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Show The Salt Late Tribune Monday December 15. 19y) j 4 Snitches the Bread and Butter of Police Work, Detectives Agree Continued From Page B-- l A paid courtroom, is often suspect informant is not going to look like hes extremely objective, says Deputy Salt Lake County Attorney Charles D Marson The jurys going to think this guy's got an economic reason to hand so whats to stop over information him from embellishing it a little bit Vengeance Often Motive A third motivation for providing information to police is vengeance Detectives say they are frequently who usually contacted by a snitch remains anonymous who will provide information about a crime because the information will incriminate a rival. That happens a lot in drug work especially heroin, Mr. George says. We had a lot of guys who would snitch on a rival dealer to get him out of business The fewer dealers, the bigger the market and the bigger the profit. "I got a call one night from a guy I never heard of before who said, Hey, you want to know who did the gas station on 400 South last night well it was so and so, Detective Bell said. He might have some grudge against the guy and turning him in is a way to get even, the robbery detective adds. Theres also a slight different kind of one who volunteers informasnitch tion on other people in an effort to escape prosecution himself. A snitch is worthless unless he has a cop to snitch to. How do police find their informants? Or, conversely, how do the snitches choose their detectives? Walking a Beat Detective Bell ays a cop, even when hes walking a beat in uniform, begins making contacts in the underworld who may later turn into snitches. Detective Bell met many of his informants while he was working on the police departments vice squad. You get to know a lot of people working :r and, I tell you, they are thick There are some people who know everything thats going on and boy, they re good to get to know Most snitches, however, come to police before police go to them If they have information which, for whatever reason, they wish to divulge to the authorities, they will usually call a particular detective. Treat Them Decently A lot of snitches come to me because well in the past Say I Ive treated them ai rested some guy and I treated him duently, well, hell remember that When you arrest somebody, you dont have to necessarily treat him like a Detective Bell said ( rcep, M like to appeal to their higher motives, Detective Halterman adds take them 111 treat them pretty well out to dinner or buy them coffee Ive evi n had a couple of snitches stay at my still get Christmas cards from home 1 sent to prison who are still doing time You treat them like human beings and theyll return the favor But there are problems with developing that kind of rapport with the criminal element, even if it provides you with good information, the detectives say The Cardinal Rule The cardinal rule of police work is 'Never trust a snitch, Mr George says guv s I armed robbery He said he was ir the getaway car and he knew who did it and he would snitch on them. Turns out the guy escaped from the Utah State Prison about two months before the robbery It turns out the guy you All three detectives recall cases in didnt drive the getwaway car but was which they were set up by a snitch, the guy inside the store and was one of or betrayed or even used by the the gunmen Well, the whole case was informant for his own ends based on his information and when the the whole case fell Detective Bell remembers a man who truth came out, well, Bell remembers came to him with information about an on its face, Detective let them know that if they ever screw me over, they're finished. A lot of Detective Halterman says these guys are on the borderline Ill help you today, tomorrow Ill hurt ' I Legal Experts Cite Confusion in Utahs Entrapment Statutes When a person is charged with committing a crime on the basis of evidence gathered by a police informant who also participated in the is crime, the issue of entrapment bom Defense lawyers argue in such cases that their clients were entrapped by police to commit the offense, and are therefore innocent. Those arguments present special legal problems in Utah courts because, experts say, Utah laws dealing with entrapment are vague, strange and confusing. Utah is one of only two states whose courts recognize two separate and somewhat contradictory methods of dealing with entrapment issues That duality creates about the strangest approach to the problem youll find, says University of Utah Law Professor Ronald Boyce. The problem involves a tangled, weighty legal issue and is confusing even to attorneys and judges who address the concept, according to Professor Boyce. Stated simply, the issue is this : There are two approaches to deciding whether a defendant was entrapped. There is the objective approach, which requires that the court examine the conduct of police. To what extent did police abuse their power in such a vay as to warranct dismissal of the case And there is the subjective approach, which deals solely with the state of mind of the defendant at the time of the crime Police involvement is a side issue not central to the determination of guilt or innocence. The federal court system and the courts of most states ascribe to the subjective approach to entrapment in which the defendant's state of mind, is scrutinized Utah is one of a handful of states which ascribe to the objective ap proach However, Utahs system of criminal procedure is set up in such a way in the area of entrapment U enhance the subjective approach, and therein lies the confusion, according to Professor Bovce Under thesubjective approach, the issue of entrapment is settled by the jury when it rules on the defendants state of mind If the jury finds the police created the state of mind to commit the crime, the defendant may be found innocent and entrapped. If police merely provided the opportunity to commit the crime, there is no entrapment. Under the subjective approach, the issue is settled by the jury and is not ruled on by the judge unless it involves a matter of law Under the objective approach, which the Utah Supreme Court ruled is Utahs approach, the conduct of police is examined. But because Utah procedur-all- y subscribes to the subjective approach, the matter of police conduct in Utah and therefore the isssue of entrapment can be ruled on by both the judge and jury. Only in North Dakota and Utah is it possible for a jury to decide if the police acted properly when they arrested a defendant in a case involving alleged entrapment In those states which ascribe to the objective approach, it is a matter for the judge to decide. Deputy Salt Lake County Attorney Charles D Marson, who has researched the entrapment issue, says the vagueness of the law is such that neither defense or prosecution lawyers can claim it as a tool for leverage when arguing a particular case. & Wounded Deputy Serious After Extensive Surgery Special to The Tribune BRIGHAM CITY - A Box Elder County deputy sheriff was in serious but stable condition at LDS Hospital Sunday in Salt Lake City following extensive surgery Saturday for a bullet wound that shattered his jaw and cheek bone. Bone grafts were necessary and artificial parts for the jaw were inserted during the operation on Deputy Dallas Higley, Sheriff Robert Limb said Sunday. Sheriff Limb said the cheek bone was shattered. He said tests at the hospital indicated that Deputy Higley suffered no vision or brain dsgnage. Sheriff Limb reported the deputy was able to recognize his wife Sunday morning. She is a dispatcher for the Brigahm City Police Department. The sheriff said attending surgeons and physicians reported it would be at least three weeks before the deputy could come home for for a visit. Deputy Higley was reportedly shot by a transient Saturday at 12:05 a.m. north of the Golden Spike National Historic Site. The deputy was in pursuit of a vehicle being driven by a hostage., The suspect reportedly attempted to forcibly enter a ranch home earlier in Hansell Valley and escaped in a red car. Man Taken Hostage The owner notified the sheriffs department by telephone and minutes later, Richard T. Smith, 35, Roy, was taken hostage. The suspect allegedly forced Smith to drive the vehicle. Smith was hunting coyotes in the area and his truck was forced off the road by the suspect, deputies said. When Deputy Higley intercepted the suspects car, the suspect is said to have fired two shots from a 30.06 rifle through the back window, according the sheriff. The second shot struck the deputy. Minutes later, other deputy sheriffs and Utah Highway Patrol Troopers arrived on the scene. The suspect fled the scene in his car and allegedly forcibly took a pickup from William Barton Clinton and Ronald Simmons, of Locomotive Springs Waterfoul Management Area, Box Elder County The Barton pickup truck pulled off the road to allow the suspect vehicle to pass. Abandons Truck Police said the suspect then drove south of Park Valley, Box Elder County, on State Road 30 and took the Ingham Canyon Road, where the truck was abandoned. Saturday morning, the pickup truck was sighted by searchers about 9 a.m. The suspect surrendered without incident. He was booked in the Box Elder County Jail for attempted murder. Sheriff Limb said nearly every police and sheriffs department along the Wasatch Front called his office to offer any type of assistance needed by Deputy Higley and his family. 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