Friday, April 12, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
A District Court jury overcame an impasse midway through its deliberations and convicted three former Metro Police officers of felony charges in the beating of a casino coin theft suspect.
As the verdicts were read late Thursday in District Judge Lee Gates' courtroom, dejected sighs and a few sobs came from family and friends of Sgt. James Campbell and officers Robert Phelan and Brian Nicholson.
There was little reaction from the officers who may have assumed the worst as their misdeeds were captured on videotape.
Notes from the jury Wednesday complaining of a stalemate had suggested that the majority was leaning toward conviction. But it wasn't known if the consensus was for felony convictions of oppression under the color of office or something less.
In the end, all three were convicted of the felony charge in the June 11 incident at the Fremont hotel-casino. Campbell and Phelan also were convicted of gross misdemeanor counts of conspiracy and filing false police reports.
Nicholson, the only one of the trio to testify during the three-week trial, was acquitted of the misdemeanors.
"We felt the evidence was overwhelming but it is always difficult when the defendants are people like the police," said District Attorney Stewart Bell. "Nobody was looking forward to doing this but the police know we did what we had to do.
"It was a very difficult assignment and we're proud of (deputy district attorneys) David Schwartz and Chris Owens."
Even Campbell didn't seem to hold a grudge. He smiled and shook Schwartz's hand after the jury had left the courtroom.
Campbell's attorney, Bill Terry, said he was "very disappointed" with the verdict but looked ahead to sentencing, scheduled for May 31.
Meantime, the defense attorneys said they would appeal the convictions.
"These are basically very good officers who the jury thought engaged in improper conduct on one occasion," said Thomas Beatty, Phelan's lawyer.
Sheriff Jerry Keller also determined the trio had crossed the line and fired them after administrative hearings.
The dejected officers declined comment as they walked from the courthouse.
Campbell, 48, and Phelan, 26, face the possibility of eight years behind bars while Nicholson, 26, could be sentenced to six years. Probation is also a possibility.
Before excusing the jury, Gates thanked them for their diligence and conceded "this has not been an easy case."
"It always is difficult to judge your fellow man and these, being police officers, made it doubly difficult," the judge said.
The victim, admitted coin thief and casino hustler Andrew Dersch, couldn't appear to hear the verdict because he is already behind bars awaiting sentencing next week for a felony conviction of his own -- opening the door to the possibility they all could be serving time together.
When Dersch was apprehended by Fremont security officers, he denied he was the thief who pilfered a cup of coins from a slot machine player. He also gave a phony name but otherwise was polite and cooperative.
But when the bicycle patrolmen arrived at the casino security office, they didn't buy Dersch's story and demanded his true identity.
When the name -- which police knew from casino records -- wasn't forthcoming, Phelan slammed his fist into Dersch's chest and tossed him into another room out of view of the office's video camera.
Sounds, however, were recorded of the officers threatening Dersch -- including threats to sodomize him with a police baton -- and of the small-time thief's cries of pain.
After a full day of deliberations Thursday, the jury announced shortly before 7 p.m. that a verdict had been reached.
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