Drug court manager busted on drug charges
Friday, September 19, 2008 11:35 PM PDT
By Tony Lystra
Printable version
E-mail this articleColumbia County narcotics investigators said Friday that the coordinator of the county’s Drug Court program has been selling information about criminal investigations to drug dealers and users. Emily Davis Cayton, 30, of Scappoose was arrested earlier this month and charged with possession of methamphetamine. On Friday, she was arrested on suspicion of stealing a county laptop computer, and investigators said more charges related to alleged leaks may be coming. The case could go to a grand jury next week, Columbia County District Attorney Steve Atchison said. Cayton, who has been placed on paid administrative leave, appeared in court on the theft charge Friday and was released later in the day, a jail official said. Also troubling, investigators said, is that Cayton learned about a search warrant that was to be served Sept. 4 on her own home, car and office. Cayton apparently was unaware she was the target of the search warrant, but she tipped off a drug dealer. The leak "could have been deadly, even catastrophic," narcotics investigator Sgt. Phillip Edwards said in a statement. Although no real damage was done, St. Helens police Lt. Terry Moss said investigators are troubled that Cayton gained access to the information. Moss declined to say how exactly Cayton learned about the warrant. But he said that the episode clearly shows that the Columbia County courts must tighten security. Susan Hill, the trial court administrator and Cayton’s supervisor, declined to comment. As the county’s drug court coordinator, Cayton dealt regularly with people charged with drug crimes. She also had access to information about informants and "the details that lead up to a criminal investigation, the little bits and pieces that build a case," Moss said. The Columbia Enforcement Narcotics Team, a task force that investigates drug cases, said it learned through its own informants several weeks ago that Cayton had been selling information to dealers and users. Moss said he didn’t know how much she was paid. Moss said it’s also unclear how much information leaked or how much damage was done to the task force’s investigations. "I’d like to think we got in front of this before much of that damage was able to take place," he said. "There might already be damage that we’re not aware of yet." The disclosure dismayed the county’s criminal justice officials, who said they’d never seen a case quite like it. In a statement Friday, the drug enforcement team said the county’s "criminal justice community" had "turned against one of its own this morning." "This is one of those cases that you hope is in someone else’s backyard, not in your community," Moss said. "It’s disappointing. You would hope that people who are put in these positions of trust and authority would have the same values we share. Unfortunately, that is not always the case." When the narcotics task force served its Sept. 4 search warrant on Cayton’s home, car and office, police said, investigators found methamphetamine, "drug records" and "official documents of a suspicious nature." Cayton was arrested and released after posting bail. Investigators, the drug enforcement team said in a statement, "sifted through the newly acquired information and continued to build their case against Cayton." They also said that they had watched Cayton for several weeks. Authorities said Friday that Cayton stole a laptop owned by Columbia County and gave it to an acquaintance involved in the drug trade. Moss said the laptop did not contain any information about drug cases. Investigators are still trying to figure out how an employee with so much access to the criminal justice system became a mole for drug dealers, Moss said. Police have interviewed Cayton, he said, but she hasn’t disclosed much useful information. "I don’t want to believe that we were snowballed from the beginning," he said. "I’d like to think, and this is just me speculating, that (Cayton was) falling under this power of this drug, methamphetamine. Once it gets ahold of you, it doesn’t let go and makes you do things you don’t want to do." Hill, the county’s trial court administrator, said Cayton began working in Columbia County in 2004. She initially worked part time on a program that disclosed through a Web site information about suspects’ release agreements. At the time, Hill said, Cayton was earning a master’s degree from Portland State University. In the years that followed, Cayton worked off and on for the county and at the state Department of Health and Human Services. Her salary has always been paid by the state, not Columbia County, Hill said. Hill said the county’s drug court program began in 2007 and that Cayton became its coordinator in February of this year. Her duties included meeting with drug offenders, making sure they got treatment and calling to check on them. Hill said that Cayton also met regularly with the district attorney and a judge to discuss offenders’ progress. "I would never have thought anything wrong of Emily," Hill said. "Emily was very bright and very hard-working. She was bubbly and just really worked hard on the program for it to be a success." Cayton, she added, "came highly recommended" and had "excellent references."
roudy russ wrote on Sep 20, 2008 4:24 AM:
Resident wrote on Sep 20, 2008 7:16 AM:
One Man's Land wrote on Sep 20, 2008 7:53 AM:
redneck hick wrote on Sep 20, 2008 9:19 AM:
BigMike wrote on Sep 20, 2008 10:41 AM:
ratkins wrote on Sep 20, 2008 11:31 AM:
"mole for drug dealers"(Moss)?
police said found "methamphetamine, "drug records" and "official documents of a suspicious nature." ?
The coordinator of the countys Drug Court program does what?
Has she been doing her job and finding out that the problem goes back to the courts and now they are worried and so they arrest her on ficticious evidence? "
worriedone wrote on Sep 20, 2008 11:38 AM:
Heard she is on paid administrative leave....she doesn't deserve a dime. Fire her and give her the punishment deserved and then some. THIS IS NOT THE EXAMPLE WE NEED WORKING TO FIX THE DRUG PROBLEM IN THE AREA. "
bluE wrote on Sep 20, 2008 3:33 PM:
cynic954 wrote on Sep 20, 2008 3:47 PM:
Amomtoo wrote on Sep 20, 2008 4:23 PM:
She may have been well qualified. But unfortunately some drug users are very charming and convincing. Greed is also a factor. I am not condoning any of this I am only being realistic. Drugs, greed, and love make people do many strange things that are totally out of character. (I am not saying she is in love) Itis just a sad sad situation. "
Thought wrote on Sep 20, 2008 5:29 PM:
piper wrote on Sep 20, 2008 8:58 PM:
sdn wrote on Sep 20, 2008 11:34 PM:
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