New Claim Against Cop

A top police narcotics officer committed a string of felonies in arresting a suspected drug dealer in September, a local attorney alleges in four-page letter obtained by The Sun.

The letter, dated Aug. 16, is addressed to Police Chief Michael Billdt and copied to the FBI's Riverside field office. The District Attorney's Office confirmed receipt of the letter Tuesday. An FBI spokeswoman could not confirm receipt late Tuesday.

Gary Wenkle Smith, a lawyer representing 29-year-old Gregory Parker, alleges in the letter that his client was illegally detained "on ice" by San Bernardino police before they burglarized his home in search of evidence for which they had no warrant.

Smith said Sgt. Bradley Lawrence helped illegally detain Parker and then led his narcotics team to Parker's Rialto home for an unauthorized search.

Billdt declined comment because the case is a personnel matter.

In a telephone interview, Smith said he wrote the letter to alert officials to the depth of the situation and to prompt action.

"These are allegations of criminal conduct," Smith said. "It is my expectation that the department must go to an outside agency for investigation."

Smith said police maintain that a woman at Parker's home granted permission for a search that ultimately yielded a large cache of marijuana.

But in his letter, Smith paints a picture of pervasive, rogue policing.

"Unfortunately, it appears that this conduct of Sgt. Lawrence is not an isolated incident. Apparently, he and some of your other officers have made this kind of conduct practice," Smith wrote.

Assistant District Attorney Dennis Christy confirmed receipt of Smith's letter.

"The Police Department will investigate the allegation, and if they believe there is any criminal conduct involved, they will refer the matter to us for our review, as is the practice," Christy said. "That's done in every case."

Smith writes that Parker was detained by Fontana police late Sept. 18 for driving with tinted windows. He said police handcuffed Parker and seated him in a squad car for four hours. At some point, Smith writes, Lawrence picked up Parker and took him to San Bernardino police headquarters, where he was detained for several hours without charge.

Fontana police Sgt. Jeff Decker confirmed that Fontana officers stopped Parker before the case became San Bernardino's.

A booking log for that day obtained by The Sun lists Parker as being held "on ice."

Early on Sept. 19, Smith writes, Lawrence and several other officers searched Parker's home without a warrant or probable cause.

Lawrence has gained notoriety in recent weeks. On July 3, a San Bernardino police sergeant lodged a complaint against him saying he illegally detained suspected drug dealers without charge while he waited for a search warrant. On Aug. 7, Lawrence was placed on paid leave when a second complaint was lodged against him.

Smith said his client had no criminal history before his arrest on suspicion of possessing marijuana with the intent to sell and receiving stolen property.

"This guy Lawrence was not operating alone," Smith said.

Parker is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Thursday in Fontana.