This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A drug case dismissed Monday by an Ogden judge appears to be one in a string of cases Weber County prosecutors may look to toss after the arrest of a former drug task force officer whom defense attorneys have accused of misconduct.
Bobby Gilbert Martinez faced 11 second-degree felony drug-distribution charges in connection with a drug-trafficking ring busted by the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force in January 2014.
But Weber County prosecutors asked for a dismissal Monday without warning and without responding to a February motion from defense attorney Randall Richards.
Richards has sought dismissal of the case because former Ogden police officer Don Henry Johnson had allegedly lied to a judge to secure a warrant to wiretap a suspected drug kingpin, which then ensnared dozens of others.
In all, police said the yearlong investigation netted 61 people, who were expected to be charged with a combined 180 felonies in connection with the drug operation. Investigators said the alleged enterprise, run by Darren "D" Louis Lujan, brought hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine from Arizona to Utah for sale here and in Montana and North Dakota.
"The state finally realized that they had some real problems," said Richards. "They do this wiretap, which in my opinion was illegal, and then about 10 or 12 defendants get caught up in it. I think all of those cases are going to get dismissed."
Investigative work by Richards and defense attorney Emily Swenson suggests Johnson lied to a judge to secure permission to wiretap Lujan — a warrant which was then used as the basis for police to obtain additional ping privileges. The attorneys also contend in court documents that Johnson later set his own home on fire to destroy the wiretap-related evidence.
Richards and Swenson have used the findings on behalf of multiple clients and said they have shared the data with other defense attorneys.
Martinez was the second of Richards' clients charged to have a case dismissed in recent weeks. Swenson has had three cases tossed out and a fourth is pending, she said. Through a check of court records, The Salt Lake Tribune also identified two other cases with ties to the drug bust that have been dismissed.
"The ripple effect of this is huge," Swenson said.
It was not immediately clear Monday how many other cases might be in jeopardy for prosecutors, nor is it known whether Weber County authorities are investigating the allegations that Johnson lied or started the fire. A message left for Weber County Attorney Christopher Allred was not returned Monday.
Lujan, a former Ogden Trece gang member who was living in Arizona at the time of his arrest, is charged with 20 second-degree felony counts of drug distribution and one first-degree felony count of operating a criminal enterprise.
A disposition hearing in his case is set for June 1, according to Utah court records.
Johnson, 29, resigned from the Ogden police force in January after he was charged in 2nd District Court with two counts of second-degree felony drug distribution. He is accused of twice soliciting a woman to buy him the painkiller Oxycodone somewhere in Weber County in May and July of last year.
Last month, after a preliminary hearing, Johnson was ordered to stand trial on the charges. He pleaded not guilty and is expected in court June 3 for a scheduling hearing.
Johnson's attorney, Heidi Bogus, declined comment on the dismissal of cases tied to the drug ring investigation, saying she was not "entirely familiar" with all of the allegations raised by defense lawyers.
The case is reminiscent of one in West Valley City, where an investigation into the now-disbanded Neighborhood Narcotics Unit prompted Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill to dismiss about 120 narcotics cases in 2013.
The investigation into the unit uncovered a number of problems, including officers' being too slow to book evidence, failing to file police reports after displaying their guns, and placing GPS tracking devices on suspects' cars without first gaining a court order to do so.
The investigation began after two detectives, Shaun Cowley and Kevin Salmon, shot and killed 21-year-old Danielle Willard, during what they suspected was an illegal drug transaction Nov. 2, 2012.
Six other detectives were disciplined. And the lieutenant supervising the unit was demoted, though an appeals board overturned that decision, and the city is now appealing the board's ruling before the Utah Court of Appeals.
Prosecutors charged Cowley with second-degree felony manslaughter in connection with Willard's death. But, after a preliminary hearing, a judge ruled the state lacked sufficient evidence for Cowley to stand trial.
Cowley was fired for having evidence in his trunk that should have been in storage. He is appealing his termination.