Attorneys for a former Tampa police sergeant accused of using another woman's food stamps want her case thrown out.
Lawyers for La Joyce Houston say their client did not know it was against the law to use another person's welfare money. Houston is facing charges of food stamp fraud and grand theft.
Houston is accused of using a jail inmate's EBT card to buy $365 worth of groceries at a Gibsonton WalMart in Sept. 2013. According to police, Houston purchased a variety of items, including food, milk, laundry detergent and paper towels.
Houston and the inmate, Rita Girven are longtime friends and Girven has served as a police informant. Girven, in jail on unrelated charges, is the biological mother of Houston's adopted daughter.
According to partner newspaper the Tampa Bay Times, Houston's attorneys are asking for the case to be dismissed.
However, detectives say there were more than 30 jailhouse calls between Houston and Girven talking about the card, suggesting that Houston knew using the card would be illegal.
La Joyce Houston's husband Eric Houston was fired as a Tampa police detective in April after a federal tax fraud investigation. That investigation is ongoing and Eric Houston has not been charged with any crimes.
Meanwhile, Girvin’s lawyer asked a judge to order Tampa police to give up secret information about Girvin’s work as a confidential informant. Legal analyst Joe Episcopo said the documents could help Girvin’s defense.
“Something to show your client is a professional snitch or professional cooperating witness and therefore deserves consideration for lives saved, and risks taken by that person,” Episcopo said.
Records show officers cut her a check for $100 here, and $100 there in exchange for tips, a common practice by law enforcement.
But not so common, was Girvin hanging out at police headquarters in her spare time, chatting it up with officers and even more strange, officers giving Girvin money out of their own pockets.
They admit to giving her cash to get a tooth pulled. One officer even sent her a care package when she was serving time in jail.
Episcopo said that’s not the way it's supposed to work and he thinks those officers may have gone against department rules, which Episcopo said, could be a plus for Girvin’s defense.
“You want to try to discredit the police, basically. And if you can do that, you get an OJ Simpson, not guilty," he said.
Girvin was only paid $625 from department funds. There are no receipts or record of exactly how much money she received out of officers’ pockets.