MOTION FOR DISCOVERY OF ALL INFORMATION IN THE POSSESSION OF THE LAWRENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE UNITED STATES

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, )
)
Plaintiff, )
vs. ))
Case Nos. 07-CR-20124-CM,
GUY M. NEIGHBORS ))
08-CR-20105-CM
and ))
CARRIE NEIGHBORS )
)
Defendants. )
DEFENDANTS’ JOINT MOTION FOR DISCOVERY OF
ALL INFORMATION IN THE POSSESSION OF THE
LAWRENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE UNITED STATES
PERTAINING TO ANNETTE MILER
Defendants Guy Neighbors and Carrie Neighbors, by and through their respective
counsel Cheryl Pilate and John Duma, move this Honorable Court to enter an Order
directing the timely production of all information in the possession of the Lawrence
Police Department, the United States Postal Inspector, the United States Attorneys’ office
or any other federal agency concerning Annette Miller. Ms. Miller, a onetime close
friend of the Neighbors, used her close and confidential relationship with them to tell
them stories of police corruption and harassment, most (or all) of which were untrue. Ms.
Miller then swindled the Neighbors out of thousands of dollars, under the guise of
employing an “investigator” who was investigating the Lawrence Police Department and
whose investigatory findings would benefit the Neighbors in their criminal cases.
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During a hearing held June 30, 2009, Mr. Neighbors presented evidence of the lies
and deceit of Ms. Miller. This evidence was presented through the testimony of Mr.
Neighbors’ daughter, Christina Neighbors, who testified that her father was effectively
“brainwashed” by Ms. Miller, and through the testimony of investigators Dan Clark and
Denny Conway. Evidence was presented to show that Ms. Miller fleeced the Neighbors
out of at least $30,000 over a period of one year, during which they repeatedly sent her
Western Union transfers to pay for a fictitious “investigator.” The Neighbors could ill
afford these expenditures, and often paid Ms. Miller at the expense of paying their own
bills.
Ms. Miller fed the Neighbors a steady diet of stories gleaned from her
“investigator,” who was supposedly looking into the events surrounding the Lawrence
Police Department’s investigation of Yellow House and who claimed to have uncovered
stunning evidence of police corruption and malfeasance. Calling the Neighbors almost
daily with the investigator’s tales, Ms. Miller convinced them of many outlandish and
preposterous stories, many of which found their way into Mr. Neighbors “blogging” and
email “blasts.” Mr. Neighbors’ naive belief in the findings of the fictitious investigator
was reflected in his and Mrs. Neighbors’ payments to Ms. Miller over a year’s period for
the services of the phantom P.I. whom they never met and whose name they were never
told.
One troubling fact emerges, however, from the conning and brainwashing of the
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Neighbors: Annette Miller often seemed to have “inside” information about their case
and the workings of the police department, that reasonably would be known only to
someone who had a contact or source within or connected with the Lawrence Police
Department.
Because Annette Miller’s swindling of the Neighbors had such a profound and
negative effect on them for such a long period of time, and because she may (judging
from the nature of her information) have been an informant for the Lawrence Police
Department, Defendants are requesting all information in the possession of the
government or any law enforcement agency concerning Ms. Miller, including but not
limited to:
– Copies of Ms. Miller’s Internal Affairs complaints filed with the Lawrence
Police Department, in which she purportedly claimed she was harassed because of her
association with the Neighbors.
– Any investigative file developed as a result of those Internal Affairs complaints.
– Any documents from any case in which Ms. Miller cooperated as a witness for
the prosecution, including State v. Ashcraft and State v. Joseph New, both of which were
prosecuted in Douglas County and were investigated by the Lawrence Police Department.
– Any document reflecting any contact that any member of the Lawrence Police
Department has had with Ms. Miller at any time.
– Any document reflecting that Ms. Miller is, or was, an informant or tipster or
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witness for the Lawrence Police Department, including but not limited to any information
provided by her, and any records showing any money or benefits she received.
– Any document reflecting any contact or communication that Ms. Miller had with
officers Rantz, Bialek, McAtee, Emerson (whom she claimed to know) or any other law
enforcement officer.
Mr. Neighbors and Mrs. Neighbors had frequent and extended conversations and
internet “chats” with Ms. Miller about their cases, from 2005 up through the end of May
2009. If any law enforcement officer was involved in directing or working with Ms.
Miller to facilitate contact with the Neighbors or for any other reason, such contact would
have been in violation of the Neighbors’ constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment
and Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201 (1964), which prohibits questioning of a
defendant by law enforcement (or an agent of law enforcement) after the defendant has
obtained counsel and expressed his or her desire to deal with law enforcement only
through counsel.
Ms. Miller is now believed to be hiding in Mexico. The facts concerning any
involvement that she had with the Lawrence Police Department or any officer or agent
connected with the department or this case need to be placed on the record. The
Neighbors respectfully request an evidentiary hearing on this issue.
WHEREFORE for all of the above-stated reasons, Guy Neighbors and Carrie
Neighbors respectfully request that this Court enter an order directing the production of
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all information pertaining to Annette Miller, as described above, and, further, hold an
evidentiary hearing for the purpose of determining whether Ms. Miller had contact with
anyone in law enforcement and whether the rule of Massiah has been violated by her
involvement in the Neighbors’ case.
Respectfully Submitted,
/s/ Cheryl A. Pilate
Cheryl A. Pilate, KS No. 14601
MORGAN PILATE LLC
142 N. Cherry
Olathe, KS 66061
Telephone: 913-829-6336
Facsimile: 913-829-6446
Attorney for Guy Neighbors
AND
/s/ John Duma
John Duma, KS No. 10760
Attorney at Law
303 E. Poplar
Olathe, KS 66061
Telephone: 913-782-7072
Facsimile: 913-782-1383
Attorney for Carrie Neighbors
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, Cheryl A. Pilate, do certify that a true and accurate copy of the above and
foregoing motion was served electronically on the Clerk of the Court and the government
pursuant to the ECF system on this 27th day 2009.
/s/ Cheryl A. Pilate