Opinion ID: 203873
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Installation of Oscar Espada and his role in the investigation

Text: Agent Toro then recounted the reasons for the NIE's installation of a confidential informant  Oscar Espada  at the housing project in October 2002. Espada was a professional photographer who was introduced into the public housing project to become known by and make friendship with the persons involved in the drug point and to collect evidence and information. The government installed him in a second-floor apartment in building 13, which overlooked the suspected drug point. From that location, Espada was able to conduct surveillance of illicit activity in the area. Over the course of seven months in 2002 and 2003, he recorded approximately 70 videotapes documenting the activities at the drug point. Espada also took still photographs of various drug and firearm transactions at Covadonga. Agent Toro appropriately testified that he had watched Espada's tapes, characterizing them as videos of people selling and buying drugs. There will be people with firearms at the drug points, people collecting money. People counting money. People delivering drugs. He also permissibly stated, on the basis of his personal involvement in the investigation, that the agency had decided to send in Espada to befriend the individuals involved in the drug trafficking because it was the only way to obtain evidence about the internal operations of the conspiracy. However, when the prosecutor asked Toro a question about how Espada was able to make friends with the conspirators and gain their confidence, defense counsel objected. In response, the court told the jury that [t]he information is based on the information [Espada] gave [Toro], and admitted the information conditionally, pending confirmation of Toro's testimony by Espada. The judge's instruction to the jury missed the point. Toro's testimony was unquestionably hearsay. It unnecessarily anticipated testimony that Espada would give himself. It had the imprimatur problems we have described. The fact that Espada later testified as Toro said he would did not redeem these deficiencies in Toro's testimony.