Evidence presented in Wells trial

Day one of Scott Wells' criminal trial saw, what special prosecutor Stan Levco called the state's most important witness take the stand. Indiana State Police Trooper Stacy Brown was Wells' arresting officer September 27, 2002.\nThe state has charged Wells with misdemeanor battery, operating while intoxicated, resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct. Wells, a Democrat, has insisted he was set up the night of his arrest. \nWells' defense team of David Coleman and Elizabeth Cure entered a tape recorded conversation between Brown and the dispatch officer on the night of Wells' arrest. The tape describes Brown's initial impression of the arrest from the time he spotted the councilman until Wells was in custody.\nAt first Brown said he saw no signs Wells was intoxicated.\n"Subject has returned to his vehicle, I saw no impairment as he walked up to it. We'll be stopping him around Indiana and Seventh street, he has no seat belt." Brown told dispatcher James Valentine.\nAttorney Coleman questioned Brown and suggested the trooper made up a reason to pull Wells over just to carry out Maxwell's dirty work.\n"Subject is a county councilman; he's become belligerent," Brown told Valentine on the night of Wells' arrest. "He's all over the roadway, then he got out, and pissed in the park. The way I was positioned in the parking lot he had evidently made it into the car. I saw somebody at the door get in, I didn't see as far as how he walked or anything. I wasn't in the field of view." \nColeman questioned Brown as to why he changed his story from seeing Wells' getting into his car unimpaired, to not seeing Wells get into the car at all.\nBrown said he simply misspoke.\n"I go to pull out, as he drives by he doesn't have his seat belt on so of course he takes the turn onto Indiana and turns too sharp, typical everything else," Brown told Valentine over the dispatch phone line. "Evidently he's a county councilman and I'm sure J.D. (Maxwell) knows that."\n"Actually he didn't know who the guy was," Valentine replied.\n"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Okay," Brown said.\nColeman continued questioning trooper Brown.\n"You knew right then that J.D. Maxwell was misrepresenting the situation and you didn't stop?"\n"No sir," Brown said.\nColeman continued to ask questions.\n"You were putting this situation in the hand of J.D. Maxwell's friends, J.D. Maxwell's informants, and you were there on J.D. Maxwell's behalf," Coleman said.\nBrown told the court he was irate when he figured out he was involved in the alleged set up.\n"After sitting in my car and rethinking the situation, I did think J.D. (Maxwell) was wrongfully involved," Brown said.\nWells said he was amused by Brown's effort to answer Coleman's questions.\n"Coleman basically got Brown to contradict himself and say he was totally wrong," Wells said. "I was watching the jurors faces and they were shaking their heads."\nBrown said his relationship with Maxwell prior to the night of the arrest was professional and pleasant, but Brown said he was not involved in any set up.\n"That night he (Maxwell) put me at a disadvantage," Brown said.\nMaxwell originally called the dispatch officer after Bud Bernitt, a political enemy of Wells, called the then-Republican sheriff candidate Maxwell. Bernitt said he saw Wells in downtown Bloomington urinating and stumbling to his car.\nA tape recorded conversation between Maxwell and the dispatch officer detailed the off-duty Maxwell asking which troopers were available that night.\n"You don't have anybody,?" Maxwell asks the dispatch officer. \n"Yes I do, I have Stacy (Brown) and Travis (Coryea)," the dispatcher responds.\n"Really? Could you have Stacy call my house immediately?"\nMaxwell spoke with trooper Brown directly to request his services. According to Indiana State Police procedure Maxwell should have contacted Brown through the dispatcher.\nLeasa Farkas, coordinator for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said this trial needs to be more about Wells' drunk driving and less about politics.\n"I think the trial should be about the criminal charges, not whether there is a conspiracy of someone is out to frame Scott Wells," Farkas said. "If he had not been arrested that night could he have hurt or killed someone. We should be grateful to those who called in, they did the appropriate thing to call the police."\n The trail will resume Tuesday at 9am in the Monroe County courthouse meeting room where Bud Bernitt is expected to testify.\n-- Contact senior writer Mitch Blacher at mblacher@indiana.edu