Judged denies confidential informant identification motion
Butler County Judge William Shaffer issued an order Thursday, denying a Butler man's motion to disclose the identities of two confidential informants.
James C. Kidd, 21, attempted to have the identities of two confidential informants used in the investigation against him revealed in Butler County Court on Tuesday.
Shaffer issued the order two days after hearing arguments in the case, stating “the Court finds the defense has not established the material need for the disclosure of the identity of the confidential informant as no evidence or argument demonstrating the likelihood of misidentification, was presented at the hearing.”
Kidd was charged with felony possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, operating a methamphetamine lab and related charges on Dec. 12, alongside Ross M. Cammisa and Melissa M. Cammisa, both of Butler. Police say the two siblings were using the home on Elm Court to manufacture the drug, and Kidd was involved.
Kidd's attorney, Public Defender Joseph Smith, argued that the charges were based on two “untested” confidential informants, and the identities of the confidential informants were important to crafting a defense.
