a law-enforcement source familiar with the case.

The officers arrested one man, George "Troy" Patterson, for allegedly selling crack cocaine. But the officers also detained and then released another man, according to Patterson, the source and Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, who has viewed a videotape of the incident.

The officers first didn't report handcuffing the second man, as required, and then lied about it when questioned, the source said.

The officers have not commented, and O'Neill said on Thursday that the issue had been "blown out of proportion."

The case against Patterson has been dismissed.

In the Patin case, U.S. District Judge John Weinberg on Dec. 6 said Patin should be detained because he "posed a significant danger to others and the community."

Weinberg also noted that Patin faced a possible mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years if convicted and could be considered a flight risk in light of the potentially long sentence.

Weinberg's ruling was based on evidence of large amounts of cocaine and firearms discovered during two arrests of Patin by Neubert and Tietjen in November 2005 and January 2006.

Patin, who is originally from New Orleans, has a criminal history that includes a guilty plea to possession of cocaine in 1994 and a six-month federal prison sentence in 1997 for possession of stolen mail and conspiracy to defraud the government.

But on March 13, Patin's public defender, Nancy Tenney, received a phone call from assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Colasurdo notifying her of the investigation into Neubert and Tietjen.

Because so much of the case against Patin depends on the officers' account, Patin should be released until the internal investigation is complete, Tenney argued in court.

The government concurred.

"Clearly, the outcome of the (internal) investigation will affect the outcome of this case," Colasurdo wrote in a legal filing March 19. Patin was released to a halfway house the next day.

Tenney on Wednesday asked the court to postpone Patin's trial until May 21, but a ruling has not been handed down.

In the other federal case, Hubert Isabel was due to stand trial Monday on weapons charges. Walter Palmer, Isabel's lawyer, Friday asked Judge John Coughenour to postpone the trial until May 14 due to the recent disclosures "that may be admissible in court regarding the credibility of the witnesses."

William Redkey, the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the case, raised no objection to the trial delay.

On July 19, Neubert and Tietjen had arrested Isabel and two other men for allegedly dealing drugs when Neubert said that he saw Isabel take a gun out of his pants and try to hide it under a car seat, according to charging documents.

A 2000 arrest by Neubert of Isabel for cocaine possession was dismissed by a juvenile-court judge because the officer did not have probable cause to search Isabel, who was 17 at the time.

Tackitt's client in King County Superior Court, Terry Cameron, was arrested by Neubert for allegedly selling crack cocaine in downtown Seattle on the night of June 17.

Tackitt said Cameron has maintained his innocence from the start, and that the question of Neubert's credibility, paired with a lack of physical evidence in the case, casts doubt on the police version of events.

Seattle Times reporter Natalie Singer contributed to this report.

David Bowermaster: 206-464-2724 or dbowermaster@seattletimes.com