Edmond police denied murder suspect access to attorney

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) _ Edmond police refused an attorney's request to meet with a murder suspect until after officers had solicited a confession, according to a published report. <br><br>Police dispatch

Sunday, December 24th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) _ Edmond police refused an attorney's request to meet with a murder suspect until after officers had solicited a confession, according to a published report.

Police dispatch records obtained by the Edmond Sun show a dispatcher was told by a detective not to pass attorney William ``Billy'' Bock's business card on to Christopher O'Neil Jordan until after police interviewed him.

A note on the back of the card advised Jordan not to talk with police until he had spoken with an attorney.

``They didn't want my client to see his lawyer and that's certainly against the law,'' Bock said Sunday. ``I've never run up against that in my many years of being a defense lawyer and it's deplorable the city of Edmond could do that.''

Police Chief Dennis Cochran told the Sun that police were not required to inform Jordan of all the ``stray attorneys'' who happened to come to the police station wanting to talk with him.

Bock said Jordan's parents hired him to represent their son, but Cochran said Jordan did not request an attorney.

Jordan, 21, was arrested on July 30, 1999 for his involvement in the murder of businessman Paul Howell two days before. Julius Darius Jones, 20, was arrested the following day. Both face a first-degree murder charge in Howell's death, Bock said.

Jordan was arrested in Oklahoma City and taken to the Edmond jail where he confessed to being with Jones on the night of the murder and his involvement in the theft of Howell's Chevrolet Suburban.

Jordan's attorneys will attempt in an upcoming hearing to suppress statements he gave detectives on the evening of July 31, 1999.

Defense attorney Michelle Rogers, from Bock's office, said the original hearing scheduled for Dec. 15 was postponed due to the recusal of District Judge Virgil C. Black. She said Jerry Bass, the new judge, is expected to set a new date sometime in January or February.

Police dispatch records show that Bock made numerous attempts to meet with Jordan, but he was not allowed to do so. An unidentified dispatcher tells an investigator in a phone call, ''...I hate to bother you, but this attorney, Mr. Bock, is absolutely driving us crazy. He has called no less than 20 times...''

However, Cochran said he was unaware of dispatch records showing Bock's attempts to speak with Jordan. ``I can tell you this, the detectives did the best job possible, and would not have violated his (Jordan's) rights to his attorney,'' the police chief said.

Bock said police gave Jordan his business card after the interviews and he was able to meet with Jordan the next day. He questions why the card was not given to Jordan before the interview.

Prosecutors would not comment on the dispatch records.