OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY AUGUSTA JUDICIAL CIRCUIT ASHLEY WRIGHT 1735 JAMES BROWN BLVD., SUITE 2400 BURKE - COLUMBIA- RICHMOND "706-821-1185 AUGUSTA, GEORGIA 80901 ‘COUNTIES FAX 706-821-1237 September 28, 2015 SAC Pat Morgan Georgia Bureau of Investigation District 7 Office 2549 Washington Rd Thomson, Georgia 30824-6618 RE: Allegations of criminal steroid use by members of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office Dear SAC Morgan: Pursuant to a request from Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (“GBI”) conducted a criminal investigation into allegations made by Brandon Paquette concerning illegal drug abuse by past and current members of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office (“RCSO”). This investigative file was submitted to the District Attomey’s Office for consideration of possible criminal charges against the persons identified in the investigation. The investigation included multiple interviews of Mr. Paquette, retrieval of the record of his phone calls, recorded and summarized interviews of former and current members of the RCSO, selective drug testing, a review of medical records where appropriate, a review of the criminal file pertaining to Brandon Paquette’s arrest for controlled substance and firearms offenses and all other information made available to me during the investigation, A "crime" is a violation of a statute of this state in which there is a joint operation of an act or omission to act either intention or criminal negligence. OCGA § 16-2-1. In criminal cases, the question is whether the evidence is sufficient to satisiy the mind and conscience beyond a reasonable doubt. O.C.G.A. § 24-14-5. In order to prove criminal occurrences, the State uses both direct and circumstantial evidence. Where a criminal offense is based on circumstantial evidence, the proved facts must not only be consistent with the theory of guilt, but also shall exclude every other reasonable hypothesis except that of the guilt of the accused. O.CG.A. § 24-14-6, While the testimony of a single witness is generally sufficient to establish a fact even absent corroboration, in felony cases where the only witness is an accomplice or co- conspirator, the testimony of a single witness is not legally sufficient evidence to prove guiltbeyond a reasonable doubt. While a second witness is not necessarily required, there is a requirement of some form of reliable corroborating evidence. O.C.G.A. § 24-14-8, Upon review of the all of the information provided to me and my analysis of the State’s burden to prove that a crime was committed beyond a reasonable doubt, I find that criminal charges based on all of the information reviewed are unsupported by evidence capable of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. On Thursday, October 16, 2014, Inv. Jason Kennedy of the RCSO Narcotics Division executed a search warrant in which Brandon Paquette was the target. The investigation recovered fifty vials believed to be controlled substances from his truck and his residence; the identifying labels were consistent with the results generated by the GBI testing. The GBI Division of Forensic Sciences, at the request of this Office, tested one bottle from each type of bottle that was recovered and determined the presence of the following: testosterone cypionate, Schedule III; testosterone propionate, Schedule II[; trenbolone acetate, Schedule III; trenbolone acetate, Schedule III; nandrolone decanoate, Schedule III; and testosterone enanthate, Schedule HL. During surveillance prior to the execution of the search warrant, it appeared that Brandon Paquette engaged in a hand-to-hand transaction in the parking lot of a local gym with an unknown person. Paquette reported that he possessed information about other transactions in controlled substances and did not want to provide information about his friends; later he agreed to cooperate. It subsequently came to light that some of these transactions may have concerned current or former members of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office. Over the weekend, Paquette presented at the Richmond County Sheriff's Office with his attorney, Peter Johnson, to meet with Narcotics Lt. David Bourbo, Inv. Jason Kennedy and Internal Affairs Lt. Allan Rollins. ‘The purpose of the meeting was to provide information known to Paquette. However, once at the office, he refused to be interviewed. Brandon Paquette was arrested on Wednesday, October 22, 2014, and charged with Possession of Controlled Substances with the Intent to Distribute and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime. On October 24, 2014, Brandon Paquette was interviewed in the courthouse by Lt. David Bourbo and Sgt. Jason Vinson of the RCSO. His attomey, Peter Johnson, was present during the interview. 1 did not participate in the interview to prevent myself from becoming a witness. This interview was recorded and provided to the GBI. Prior to the interview, Paquette indicated that he would refuse to provide any information in the absence of an agreement pertaining to his bond. Thus I agreed to consent to a bond after he provided a statement in an attempt to elicit the information he purported to possess. Ultimately Brandon Paquette gave three recorded interviews: two separate recordings as part of one overall interview on October 24 and another interview on December 10, 2014, with the GBI. During the October 24, 2014, interview, Brandon Paquette stated that he began using steroids in 2002; began selling steroids in 2004; purchased steroids with the prescriptions written by Dr. Rita Udom! and filled by a local drugstore, which continuously provided steroids without requiring him to obtain new and valid prescriptions; or ordered what he believed to be steroids from the internet. He indicated that he sold steroids to members of the Richmond County * Dr. Udom was convicted of 332 counts of unlawful dispensation of narcotics in the United States Distriet Cour in 2003, and since that time has not had the ability to prescribe medication.Sheriff's Office. He was asked to which members of the RCSO he had sold “illegal steroids” He initially named nine officers: Joe! Danko, Mark Chestang, Larry Bracken, Julio Concepcion, Ricky Palocsik, Michael Swint, Matthew Perkins, Jose Ortiz, and David Sward. As to each of these persons, he was asked to explain what he had sold, where he sold it, how much he received for it, when the sale occurred, and how he knew each person. As to those persons, the following information was collected: Joel Danko: Paquette reported that Danko is a family friend who had purchased steroids (testosterone and Deca-Durabolin’) approximately five times between 2004 and 2010. At times, he was in uniform and in a Sheriff's Office car. The sales occurred at various gyms and at Brandon Paquette’s house. Mark Chestang: Paquette reported that Chestang bought steroids (testosterone and tenbolone’) from Paquette on one occasion approximately 4 to 5 months prior to Paquette’s arrest. This transaction occurred at Paquette’s residence while Chestang was in uniform and in a Sheriff's Office vehicle Larry Bracken: Paquette reported that Bracken purchased steroids on what was reported as an unknown number of times, then estimated sales as occurring five times, then estimated sales as being of four bottles of steroids (testosterone) between 2004 and 2014, As recently as Friday after Paquette’s house had been searched but prior to his arrest. Bracken had texted Paquette in an attempt to obtain steroids. His last transaction with Bracken occurred approximately 4 months before his arrest. On each occasion, he sold the steroids for $60. ‘The two met at the gym. The sales oceurred at his residence and while Bracken was in uniform and driving a Sheriff's Office vehicle. Julio Concepcion: Paquette reported that Concepcion bought steroids from him beginning in 2012 and continuing until 4 weeks prior to his arrest. The last sale was reported to have been in front of the RCSO Narcotics Office while the 2 met in a car. (There was not a video camera in place at the time that this was alleged to have occurred.) They were introduced by former Inv. Michael Dodaro. Concepcion had purchased 2 bottles of testosterone and 2 bottles of Equipoise*, with the price of each bottle set at $60. Ricky Palocsik: Paquette reported that he had known Palocsik for 5 to 6 years, that he and Palocsik lived in the same apartment complex within the last year and a half, and that he had given Palocsik 2 bottles of steroids (testosterone) because Palocsik had created a false incident report concerning damage to this vehicle. (Paquette indicated that he actually struck a building with his vehicle. There are no other known witnesses. Dep. Palocsik filed a RCSO incident report on April 22, 2014, related to damage to Brandon Paquette’s car, It states that Paquette alleged that his car was damaged in the Daniel Village Shopping Center parking lot by an unknown person and that he wished to make a report for insurance reasons. The noted damage was to the left rear fender around the wheel well.) 2 Deca-Durabolin, or nandrolone, is a Schedule III controlled substance. * Trenbolone is a Schedule III controlled substance, “ Bquipoise, also known as Boldenone Undecylenate, contains Boldenone, which is a Schedule III controlled substance,Michael Swint: Paquette reported that he had known Swint for his whole life, He believes that he first sold to Swint in 2005 or 2006; this occurred at multiple locations including the gym, the smoothie shop next to the gym, and his residence. The last transaction was for steroids (1 bottle of testosterone). On some occasions, Swint came to his residence in uniform and driving a Sheriff's Office vehicle. Matthew Perkins: Paquette reported that he met Perkins between 2004 and 2005 while Paquette was a roommate of RCSO Iny. Michael Dodaro. He reported that he had sold steroids (Testosterone, Deca-Durabolin, or a combination of both) on 4 separate occasions, and that the last occasion was in 2005 or 2006. Jose Ortiz: Paquette reported that he was introduced to Ortiz by Concepcion at Paquette’s residence and that he sold him 1 bottle of steroids (testosterone). Concepcion did not make a contemporaneous purchase, David Sward: Paquette reported that he had met Sward through Danko in approximately 2004. Sward bought steroids (testosterone and Deca-Durabolin). He sold to him only one time, After discussing each of the 9 officers which he named, Brandon Paquette was asked whether he had given the names of all officers with whom he had dealt. He repeatedly maintained that he had provided complete information. In response to questions about with which officers he had conversations after the search warrant was executed at his house, he mentioned several officers. However, he did not indicate that these were officers to whom he had sold steroids. Later, when urged by Lt. Bourbo to talk about what he knew with regard to suspected illegal drug use, he responded to questions asked about whether specific officers had purchased steroids from him. The officers about whom he was specifically asked were: William “Jey” Jarrett and Ty Hester. Jemry Jarrett: Paquette had previously discussed having a friendly relationship with Jarrett yet had not indicated that he sold to him. Later, when asked specifically if he sold steroids to Jarrett, he replied yes. ‘Ty Hester: in response to direct questioning, Paquette responded that while he had not sold to Hester, he had sold to Jarrett who said that it was for Hester. He denied having sold steroids directly to Hester. Brandon Paquette did not bring up any more names. He stated that after the search warrant had been executed, he had “brain stormed” a list of names of people. During the interview, Mr. Johnson called Brandon Paquette’s wife, who had the list in her cat. The conversation between Brandon Paquette and his wife indicated that Brandon Paquette had created 2 lists; he directed her as to which one to read aloud and tells her not to read the one which contains scratched-out names. The names on this list are: Joel Danko; P.J, Hambrick; ‘Matt Perkins; Mike Swint; Mark Chestang; Jose Ortiz; Joey Michau; Greg Meagher; and David ‘Sward. Neither of these referenced written lists was provided during the investigation.Paquette was confronted about the names of the three officers on the “list” which he had not originally provided during the investigation (Hambrick, Michau, and Meagher). He explained that they had been omitted from his original list because he did not sell to them directly but instead had sold to third parties who indicated that they would later deliver the steroids to these recipients (an explanation not wholly consistent with the information he provided about each one). When asked to provide more details, Paquette stated: P. J. Hambrick: they met while working out at Health Central between 2001 and 2004, Paquette reported that he sold steroids (testosterone, Equipoise, or Winstrol*) to Hambrick in the parking lot on 4 occasions and that each sale was between 2 and 4 bottles. Joey Michau: Paquette denied selling steroids to him. He stated that he had sold steroids to Mike Swint, who indicated that he was supplying Michau. He sold Swint one bottle of testosterone and one bottle of Deca-Durabolin. This occurred within the last year (a different time frame than previously provided), Greg Meagher: Paquette indicated that he provided 100 “D-bol” tabs at no cost to Meagher in 2010,° This was their only steroid interaction despite knowing each other for many years. He explained that he omitted Meagher’s name from the list because this was not a sale, William “Jerry” Jarrett: Paquette stated that he sold steroids to Jarrett to then provide to other people. He stated that he sold to Jarrett who then would have sold the narcoties to Ty Hester. He also denied that he sold to Jarrett for his personal consumption, On Sunday, October 26, 2014, Sheriff Richard Roundtree notified the GBI that his Department was involved in an investigation pertaining to allegations made by cooperating defendant Paquette that he had provided steroids to members of the RCSO; the RCSO was attempting to determine whether there appeared to be sufficient evidence to proceed with further inquiry and was prepared to request the assistant of the GBI if a criminal investigation was warranted, Paquette agreed to submit to a polygraph examination prior to the instigation of any criminal investigation. The relevant questions are: “Did you lie about a deputy falsifying an accident report in exchange for steroids?” “Did you lie when you said you have provided steroids to Richmond Co. law enforcement officers?” “Did you intentionally leave off any names of deputies from your last recorded statement?” “Has anyone in law enforcement offered to keep you informed about the investigation?” The results of this test, administered by a GBI examiner on October 27, 2014, indicated that Paquette did not show signs of deception, On October 28, 2014, Sheriff Roundtree requested the GBI to investigate the allegations made by Paquette. On that same date, GBI SAC Pat Morgan and Paquette’s attorney agreed that Paquette ‘would meet with the GBI for an interview on October 31, 2014. At the appointed time on the 31%, Paquette’s attorney called SAC Morgan and reported that Paquette would not attend the meeting. On November 3, 2014, at the request of the GBI, I contacted Paquette’s attorney to 3 Winstrol or Stanozolol is a schedule III controlled substance, * Debol” is a slang term for Dianabol, which is sold under the trade name Methandrostenolone, and which is a schedule II controlled substance.schedule another opportunity to interview Paquette. We agreed that he would be interviewed on November 5; Paquette again failed to present himself for an interview. The explanation provided for his failure to attend these scheduled meetings was that he was angry that his brother had been arrested on charges related to the investigation of Brandon Paquette and that he no longer would cooperate with the investigation. SAC Morgan drove to Paquette’s house in an attempt to make direct contact him but was unsuccessful and was only able to leave his card with his contact information in the door of the residence. He received no response from Paquette. Ina third investigative interview, Brandon Paquette was interviewed by GBI ASAC Ron Braxley and S/A Petry with his attomey, Peter Johnson, present. This interview was recorded. During this interview, Paquette stated the following: © Jerry Jarrett: He had not dealt with him for 6 months. Greg Meagher: He dealt to him one time between 2004 and 2010. Joey Michau: He dealt to him between 2004 and 2010 in the Gym Rats shop at Omani. (This contradicts his previous statement that he sold to Mike Swint, who then provided steroids to Michau.) * Jose Ortiz: He dealt to him within the last 6 months. He indicated that he did not sell directly to him (which is contrary to his report to Lt. Bourbo and Inv. Jason Vinson). Ricky Palocsik: He dealt to him within the last 6 months. Matt Perkins: He dealt to him between 2004 and 2010. David Sward: He dealt to him between 2004 and 2010. Mike Swint: He dealt to him between 2004 and 2010 and within the last year. Ty Hester: He did not have any direct dealings with Hester. He was told by Jarrett that Jarrett would turn over the steroids to Hester. When asked yet again about any other officers to whom he had dealt steroids, Paquette named the following, who he believed were no longer employed by the RCSO: Danny Stenger; Seth Giddens; Tony Toole; Sylvester Rosier; Tim Rzasa; Jeff Johnson; Rodney Williams; Mike Hodges. Some of these officers are still employed by the RCSO. The level of detail in the allegations provided about these officers is significantly less than that which was provided about the others. Paquette provided information about date ranges, which sometimes spanned a six year time frame, but did not provide named substances, the number of occurrences, the amounts sold, the price per sale, or any other information which would be required to pursue criminal charges. On December 10, 2014, Paquette met with ASAC Braxley and S/A Petry and reviewed photographs of various officers. When viewing their photographs, he was able to name the following: Bracken, Chestang, Concepcion, Danko, Hambrick, Jarrett, Meagher, Michau, Ortiz, Paloesik, Perkins, Sward, and Swint, During the course of the GBI Investigation, they interviewed the following officers/ former officers and obtained the following information. Each of these interviews began with the GBI agents informing the officers that this was a criminal, and not an internal, investigation. No officer was compelled to participate in the process. Each person cooperated voluntarily. (Hadan officer been compelled to participate as part of an internal investigation, any information obtained would not be available to support any criminal charges.) Larry Bracken: he denied obtaining steroids from Brandon Paquette. He admitted that he had been in touch with Paquette on the day after the search warrant at his home. He offered his prior medical records used for security clearance checks while employed elsewhere and indicated that they would have included testing for testosterone levels. He agreed to and did take a drug test. He agreed to take a polygraph’, which was not conducted as part of this investigation, He denied going to Paquette’s residence in his patrol car, which has a GPS device on it. A request to the Sheriff's Office reveals that no GPS record of that patrol car’s whereabouts during the relevant time frame is available. Phone records indicate that there were 84 contacts* between Paquette and a phone identified as Bracken’s between 12/13/13 and 10/17/14. Mark Chestang: he denied that he purchased anything from Brandon Paquette. He agreed to take a drug test, He agreed to take a polygraph, which was not conducted as a part of this investigation. Phone records indicate that there were 24 phone contacts between Paquette’s phone and a phone identified as Chestang’s between 3/10/14 and 6/14/14, Julio Concepcion: he denied that he obtained steroids from Paquette, either directly or indirectly. He agreed to and did take a drug test. He agreed to take a polygraph, which was not conducted as a part of this investigation. Phone records indicate that there were 182 contacts between Paquette’s phone and a phone identified as Concepcion’s between 11/19/13 and 10/17/14, Joel Danko: he stated that while he was not employed by the Sheriff's Office he purchased something from Paquette at his residence. He can identify the time period as when he was working in the private sector because he was trying to get strong enough to come back to work at the RCSO. He last used improperly obtained steroids in 2002, The substance did not have a label on it, and he is not certain what he purchased. He believed that he was purchasing a “booster” or “enhancer”. He agreed to and did take a drug test. Phillip “PJ” Hambrick: he stated that on two occasions he purchased something from Paquette. One time he received yellow pills, which may have been Winstrol, and the other time he received an injectable liquid, which may have been testosterone or Equipoise. He agreed to and did take a drug test. ‘Ty Hester: he denied that he used steroids or that he obtained them from Jerry Jarrett. He agreed to and did take a drug test. He agreed to take a polygraph, which was not administered as a part of this investigation. As to Inv. Hester, Paquette would have no knowledge of whether he had actually received steroids. ” The criminal investigation of these allegations did not include polygraph examinations of the officers, Any results would be inadmissible in a criminal trial. The information gleaned from the Sheriff's Office's internal affairs investigation, including any polygraph results, would likewise be inadmissible as the officers’ statements would not be voluntary. This GBI investigative file was provided to the SherifP's Office prior to their internal affairs investigation, ® The contacts could be a single text message ora calWilliam “Jerry” Jarrett: he denied that he had obtained steroids from Brandon Paquette, whether to sell to them Ty Hester or for any other purpose. He denied having been to Paquette’s residence in his patrol car. He left employment with the RCSO and worked for the Public Defender’s Office. Since his retum to the RCSO, he has not had a patrol car. He agreed to and did take a drug test. He agreed to take a polygraph, which was not conducted as a part of this investigation. Phone records indicate 100 phone contacts between Paquette’s phone and a phone identified as Jarrett’s between 12/13/13 and 10/25/14. Jeff Johnson: he denied obtaining steroids from Paquette. He agreed to and did take a drug test. Greg Meagher: he denied that he received “d-bol” tablets from Paquette. He agreed to and did take a drug test. Joseph Michau: he denied that he purchased anything from Brandon Paquette. He denied having obtained steroids from Mike Swint. He agreed to and did take a drug test. As to Dep. ‘Michau, Paquette would have no knowledge of whether he had received steroids. Jose Ortiz: he denied purchasing steroids from Brandon Paquette. He did not know him until his arest. He agreed to and did take a drug test, He agreed to take a polygraph, which was not conducted as a part of this investigation, Ricky Paloesik: he remembered that he had written a damaged vehicle report for Paquette based on information received from Paquette but denied that he completed a knowingly false report. He denied obtaining steroids from him. He agreed to and did take a drug test. Phone records indicate that there were 66 contacts between Paquette’s phone and a phone identified as Palocsik’s between 11/17/13 and 8/03/14. He agreed that the two had lived in the same apartment complex in the past. Matt Perkins: he denied having purchased anything from Brandon Paquette. He agreed to and did take a drug test. He agreed to take a polygraph, which was not conducted as part of thi investigation. ‘Tim Rzasa: he denied obtaining steroids from Paquette. He agreed to and did take a drug test. He agreed to take a polygraph, which was not conducted as a part of this investigation. He indicated that he had arrested both Brandon Paquette and Ryan Paquette in the past, that during the arrest both had threatened to kill him and later apologized, and that he knew their father. Rzasa indicated that he and Brandon Paquette had lived in the same apartment complex at some point, Former RCSO Investigator Michael Swint was interviewed by telephone by ASAC Braxley. He confirmed that he knew Paquette as an acquaintance, was unaware of a reason why Paquette would say that he had provided steroids to Swint, and denied having obtained any illegel steroids.Deputy David Sward: He was interviewed by ASAC Braxley and S/A Petry. He denied obtaining steroids from Paquette. He indicated that he had met Paquette twice: once with former Deputy Seth Giddings and once when Paquette was with his brother, Ryan Paquette. Sward agreed to and did take a drug test. He agreed to undergo a polygraph examination, which was not conducted as a part of this investigation. Former RCSO Officer Sylvester Rosier was interviewed by phone on March 3, 2015 by ASAC Braxley. He denied obtaining steroids from both Brandon Paquette and his brother, Ryan Paquette. He confirmed that he and Seth Giddens were roommates for a period of time. Former RCSO Officer Seth Giddens was interviewed by phone on March 3, 2015, by ASAC Braxley. He is a former RCSO officer. He denied obtaining steroids from Paquette. Former RCSO Officer Tony Toole was interviewed by phone on March 3, 2015, by ASAC Braxley. He is curently employed with a different law enforcement agency. He denied obtaining steroids from Paquette. He indicated that he had arrested Ryan Paquette in the past. Former RCSO Officer Jeff Lord was interviewed by phone on March 3, 2015, by ASAC Braxley, He denied obtaining steroids from Paquette. Former RCSO Officer Rodney Williams was interviewed by phone on March 11, 2015, by ASAC Braxley. He denied obtaining steroids from Paquette. He also indicated that during 2004 to 2010, the time frame identified by Paquette as when he had provided steroids to Williams, Williams was not employed by the RCSO, as his employment voluntarily terminated in 2002. Former RCSO Narcotics Investigator Michael Dodaro? was interviewed by phone on March 4, 2015, by ASAC Braxley. He and Brandon Paquette were previously roommates. He indicated that he had spoken with Paquette since his release from jail. He denied that he provided Paquette with the names of the officers provided by Paquette; however he did say that he asked Paquette who was involved and Paquette refused to answer him. He said that it was possible that he introduced deputies to Paquette but that he could not remember who they were, He denied that he had seen Paquette distribute steroids or testosterone to anyone. Phone records indicate 59 phone contacts between 1/26/14 and 10/30/14. Former RCSO Officer Daniel Stenger was interviewed on March 11, 2015, by phone by ASAC Braxley. He denied obtained illegal steroids from Paquette. As part of the investigation, the GBI asked Paquette about the deputies with whom he had contact after the search warrant was executed at his house, Paquette indicated he had spoken to Ricky Palocsik, Julio Concepcion, and Larry Bracken. When asked again who he had spoken to, he answered Captain Robert Partain, a family friend; Dep. Chris Masters, a family friend; and Jemry Jarrett, He explained the discrepancy as his interpretation that he was being asked to name the officers with whom he had spoken and to whom he had sold items. A review of Paquette’s phone records show contact with all. He stated that he asked Paloesik if the RCSO was going to ° Inv. Dodaro passed away in May, 2015,issue warrants for him and told Concepcion that he had been busted. Bracken asked to see him, which he presumed meant he wanted to make a purchase. Phone records show that Paquette initiated contact with Partain, who did not call him back after the initial conversation. There is no allegation of misconduct made by Paquette as it pertains to Partain, and no independent evidence to suggest any criminal behavior. The 23 phone contacts between Partain and Paquette which occurred between 6/15/14 and 10/17/14 are reported by both to pertain to matters outside the scope of this or any other investigation. Masters indicated that he initiated contact after hearing rumors that Paquette had been arrested, He urged him to tell the truth. Paquette has made no allegation of misconduct by Masters. Only that they discussed Paquette’s situation. He stated that Jarrett had contacted him because he had heard rumors of a bust. None of these officers were involved in the investigation into Paquette and none were present for the search warrant, In an attempt to provide corroborating evidence, Paquette indicated that his wife and his, mother could provide information concerning the officers who had come to his house to purchase illegal steroids. On January 12, 2015, when the GBI reached his wife by phone, she indicated that she did not wish to participate in the situation and she did not provide any information. No one attempted to interview mother, nor did she request to provide information. Another allegedly independent source of information, whose name and contact information was provided by a local media representative, was contacted by SAC Morgan and ASAC Braxley; despite agreeing to be interviewed, she failed to appear on the appointed date after reporting illness; she ‘was requested {0 reach out to the GBI when she was prepared to schedule an interview and has failed to do so since November 12, 2014, It should be noted that the credibility of any criminal charges are predicated on the credibility of the witness and the independent evidence. In this case, that critical witness would be Brandon Paquette, Common methods of attacking a witness at trial are to impeach his testimony by showing contradictions in the evidence and disproving the facts testified to by the witness (O.C.G.A. § 24-6-621); demonstrating that the witness’s feelings and relationship to the parties has created such bias that the witness may be less worthy of belief (O.C.G.A. § 24-6- 622); and suggesting to the jury that the witness has personal motivation to provide the testimony, which is a common strategy when the witness or his friends or family have been ot may be the subject of criminal charges. Therefore it would be reasonable to assume that any coss-examination of Mr. Paquette by a competent attomey would include attacks based on his refusal to be interviewed on multiple occasions, whether his testimony is likely to affect the outcome of his or his brother’s pending criminal cases, any desire to retaliate against law enforcement for his or his brother's arrest, the convenience of coming forward with evidence of other wrong-doing only after his arrest, his willingness to make an initial statement only in exchange for a bond and the benefit afforded him by providing information, his admitted role in the illegal distribution of drugs, the piecemeal and reluctant approach to providing the names of the officers to whom he allegedly sold steroids, the inconsistencies in the report of names given, the appearance that he had generated two lists of names and only provided one, the suggestion that he collaborated with others with perceived motives to damage the reputation of the Sheriff's Office, and the inconsistent statements that he had or had not engaged in any direct sales with some of the named officers. 10While certain substances have been seized from Paquette’s possession in October, 2014, and tested by the GBI lab, in any prosecution of a controlled substance case, the State must offer some form of reliable identification of the prohibited substance. There is no way to verify that the substances Paquette states that he distributed were in fact steroids which were prohibited at that time without a prescription, As noted above, each currently employed officer agreed to submit to a urine drug screen. This testing was not-mandated by the RCSO as any results obtained such an obligation could not have been considered in a criminal investigation. The testing was not available through the GBI Department of Forensic Science (commonly referred to as the crime lab); for that reason, the GBI located an outside provider. As there were no funds designated in the GBI budget for the costs associated with the testing, I agreed that the District Attomey’s Office would provide the necessary funding for the tests. LabCorp was selected to test the items. The account information was accessible only by the GBI and me. HIPPA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) precludes the dissemination of protected medical information However, each of the officers signed a release allowing the test results to be reviewed for purposes of this investigation. The tests looked for the presence of anabolic steroids and for the testosterone/epi-testosterone ratio. In the event that a steroid presence was indicated or that an abnormal range was detected, the GBI obtained a medical release to review records pertaining to patient records from treating entities. The results indicated that there are no medically unexplained abnormal results (je., prescription verification has occurred). The number of prescribing physicians docs not indicate a pattern of improper prescription. Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 3.8 applies only to prosecutors and not to attorneys at large. It states that the prosecutor in a criminal case shall refrain from prosecuting a charge that the prosecutor knows is not supported by probable cause (subsection A). Iam bound by this rule. This analysis or decision-making process is sometimes referred to as prosecutorial discretion, but it should be referred to as the discernment of probable cause (the standard for the issuance of a warrant) and reasonable doubt (the standard for conviction for a criminal offense). It is based on an analysis of the evidence in light of many factors, including: the reliability of available and admissible evidence, the interests of justice, the probability of conviction, the characteristics of the offender (including the lack of criminal history) (specific instances of good conduct would be admissible pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 24-4-405), the improper motives of the victim or the witness, and any mitigating circumstances. The strength or weakness of any allegation against the named individuals in this investigation must be judged independent of each other; I could not expect to use information given against one officer to bolster an allegation made against a different officer. In this investigation, the allegations are almost wholly uncorroborated, The evidence and witness will likely be impeached at trial. The presentation of unreliable or incredible evidence is against the rules of professional conduct. As a result, there is no actionable evidence to be considered by a grand jury. There is no probability of conviction based on the evidence adduced in this investigation. For this reason, no further action will be undertaken with respect to this investigation. uShould you have any questions concerning this matter, please do not hesitate to contact, me ‘Yours truly, tee ae i ne Ashley Wright District Attomey CC: Sheriff Richard Roundtree 12