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Prosecutors in Maryland, Virginia reviewing cases amid investigation into FBI agent FBI agent in evidence-tampering case reportedly took heroin being held for trial
(about 5 hours later)
An FBI agent accused of tampering with drug and gun evidence, forcing authorities in the District to drop charges against more than two dozen defendants, “is devastated by what has occurred here” and wants to cooperate with investigators, his attorney said Thursday. The FBI agent accused of tampering with drug and gun evidence reportedly took heroin earmarked for trial and used it himself, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with an investigation that is prompting authorities to dismiss cases against convicted narcotics dealers in the District.
The attorney, Robert C. Bonsib, called some of the accusations “grossly overblown” but said his client “intends to fully cooperate with investigators and will assist both the FBI and other authorities that are involved with this matter.” He said the 33-year-old agent, Matthew Lowry, wants “to help bring this matter to a fast conclusion.” Robert C. Bonsib, the attorney for Matthew Lowry, the 33-year-old agent, declined to comment on specifics of the case, saying only that some accusations are “grossly overblown.” He added that Lowry, who has been suspended but not charged, wants to cooperate and “help bring this matter to a fast conclusion.” Law enforcement officials said the agent has talked to them and discussed the allegations.
Authorities have not detailed the allegations against Lowry but said he has been suspended. The Justice Department’s inspector general is conducting a misconduct investigation. Andrew Ames, spokesman for the FBI’s Washington field office, said Thursday that the “weapons reference in the court filings are in the government’s possession.” He declined to elaborate, but said the bureau wanted the public to know there are no missing guns on the streets. Federal officials allege Lowry took drugs that were being stored in a lab for a future court case. Officials familiar with the case have also said that Lowry was found in late September slumped over the wheel of his unmarked FBI vehicle near the Navy Yard. Two additional officials said that in the car were two drug evidence bags, heroin and two firearms. Lowry is not named in the court documents.
Even without details of the case being made public, prosecutors in two states and the District are taking action. Just weeks after the investigation began at the end of September, prosecutors were pulling felons out of prison and allowing them to go home and await developments. Fallout from the investigation continued Thursday as a federal judge dismissed charges against 10 defendants in one large-scale drug case, and vacated prison sentences that ranged from two to 12 years. The defendants had been released from prison Oct. 27, but with the judge’s order they became the first felons to be cleared of criminal charges in a case linked to the agent. In a separate case, another federal judge delayed dismissing charges against four suspects, saying he wanted additional information. A hearing is scheduled for Friday for six of 14 defendants in a third drug case.
Federal prosecutors in Maryland and Virginia also are working to determine whether any involved Lowry, who was assigned to a cross-border task force in the Washington field office, which involves local police and concentrates on crime along the District’s boundaries with Maryland and Virginia. In the cases that were dismissed Thursday, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued a two-paragraph order that does not describe the reasons. Typically in such cases, it is because unauthorized taking of evidence breaks what is called a “chain of custody,” and authorities no longer vouch for the integrity of the evidence. Boasberg set hearings for Nov. 14 and 17 during which additional details could be revealed.
Joshua Stueve, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia, said prosecutors were reviewing their cases but so far had not found that the agent was involved in any significant matters. Marcia Murphy, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland, said, “We are reviewing all cases the agent may have been involved in to determine his role.” The flurry of court hearings and filings this week underscored both the seriousness and the complex nature of separate law enforcement agencies simultaneously conducting a secretive investigation into the alleged misconduct while also trying to deal with its impact on criminal cases that involved the agent.
Bonsib said Lowry wants to “help investigators get a better idea of what happened and didn’t happen. He intends to make himself fully available and help authorities get a handle on the real facts that occurred here.” He declined to cite specifics. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington has agreed to drop cases against 28 defendants, but various judges assigned to each need to approve.
Meanwhile, the full scope of how the alleged misconduct is impacting cases came into clearer view. Hearings are scheduled for Thursday afternoon and Friday in federal court in the District, during which cases against some drug defendants could be dismissed. Lowry worked out of the Washington field office on a cross-border task force, which involves local police and concentrates on crime along the District’s boundaries with Maryland and Virginia. Federal prosecutors in those states said they are reviewing cases to determine whether any involved Lowry. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia said prosecutors had thus far not found that the agent was involved in any significant matters.
In an unusual flurry of filings Wednesday night, the U.S. attorney’s office in the District said they would drop charges against 28 defendants in three separate drug cases, including 17 who had already pleaded guilty. Many of them had recently been sentenced up to 10 years in prison, and prosecutors said their terms would be vacated. The FBI has said the investigation began the first week of September. No other details beyond the nature of the allegations have been publicly released, although court documents unsealed this week noted the accusations include alleged tampering with drug and gun evidence. Authorities have declined to comment further.
But the complexities of the judicial system do not make even dropping charges easy. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon rejected, at least for now, a move to dismiss drug charges against four defendants in a relatively minor case that prosecutors said may be tainted by the agent. But on Thursday, Andrew Ames, spokesman for the FBI’s Washington field office, said that the “weapons referenced in the court filings are in the government’s possession.” He declined to elaborate, but said the bureau wanted the public to know there are no missing guns on the streets.
The judge said he wanted more information about the government wanting to dismiss the case “without prejudice,” which would allow prosecutors to refile the charges in the future. Leon said “the government wants its cake and to eat it too,” indicating he might accept a bid to dismiss the case “with prejudice,” barring further prosecution. Lowry’s attorney, Bonsib, declined to comment on specifics of the case, saying his client preferred to discuss the matter with authorities. “He hopes that by cooperating with the investigators, he can help them get a better idea of what happened and didn’t happen,” Bonsib said.
At the same time, Leon said the drug case was serious and he didn’t want to release the defendants without additional information, citing a need to “protect the public interest.” He said, “We’re going to move very carefully. Slowly. No sprinting.” The attorney said Lowry graduated with honors from the academy and “has had a distinguished career with the FBI. Law enforcement has been his life’s dream.” Bonsib said Lowry is “devastated by what has occurred here.” He repeatedly declined to describe the allegations being made against Lowry, saying only that “he intends to make himself fully available and help authorities get a handle on the real facts that occurred here.”
The judge sent another hearing for Dec. 10. Lowry’s father, William Lowry, is the assistant chief of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, had served 27 years on the Prince George’s police force and headed security details for two NFL teams, including the Washington Redskins. The elder Lowry declined to comment through a spokesman for the Anne Arundel department. The spokesman said the assistant chief is dealing with “a personal family matter.”
Elita C. Amato, an attorney for defendant Darnell Jackson, said the defense attorneys had hoped their clients would be released. “I certainly understand the judge’s precautions and concerns,” Amato said after the hearing. How the courts handle the cases will vary. One federal judge on Thursday accepted motions filed by prosecutors and defense lawyers to dismiss charges against 10 defendants in a single drug conspiracy case, without having a hearing.
Amato, who said she has two other clients whose cases also could be dismissed in connection with the investigation, said she was surprised when she received dismissal motions concerning the FBI agent. “Obviously, there’s a lot going on here that we don’t know about,” she said. But in another case Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon rejected a move to dismiss drug charges against four defendants. Leon said he wanted more information about the government wanting to dismiss the case “without prejudice,” which would allow prosecutors to refile the charges in the future. Leon said “the government wants its cake and to eat it, too,” indicating he might accept a bid to dismiss the case “with prejudice,” barring further prosecution.
Two of the other drug cases involved months of investigation, wiretaps, surveillance and raids on more than two dozen homes and other locations. In one case in which charges are being dropped against 14 defendants, police said they seized more than 2.2 pounds of heroin and cocaine that was being shipped from California to the District and Maryland. At the same time, Leon said the drug case was serious and he didn’t want to release the defendants without additional information, citing a need to “protect the public interest.” He said, “We’re going to move very carefully. Slowly. No sprinting.” The judge set an additional hearing for Dec. 10; defense attorneys said they would appeal to try to get their clients cleared sooner.
It is unclear the role, if any, the agent had in any of the cases. One court document unsealed Wednesday said he participated in the search of a home and vehicle in Southern Maryland. “I certainly understand the judge’s precautions and concerns,” Elita C. Amato, an attorney for defendant Darnell Jackson, said after the hearing. Amato, who said she has two other clients whose cases also could be dismissed in connection with the investigation, said she was surprised when she received dismissal motions concerning the FBI agent. “Obviously, there’s a lot going on here that we don’t know about,” she said.
Court documents made public on Wednesday said the agent is accused of tampering with evidence that includes drugs and firearms, but was not more specific. Two law enforcement officials familiar with the case said the agent that in late September, the agent was found slumped over the wheel of his unmarked FBI vehicle near the Navy Yard in Southeast Washington, with two empty bags thought to have contained drugs in the car. Adam Goldman, Lynh Bui, Jennifer Jenkins, Clarence Williams and Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.
Bonsib would not comment on specifics of the case but he said that Lowry graduated with honors from the FBI academy and that “law enforcement was his life’s dream.”
His father, William Lowry, is the assistant chief of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, had served 27 years on the Prince George’s police force and headed security details for two NFL teams, including the Washington Redskins. The elder Lowry declined to comment through a spokesman for the Anne Arundel department.
Anne Arundel County Police spokesman T.J. Smith said, “We are aware of the situation regarding the adult son of our Assistant Chief. This is a personal family matter that our Assistant Chief is dealing with.”
Adam Goldman, Lynh Bui and Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.