Informant’s mother pushes for changes

Sadek’s death results in call for new laws

The mother of a North Dakota State College of Science student who was an informant for a drug task force and was killed by a gunshot, yet whose death is still unsolved, says she is working with legislators on a bill for the next North Dakota Legislative session, which would ban college students as drug informants.

Tammy Sadek, who has started the Facebook page Justice for Andrew Sadek, says she is resigned to not finding answers on her own son’s case, and wants to prevent other families from going through the same pain.

“I was under the impression probably from when I was in college -- and I never was an informant, mind you -- but if you were an informant you just gave names. I had no idea that you actually had to go and get these people busted. It’s gone way beyond I think what it was set up to do in the first place, and I truly believe that Andrew was murdered because of this, because in that interview they asked him to go get harder stuff and more quantities of it for a buddy and he clearly states on that video that he only purchased an eight for his own personal use as regular. He didn’t go out and get meth or anything like that. They forced him in deeper and I believe that lead to his death,” Sadek told HPR

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who is widely expected to run for Governor in North Dakota in 2016, says he would oppose any effort to remove college students as informants. He feels people should have that option as long as they weren’t coerced.

“Very often, people who find themselves in these situations are given an opportunity to participate as confidential informants and as long as that decision is made knowingly and intelligently without coercion that is very often an option that they want and it gives them an opportunity to either charges get dismissed or reduced, that is very often something that defendants will want and that’s especially true of people who are in college who may be interested in pursuing a career that might find that a criminal record is something that would hamper their ability to find employment,” Stenejhem replied.

Sadek feels her son was forced to become an informant based on threats of unrealistic punishment by law enforcement. Recently a video was released of Andrew Sadek being interviewed by police after his arrest.

“We had it reduced to a $1,000 and 30 hours of community service while he was missing. He was facing 40 years in prison and up to $40,000 in fines. It’s bullying at the highest levels,” Tammy Sadek said.

Stenehjem said an outside investigation done by agents from South Dakota to review operations of SEMCA known as the Southeast Multi-County Agency Drug Task Force said their actions were appropriate. Their review resulted in a North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent being appointed to be in charge of the task force.

“BCI I think is the premier investigative agency in the state of North Dakota. They head up every other narcotics task force and I think it was a good idea to have somebody from the state of North Dakota heading them up just like we do every other task force in the state and I think that the local folks think that was a good idea so that’s what we’re now doing, “ Stenehjem said.

Sadek’s death is still unsolved and law enforcement have not said whether it’s a suicide or murder. Sadek’s mother said based on the facts in the case, it’s clear he was murdered.

“Who shoots themselves in the side of the head and supposedly this was all done on the side of the bridge and loads their backpack with rocks and they are never found for two months. That doesn’t make any sense. I am not a suicide expert by any means but I would think there would have been some signs for suicide. There was no note, no depression, his grades were excellent and I believe that most people when they commit suicide they want to be found,” she told HPR.

NDSCS police investigated the death of Sadek even though it happened off campus. Recently, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled that the NDSU campus police is overstepped their bounds in an investigation. Sadek feels that could apply to her son’s case as well.

“It’s like they are trying to distance themselves from the whole situation, they kept throwing everything back to the campus police and according to that ruling as soon as the students leave the campus, they are no longer under the campus police’s jurisdiction. And where they believe that he was on this bridge and shot himself in the head and fell into the river is not on campus property,” Sadek remarked.

Stenehjem has some questions on the ruling and has asked for some clarification.

“I have an opinion request in about the extent of the authority from a legislator on campuses and I think once that opinion is issued that might help answer the question. I can tell you this, that the BCI, we are only an assisting agency, we can only come in when we are asked,” Stenehjem said.

Sadek thinks that laws in North Dakota should be changed so that if you are selling a small amount of marijuana or a large amount, your punishment should be different. Right now, that is not the case.

“There is no law in North Dakota, it doesn’t matter if you have a joint or a truckload, it’s all the same. It should be based on the amount and the situation. That’s just crazy. It took that long, what were they doing for that amount of time,” she said.

While still waiting for answers from law enforcement, Sadek is not optimistic about getting them. She feels the longer they wait, the more they won’t have them.

“We can’t bring Andrew back, there’s nothing we can do to bring Andrew back. We would love some answers to our questions but we’ve kind of resolved that we’re not going to be getting those. But if we can make some other family not have to go through this, that’s my husband John’s and my whole thought because we don’t want other people to go through this. It’s pure hell is what it is,” Sadek told HPR.

Perhaps in the next North Dakota Legislative session, we may see some changes as a result of Sadek’s death. But apparently not without a fight from law enforcement.