Cocaine Bust Lawyers Seek to Bar Documents : Judge Asked to Exclude Ledgers Taken in Raid; Charges Dismissed Against 1 of 10 Defendants

Information from records and ledgers, confiscated three weeks ago in the state’s largest cocaine seizure, shouldn’t be presented in court, lawyers for nine defendants in the case told a judge Friday.

Attorney Stephan A. DeSales made the motion to North Orange County Municipal Judge Richard L. Weatherspoon on behalf of the other defense lawyers, arguing that most of the records are from 1985 and have no bearing on the present case.

“They fall outside the scope of the conspiracy” alleged in the case, DeSales told the judge.

$500 Million in Cocaine Seized

On April 4, authorities seized a total of 1,784 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $500 million and $730,000 in cash and arrested 10 South Americans at six locations in Placentia, Fullerton and Anaheim. One of the defendants has been released.

In earlier testimony presented by the prosecution, narcotics agents said two of the defendants were under surveillance for two days before the arrests.

DeSales contended that any records found by the agents not relating to the week the suspects were under surveillance would be “totally irrelevant to this case.”

Charges were dismissed against one those arrested when a lab report showed that seven grams of white powder found in his apartment was not cocaine.

Did Not Know Other Defendants

Elkin Gaurin, 28, had claimed he did not know any of the defendants and had been staying at a Fullerton apartment at the invitation of a friend not implicated in the case. Guarin said he and his wife had been in the country a short time before he was arrested.

Gaurin’s court-appointed attorney Glenn K. Osajima said the apartment at 1700 W. Cerritos Ave. might have been used by the other defendants last year to store cocaine.

Except for the seven grams of white powder, no drugs or money were found in the apartment during the raids.

DeSales said after Friday’s hearing that even if the defense team loses on its motion to keep the ledgers from being presented in court, the cadre of attorneys will have a strong case to appeal the judge’s ruling to a higher court.

Weatherspoon recessed the preliminary hearing of the nine South Americans until Monday when he will rule on the defense motion.

Thus far, the judge has denied several defense motions to have Assistant Dist. Atty. James Brooks reveal the identity, or information, of a confidential informant who led Los Angeles narcotics officers to the arrests.