Former Federal Prosecutor Says DEA Knew More Than They Claimed About Informant’s Background

It has been widely reported in a rather sensational story that a 6-time murderous drug dealer from the City of Detroit avoided jail by becoming a DEA informant. The big questions are what did the DEA know about their informant’s background, and did the information he provided justify the informant’s extraordinary deal?  According to Barone Defense Firm attorney Keith Corbett, the DEA knew about their informant’s dangerous criminal history and the DEA’s deal was a bad one.

This story, which was widely reported in the Detroit area news media, was eventually picked up by the United Kingdom’s Daily Mail.  The individual involved is Kenyel Brown, and according to the UK Daily Mail article “Brown was hired as an informant for the Detroit Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration in a joint task force.”  Our local paper, the Detroit Free Press reported that Brown was released from custody at the request of federal law enforcement officials. It was U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman who actually signed the release.

In addition to the alleged 6 murders, Brown had other criminal legal problems.  For example, he violated the terms of his probation by failing to remain abstinent from drugs and alcohol, missing mandatory meetings, and, picking up a drunk driving charge!  Judge Freedman was aware of all this, but decided to give Brown a break because, in addition to all of his criminal wrongdoing, he was “doing some of the right things” too.

In the UK Daily Mail article, Keith is quoted as saying that for an informant to have any valuable information to inform on, they typically have to have a pretty good record of criminal activity to begin with. And there’s no doubt the Feds knew this because such records are easy to find.  Plus, the information often needs to be free from court supervision so that the police can send him/her into illegal situations. What no one expected was that Brown would “go off the rails” like he did in this case.

Keith is frequently interviewed for articles and news stories appearing on radio, video and print, and is a very animated and entertaining speaker.  Click here to read the entire UK Daily Mail article.