Federal Judge In Tucson To Conduct Hearing On Alleged ‘Outrageous Conduct’ By Assistant U.S. Attorney

Evo A. DeConcini Federal Courthouse
Evo A. DeConcini Federal Courthouse [Photo by GSA]

A federal judge in Tucson has agreed to conduct a joint evidentiary hearing on whether to dismiss multiple firearms charges against two men who allege “outrageous government conduct” by an assistant U.S. Attorney. And the men’s former lawyer will be one of the key defense witnesses, according to court records.

U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Zipps has been asked to drop all charges against Michael John Burnett and Bryan William David Sicard, who were arrested following investigations by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

A joint evidentiary hearing scheduled for March 31 was postponed after the men’s current attorneys -Brad Roach and Chris Scileppi- reported difficulties obtaining evidence from the government, which is represented in the cases by assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Woolridge. A new hearing date has not been announced.

The original notices to Zipps of alleged constitutional violations by Woolridge and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are sealed in both cases. However, subsequent court filings obtained by the Arizona Daily Independent describe the dispute.

According to the documents, the claim of government misconduct involve how -and when- Woolridge disclosed a transcript and audio recording of the ATF’s interview with Sicard conducted at the time of his arrest. The only witnesses expected to testify at the evidentiary hearing are the defendants, attorney Mark Resnick, and ATF Special Agent Alexander Tisch, who signed the criminal complaints for Burnett in August 2018 and Sicard in October 2019.

Sicard, a convicted felon, is charged with possessing 11 handguns on Oct. 30, 2019, along with nearly 140 rounds of various ammunition. He was also indicted for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and falsifying a bill of sale for a firearm.

That bill of sale was issued in connection to Burnett’s 2018 prosecution, Sicard’s indictment notes.

Court records show Burnett is charged with concealed possession of a 9mm handgun which he was prohibited from having due to being a convicted felon. He was later indicted by a federal grand jury on an additional charge of attempting to “influence or prevent” the testimony of an eyewitness.

Burnett first stood trial on the charges Oct. 8, 2019 but about three hours after the jury was empaneled Zipps declared a mistrial when Resnick objected to an exhibit Woolridge attempted to introduce as evidence.

While awaiting a new trial, Burnett remains in custody due to the risk of nonappearance “based on his extensive criminal history, prior failure to appear, prior noncompliance with supervision evidenced by multiple violations of probation and parole, his use of marijuana and methamphetamine, and his mental health history,” according to a magistrate’s order.

Resnick withdrew from the men’s cases in May 2020 so he could be a witness for his clients concerning the ATF investigation and subsequent actions by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. That is when Roach took over Burnett’s case and Scileppi came on as Sicard’s attorney.

In October 2020, Roach filed a motion on Burnett’s behalf to dismiss the charges based mainly on the transcript of the ATF interview with Sicard that Woolridge provided to Resnick prior to May 2020.

But the government’s response the next month appears to have raised more questions, as some information contained in the response was not accounted for in the 53-minute transcript of Tisch’s interview with Sicard.

It led Roach to make several requests earlier this year for the full audio of the interview. He received it on March 5 and later advised the judge that the new disclosure by Woolridge showed the ATF interview with Sicard was actually 86 minutes long.

Scileppi did not receive the full audio of his client’s interview until March 30. The recording, Scileppi noted to Zipps, “fundamentally changes undersigned counsels intended line of examination of at least three witnesses including Mr. Resnick, ATF Agent Tisch, and Mr. Sicard himself. Moreover, the newly disclosed audio suggests that at least one additional witness must be subpoenaed to testify at the Evidentiary Hearing.”

The burden is on both defendants to prove any alleged constitutional violations or violations of court rules by the government.