Oct. 07--Police agencies throughout Marin are fielding subpoenas following the disclosure that a former county narcotics investigator is suspected of using drugs, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Jehan "J.J." Amdjadi, 35, was assigned for three years to the county's multiagency drug squad, formally known as the Marin County Major Crimes Task Force, while he worked for the Novato Police Department. Before joining the task force, he was one of the lead detectives on the Tong Van Le case, the Novato homicide investigation that led to murder convictions against four defendants.
The defendants were set to be sentenced Sept. 17, bringing closure to the complex four-year case, but a judge delayed the sentencing when information surfaced, according to numerous sources, about suspected drug use by Amdjadi.
Although it has been years since Amdjadi worked on the murder case, the drug allegations could be used by defense attorneys to impeach his credibility and demand a new trial. Attorneys say a new trial appears unlikely, but the allegations could lead to a wave of legal challenges to other cases Amdjadi investigated for both Novato police and the county task force.
Amdjadi's lawyer, Alison Berry Wilkinson, said Friday that neither she nor her client wished to comment on whether he used drugs or answer other related questions.
Last month, after the drug suspicions surfaced, Judge Terrence Boren ordered authorities to give defense
attorneys a batch of confidential personnel records about Amdjadi. The information remains under seal pending a hearing on Oct. 16 to determine the next step in the case.
Meanwhile, defense attorneys are already digging for more information. Lawyers for the murder defendants have filed motions for additional personnel records from the Novato Police Department and subpoenaed police departments throughout Marin to see if they have any relevant information.
The Novato Police Department has filed papers opposing the release of more confidential personnel records. At least one department, Fairfax, has provided some records, but they are under seal and their potential relevance is unclear.
The district attorney's office is also conducting its own fact-finding operation, interviewing law enforcement officers familiar with Amdjadi, a source said. District Attorney Ed Berberian declined to comment on all aspects of the Amdjadi matter, including whether a criminal investigation is in the works.
Amdjadi, who started as a Novato officer in 2004, was assigned to the drug task force from July 2009 to early July of this year. Then he returned to his full-time job at the Novato Police Department, but his employment ended four weeks later.
Neither the department nor Amdjadi's lawyer would say whether he resigned voluntarily.
While the Novato Police Department does not conduct random drug tests, the county task force has a policy of subjecting its members to "an unannounced chemical test twice each year," witnessed by a person of the same sex.
Marin County Undersheriff Michael Ridgway, who oversees the task force, declined to comment specifically on Amdjadi because of personnel confidentiality laws.
Asked whether any drugs or money has disappeared from evidence storage recently, Ridgway said an audit completed in early September "found no anomalies at all."
"All members of the task force are currently in compliance with the alcohol and controlled substance policy," he added.
The Tong Van Le case was among the most complicated and labor-intensive Marin homicide investigations in decades. Authorities said Le, 44, was gunned down at his Hamilton-area home in 2008 to prevent his testimony about a robbery at his liquor store in San Francisco.
One of the alleged killers, Sean Washington, eventually admitted his involvement and testified against the other suspects in exchange for a manslaughter conviction. In May, a Marin County jury convicted the other alleged conspirators -- Larry Blay Jr., his brother Deandre, Kevin Abram and C. Autis Johnson III -- of murder and related charges. Johnson's mother, Anchulita Uribe, was convicted of being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced in July.
Contact Gary Klien via email at [email protected]
Copyright 2012 - The Marin Independent Journal, Novato, Calif.
