People v. Jamieson

461 N.W.2d 884 (1990)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Jamieson (Ds), all Wayne County Jail guards, were charged with delivery of cocaine. An undercover operation was conducted that made cocaine deliveries to an informant. The Sheriff's Department was contacted by a juvenile inmate, Quinton Varner, concerning deputy sheriffs smuggling narcotics to inmates. Varner furnished the government with 'a couple' of names. He did not provide information which would allow the sheriff's department to accumulate a list of specific targets. Sergeant Booth was allowed ten days 'to work a scheme' that would unveil guards who were participating in the unlawful delivery of narcotics into the jail. Varner offered to cooperate with the sheriff's department in exchange for a thirty-day reduction in his sentence. Cocaine and money were obtained from the DEA. The drugs and money were delivered to an undercover police officer who would deliver these items to the particular guard who would, in turn, deliver the items to the juvenile inside the jail. The drugs and money were eventually returned to Sergeant Booth. The targets were to be chosen by inmate Varner and instructed by him when and where to meet the outside contact in order to obtain the cocaine. Ds were charged with the delivery of cocaine. The trial judge found that, as a matter of law, Ds were entrapped and accordingly dismissed the charges. The Court of Appeals stated that there is no prohibition per se against the use of such operations. It affirmed the trial court's holding, concluding that it was not clearly erroneous. The panel pointed to the trial court's finding that it was particularly reprehensible for the police to allow a teenage convicted felon the unfettered power to orchestrate the entire operation. P appealed.