A court officer who was asked to inspect the cell phone could not find
any photographs of either the undercover officer or any of the other
police officers, and couldn't even determine whether the phone was
capable of sending e-mail messages.
That led Casiano, 37, to be additionally charged with witness intimidation. (A local news report
says he pleaded guilty to and went to jail for trespassing charges
related to his original drug charges. Court records say the jury
returned a not-guilty verdict on the original drug charge.)
In other words, he scared the undercover cop a little. It doesn't matter that no photos were found, nor does it matter that they could find out whether or not the phone could even send the pictures to his house. He sent a shiver down the undercover cop's spine, and that was enough to get him charged with intimidating a witness.
Now hang on a minute: "intimidation," like "assault" is very much in the impression created in the victim. That's by definition, and doesn't represent an abuse of power at all.
If there was an attempt to intimidate, that's a crime. It doesn't matter whether the threat was something which could be done.
Thought experiment: if I sneak up on someone, and put a metal toy gun to their head, and rob them, have I committed armed robbery? (answer: yes)
But, but...the witness felt threatened!
Unbelievable.