The Case of the Jealous Lover Boy

Despite all the sex toys, Tim Contreraz and Shawn Drake weren't exactly living together in bliss

A A A Comments By Paul Rubin Thursday, Feb 16 2006

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Omar says he exchanged insults with Contreraz, as Drake looked on passively.

"It was like they go through this [all the time]," Omar says, referring to the hosts. "I wanted to stay with Shawn, and vice versa. I was attracted to him. But Tim was out of control."

Dominic Bugatto

Some relationships are based on too much trust.

Peter Scanlon

Murder cop Alex Femenia didn't believe Shawn Drake's story.

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Fritz wanted to leave, and he was Omar's ride home, so the pair left the Richland home after no more than 45 minutes.

Fritz corroborates Omar's account in his interview with Femenia a few days later.

The detective is keenly aware that this image of Contreraz as the angry aggressor may give Drake at least a shot of winning a self-defense argument at trial.

But he says that digging for the truth is what he does:

"I really want to hear all sides of a story, and let the facts speak for themselves. Whatever it is, it is."

One fact that, sadly, does speak for itself is a letter Tim Contreraz wrote to a Superior Court judge in October 2004. It was a plea for leniency on behalf of Shawn Drake, then facing prison time in the stolen-car case.

"As a person, I believe Shawn to be a very good person," Contreraz wrote. "It's not often you meet a person in this day and age that you can trust right off the bat. At this time, I trust him completely, even with my life."

Drake has pleaded not guilty. His trial is scheduled to start next month.