Baltimore City Police Detective Antonio Green is in hot water this week after being charged with filing false insurance disability claims. But three years ago he had been previously under investigation after testifying in federal court on behalf of a convicted drug dealer who he said he had known since he was 11.

Antonio Green, a member of the Violent Crimes Impact Section, contradicted the testimony of a fellow officer when he appeared at an evidentiary hearing for defendant Richard Morris, who had been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and was appealing the conviction.

Green had arrived at the scene on April 12, 2007 as backup, and testified that the two bags of cocaine found in the silver BMW were hidden under a seat, and not in plain view as the arresting officers had reported. He also contradicted the officers' assertion that Morris had claimed ownership of the drugs recovered from the car.

Experts said it was extraordinarily rare that an officer would contradict another officer in court, or testify for the defense at a suppression hearing. Police said at the time that they were opening an internal investigation file on the incident. 

It was not immediately clear what came of that case, but Green continued to do drug investigations, making some 30 arrests this year and as recently as Oct. 18; Morris, meanwhile, lost his appeal in 2009. The Court of Appeals didn't appear to take Green's testimony into account in affirming his conviction, instead finding that the officers who pulled over Morris had a reasonable suspicion that he was involved in a drug transaction.

Now, Green is charged with a felony count of filing false claims worth more than $300, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. There's also a misdemeanor charge, stemming from the same claim. 

Green was charged through criminal information, and is first court hearing is scheduled for late next month.