A Jefferson County grand jury remains "on-the-fence" in the matter of two Beaumont police officers accused of perjury and tampering with governmental records.
Following two days of testimony, the panel could not decide whether there was enough evidence to try officers Brad Beaulieu and Eric Heilman on charges connected to a 2008 drug arrest.
Special prosecutor Shane Phelps, who is the first assistant district attorney in Brazos County, handled the two-day hearing. Phelps said he was leaving Beaumont Wednesday night, but he made it clear that he would return at an unspecified date.
During testimony, the grand jury heard from Erik Kvarme, Mike Mills and Eugene Wilson who were with Beaumont narcotics at the time of the arrest.
As for the drug arrest in 2008, attorney Stella Morrison, who represented the defendant, Bryan Sostand, told 12 News HD by phone that
the officers did not have probable cause to stop her client. Sostand later pleaded guilty to drug possession and was sentenced to seven years in prison, according to Morrison. He was later released on suspicions that the officers testimony and written statements were not accurate, according to Morrison. She added that the charges were later dismissed.
Cleat attorney Mitch Adams, who represents both officers, told 12 News HD that a confidential informant involved in the drug arrest was not reported in paperwork because his clients didn't have contact with them.
"What they did and how they prepared their paperwork was exactly what they should've done, according to department policy and protocols," said Adams.
Sostand is in the Harris County Jail on an unrelated charge.
Both officers remain on-duty.
