Shooting warrant confirms pot, not crack, at house

By SAEED AHMED
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dec. 10, 2006

Confirming what Atlanta police have consistently maintained, a small quantity of marijuana was found in Kathryn Johnston's home, according to a Fulton County Magistrate Court document released Tuesday.

But the "return" document from the search warrant for the Neal Street home — the paperwork that lists items police took during the search — does not mention surveillance cameras or crack cocaine. Police cited both as reasons for seeking a "no-knock" warrant to raid the elderly woman's northwest Atlanta home.

As police burst into her house the evening of Nov. 21, Johnston opened fire with a rusty revolver, and three officers returned fire. Her shooting death is now the focus of a federal probe.

Such no-knock warrants are generally granted when a judge believes officers would be endangered or evidence could be destroyed if they lost the element of surprise.

Investigators filed the search warrant inventory with the Magistrate Court on Tuesday, four days past the state-mandated deadline.

Under Georgia law, officers are supposed to file the returns with the court within 10 days of searching a property.

The inventory of items seized from 933 Neal St. include 1.93 grams of marijuana in three individually packaged bags, an envelope of marijuana rolling papers, and a piece of misdirected mail.

Johnston's relatives have said that the woman lived alone in the one-story brick home. The piece of mail was addressed to a person who, earlier this year, lived at 933 Jett St., one street away.

According to the inventory, police found the following in the front bedroom of Johnston's house during their search:

• A copy of a water bill;

• Two plastic calendars;

• A piece of paper with phone numbers;

• Five pieces of mail in Johnston's name.

In addition, police found a birth certificate and a Social Security benefit statement in the dining room.

Police had said that earlier that day, a man named "Sam" sold crack cocaine to an confidential informant at the house.

In a court affidavit, Atlanta narcotics officer Jason R. Smith said "Sam" greeted the informant, disappeared into the house and reappeared with two bags of crack cocaine.

Smith's statement also said that the informant — a reliable source who helped police make drug arrests in the past— had alleged that "Sam" had installed surveillance cameras at the house and monitored them constantly.

"I believe cocaine is being sold and stored at [the house]," Smith said in the affidavit. He was granted a warrant allowing officers to enter the house without knocking.

Since then, the informant has said he never bought drugs at the home, and that officers involved in the bust had asked him to go along with a story they concocted after the shooting.