LAKEPORT, Calif. – Charges against a Clearlake man arrested during a controversial May 19 undercover sheriff's drug operation have been dropped over concerns that his civil rights were violated during a jail interrogation in which his attorney was not present.

The District Attorney's Office dropped the drug-related charges against Michael Tremell Mitchell, 26, and explained the reasons in a Monday court appearance during which Mitchell was sentenced for no contest pleas he previously had offered in another case.

District Attorney Don Anderson told Lake County News that he dropped the charges against Mitchell because of concerns that he had been interrogated by Sheriff Frank Rivero without benefit of counsel.

In an e-mail to Lake County News late Wednesday evening, Rivero denied the allegations that he personally interviewed Mitchell or violated his constitutional rights.

Mitchell had been arrested on drug charges by Clearlake Police on May 12, as Lake County News has reported.

One week later, while he was out on bail, Mitchell was taken into custody in Clearlake by members of the Lake County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force, who then took him to his house, where Mitchell's girlfriend was told to take their baby and leave.

The girlfriend subsequently called Clearlake Police to report a hostage situation, with Clearlake Police responding and arriving at the scene with weapons drawn and aimed at a deputy visible through the home's windows. Before the situation escalated further, the deputies identified themselves to police.

Mitchell's attorney, Jeremy West, said Mitchell – who was released on bail again after the May 19 arrest – was remanded back into custody on June 3 after being arraigned on the charges stemming from the undercover operation.

It was while he was back in jail, about a month after Mitchell's arrest, that “huge problems” arose in the case, according to Anderson.

Both Anderson and West said that Rivero personally had Mitchell removed from his cell for an interrogation, an event witnessed by other individuals in the jail pod at that time.

The interrogation took place without West's permission or knowledge, a situation which West called “highly unusual,” and which hasn't happened to him before.

“Mr. Mitchell has the right to have counsel present once counsel is appointed,” which West said already had happened by the time of the interrogation.

West said he only found out about the situation afterwards, when Mitchell told him.

According to Anderson, during the interrogation Rivero allegedly discussed the case with Mitchell and asked him about bail arrangements, which Mitchell had made through Rob Brown, who also is a county supervisor.

Rivero had made a series of public comments not long after Mitchell's arrest criticizing Brown for acting in his bail bondsman capacity and bailing Mitchell out of jail, and further alleging wrongdoing and conflicts of interest on Brown's part.

Brown replied that Rivero's allegations are false, that he is complying with ethical and professional standards both of the bail bonds business and in accordance with his role as a county supervisor.

West said that during his interrogation of Mitchell, Rivero reportedly made derogatory comments about Brown.

West said the May 19 operation that led to Mitchell's arrest was “pretty embarrassing” for the county and law enforcement, and he believed the issues surrounding the incident ultimately played into the sheriff's decision to interrogate his client.

Anderson said Rivero's interrogation of Mitchell resulted in violations of Mitchell's Fifth and 14^th Amendment rights under the US Constitution. In the case of the Fifth Amendment, it protects suspects from self-incrimination, while the 14^th Amendment guarantees defendants' “due process of law.”

Because Mitchell discussed issues associated with his case with Rivero, Anderson said it raised legal issues about what evidence could be presented. The interrogation itself also could have been presented in court.

Ultimately, he said the issues the interrogation raised led him to conclude he couldn't move forward with the prosecution.

“Legally I could have, but morally I can't,” he said, explaining his decision to dismiss the charges from the May 19 arrest.

West agreed that the interrogation created “a major issue” in the case.

When Mitchell appeared in court on Monday before retired Lake County Superior Court Judge Arthur Mann, West said he entered no contest pleas to two charges in two separate cases – possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, arising from a previous misdemeanor conviction, and no contest to possession of methamphetamine.

Mann sentenced Mitchell to 210 days in jail, with credit for time he's already served. West said Mitchell should be out of jail in a few weeks.

In an e-mail message to Lake County News that he asked be printed “unedited in its entirety,” Rivero said the following:

“If in fact the narcotics sales case against Mr. Mitchell has been dropped by the District Attorney and the 'DA and defense attorney' in this case said that it was because I, 'personally took Mr. Mitchell from his cell and interrogated him without the benefit of counsel, violating his Fifth and 14th Amendment rights under the US Constitution,' that information is false and they are both sadly misinformed. Mr. Mitchell was arrested by Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force Detectives for selling one ounce of high grade methamphetamine at the Yuba College Clearlake Campus. That hand to hand sale of methamphetamine transaction was arranged and witnessed by narcotics detectives. Detectives interrupted the transaction in progress and Mr. Mitchell was immediately taken into custody. No further inquiry or investigation into the case was needed or done by me. As an aside, Mr. Mitchell had recently been released on bail after a Clearlake Police arrest alleging a litany of serious felonies when he committed the new offense referenced here.

“Neither the DA's Office or Mr. Mitchell's defense attorney have contacted me to discuss the dropping of the charges,” Rivero continued. “I am of the opinion that Mr. Mitchell should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for selling a substantial quantity of methamphetamine at the Yuba College Clearlake Campus. Dropping the methamphetamine sales charge against Mr. Mitchell is a gross miscarriage of justice and a grave disservice to the People of Lake County. It will likely serve to embolden criminals and exacerbate the methamphetamine problem in Lake County. Nonetheless, my Narcotics Task Force will not waver in its mission to eradicate illicit drugs from Lake County.”

Brown, who Lake County News also asked for comment, sent the following message.

“I am troubled by the fact that the sheriff would compromise the validity of any criminal case just to cover his backside with regard to libelous statements that were made against a private business,” Brown wrote in an email. “It is unfortunate that someone's constitutional rights could have potentially been violated for reasons that were personally driven and had absolutely no bearing on the criminal case whatsoever. However, in all fairness to Frank Rivero, we all make mistakes … I just hope that he has learned from this.”

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews.