Brothers get 15 years in Arizona drug-smuggling case
Jun. 23, 2010 07:52 AM
Associated Press
Two brothers accused of being the leaders of a drug-trafficking organization have been sentenced to 15 years in an Arizona prison.
Roberto and Rafael Mondragon were each found guilty of conspiracy to sell or transfer methamphetamine.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office says the brothers led the Mondragon drug organization, which they say was responsible for the distribution of at least 30 pounds of meth a month in metro Phoenix.
The convictions came after a yearlong investigation by Tempe police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency that netted the arrests of 130 people in the drug organization.
The attorney's office says the Mondragon family has been dealing drugs in the Phoenix area since the late 1980s and that their drugs have been tracked to California, New Mexico, Colorado and Nebraska.
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Man who fatally kicked kitten gets probation
Mesa man who tried to feed kitten to python gets probation
by Nathan Gonzalez - Jun. 14, 2010 01:03 PM
The Arizona Republic
A Mesa man who killed a 6-week-old kitten after a pet python refused to eat it last year was given three years of supervised probation on Friday.
Jeremy Tuffly, 29, pleaded guilty May 11 in Maricopa County Superior Court to one count of cruelty to animals, a Class 2 felony, court records show.
The charge followed after Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies learned of a DVD showing Tuffly repeatedly throwing the kitten at the python in an attempt to get the snake to attack it, according to MCSO.
When the python failed to eat the kitten, Tuffly kicked it across the yard, authorities previously said. The kitten then died.
by Nathan Gonzalez - Jun. 14, 2010 01:03 PM
The Arizona Republic
A Mesa man who killed a 6-week-old kitten after a pet python refused to eat it last year was given three years of supervised probation on Friday.
Jeremy Tuffly, 29, pleaded guilty May 11 in Maricopa County Superior Court to one count of cruelty to animals, a Class 2 felony, court records show.
The charge followed after Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies learned of a DVD showing Tuffly repeatedly throwing the kitten at the python in an attempt to get the snake to attack it, according to MCSO.
When the python failed to eat the kitten, Tuffly kicked it across the yard, authorities previously said. The kitten then died.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Man gets ONLY 1 year in prison for snapping dog's spine
NY man who snapped dog's spine gets year in prison
Associated Press
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - A New York man who killed his girlfriend's dog by snapping its spine has been sentenced to a year behind bars.
Twenty-one-year-old Jonathan King, of Yorktown, was sentenced Tuesday. King has admitted that he killed Libra, a Yorkshire terrier-Maltese mix, in April 2009 by yanking its collar hard enough to dislocate its head from its spine.
Prosecutors say King went to his girlfriend's house at a time when he knew no one would be home and killed the dog "with no justifiable purpose."
The dog's body was found behind a clothes dryer. King was identified when DNA analysis determined that blood found beneath the dog's claws was his.
Steven Levine, the father of the dog's owner, says the family considers King "a danger to our family, our community and our society."
Associated Press
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - A New York man who killed his girlfriend's dog by snapping its spine has been sentenced to a year behind bars.
Twenty-one-year-old Jonathan King, of Yorktown, was sentenced Tuesday. King has admitted that he killed Libra, a Yorkshire terrier-Maltese mix, in April 2009 by yanking its collar hard enough to dislocate its head from its spine.
Prosecutors say King went to his girlfriend's house at a time when he knew no one would be home and killed the dog "with no justifiable purpose."
The dog's body was found behind a clothes dryer. King was identified when DNA analysis determined that blood found beneath the dog's claws was his.
Steven Levine, the father of the dog's owner, says the family considers King "a danger to our family, our community and our society."
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Man gets 15 years for conspiracy to sell meth
'Ringleader' in meth bust accepts 15 years, wife eyes probation
Erin Taylor
Miner Staff Reporter
KINGMAN - Two more defendants, including one characterized as the leader of a major methamphetamine ring in Kingman, have taken plea deals in the "Operation Picture Perfect" case.
Jose J. Ochoa, 37, pled guilty Wednesday to four felony charges, including conspiracy to sell dangerous drugs, two counts of attempted transportation of dangerous drugs for sale and one count of money laundering in the second degree.
Under terms of the agreement, he will receive 15 years in prison.
Ochoa's wife, Deaney, 32, also pled guilty Wednesday to one count of felony conspiracy to sell dangerous drugs. She will receive supervised probation and could be sentenced to up to six months in prison.
County Attorney Greg McPhillips said Jose entered into the agreement on the pretext that his wife receive probation.
"While I think they're both culpable, I think he's more culpable," he said.
Of the 18 suspects arrested as part of "Operation Picture Perfect" in April 2008, 12, including the Ochoas, have accepted plea deals from the state. The remaining six defendants are set to go to trial March 2.
Jose Ochoa has been characterized as the ringleader of the group accused of bringing more than 520 pounds of methamphetamine into Kingman each year.
"Jose is the one most responsible for bringing in large amounts of methamphetamine," McPhillips said.
He added that the case is unusual not only because of the large number of defendants involved but because each person has a different level of involvement and some of the suspects have no previous criminal histories, which is a factor during sentencing.
Erin Taylor
Miner Staff Reporter
KINGMAN - Two more defendants, including one characterized as the leader of a major methamphetamine ring in Kingman, have taken plea deals in the "Operation Picture Perfect" case.
Jose J. Ochoa, 37, pled guilty Wednesday to four felony charges, including conspiracy to sell dangerous drugs, two counts of attempted transportation of dangerous drugs for sale and one count of money laundering in the second degree.
Under terms of the agreement, he will receive 15 years in prison.
Ochoa's wife, Deaney, 32, also pled guilty Wednesday to one count of felony conspiracy to sell dangerous drugs. She will receive supervised probation and could be sentenced to up to six months in prison.
County Attorney Greg McPhillips said Jose entered into the agreement on the pretext that his wife receive probation.
"While I think they're both culpable, I think he's more culpable," he said.
Of the 18 suspects arrested as part of "Operation Picture Perfect" in April 2008, 12, including the Ochoas, have accepted plea deals from the state. The remaining six defendants are set to go to trial March 2.
Jose Ochoa has been characterized as the ringleader of the group accused of bringing more than 520 pounds of methamphetamine into Kingman each year.
"Jose is the one most responsible for bringing in large amounts of methamphetamine," McPhillips said.
He added that the case is unusual not only because of the large number of defendants involved but because each person has a different level of involvement and some of the suspects have no previous criminal histories, which is a factor during sentencing.
Friday, May 07, 2010
Meth: The Overstated Addiction
Meth: The Overstated Addiction
By Margaret Dooley, outreach coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance
The Department of Justice has declared today National Methamphetamine Awareness Day. What better way to observe it than taking a break from the hype?
Rather than repeating the popular fiction about methamphetamine (that use is skyrocketing, that only stepped up policing will counter the trend, and that addiction is untreatable), let's take a moment today to consider the evidence.
First, methamphetamine use is not prevalent. Although some 12 million Americans have tried methamphetamine, this is far fewer than the number who have tried inhalants (23 million), hallucinogens (34 million), cocaine (34 million), or marijuana (96 million).
Of those who have tried methamphetamine, only 1.5 million have used the drug in the last year; and only 583,000 have used it within the last 30 days.
There is no indication that methamphetamine use is increasing. The proportion of Americans who use methamphetamine on a monthly basis has hovered in the range of 0.2 percent-0.3 percent since 1999.
In fact, according to the 2005 Monitoring the Future survey, the percentage of high school seniors who reported using methamphetamine in the last year fell to a low of 2.5 percent in 2005. (Use of depressants, meanwhile, increased from a low of 2.8 percent in 1992 to around 7 percent in 2005.)
Second, policing is not "taking care" of methamphetamine. While limits on purchases of precursors have pushed many illicit labs out of our neighborhoods, the drug is still being manufactured -- just now it's across the border.
Indeed, methamphetamine is now as available and cheap as it has ever been. This comes as no surprise. As long as demand for an illegal drug exists, there will be supply to meet it.
While policing has failed to curtail use of methamphetamine, it has successfully overloaded our jails and prisons. In the 1980s-90s, California followed national trends by relying increasingly on punishment and prisons as its primary response to arrests for illicit drug use. The total number of people imprisoned in California for drug possession quadrupled between 1988 and 2000, peaking at 20,116.
It was in response to this trend that California voters decided to change tactics. In 2000, 61 percent of California voters passed Proposition 36, the treatment-instead-of-incarceration law, which provides treatment to over 35,000 Californians convicted of nonviolent low-level drug offenses each year. Over half (53 percent) of Prop. 36 participants -- over 19,000 people -- enter treatment for methamphetamine abuse each year.
Prop. 36 has provided valuable evidence that methamphetamine addiction is quite treatable. According to state data on Prop. 36, methamphetamine users have a treatment completion rate of 35 percent, higher than users of cocaine/crack (32 percent) or heroin (29 percent). Although this was an important learning opportunity for policymakers, it was not news to treatment specialists. In fact, there have been at least twenty recent studies showing the efficacy of methamphetamine treatment.
The next step for policymakers is to provide treatment on demand, so that people suffering from addiction have access to treatment outside of the criminal justice system. It is both cheaper and better for public safety to provide treatment to those who need it sooner rather than later.
Other evidence shows that California's public health measures have not gone far enough. Although the Governor signed the Pharmacy Syringe Sale and Disease Prevention Act in 2004, well under half of California's 58 counties have implemented the program to allow nonprescription purchases of up to ten syringes at pharmacies. This is literally killing some of our state's most vulnerable residents.
According to the California Society of Addiction Medicine, 30-50 percent of those with newly identified HIV-infection use methamphetamine. Increasing the availability of sterile syringes through syringe exchange programs, pharmacies, and other outlets is proven to reduce unsafe injection practices, curtail transmission of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, increase safe disposal of used syringes, and help intravenous drug users obtain drug education and treatment.
The truth about methamphetamine is that its use is not growing exponentially, that addiction is treatable, and that the risks it poses to public health can be mitigated.
By Margaret Dooley, outreach coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance
The Department of Justice has declared today National Methamphetamine Awareness Day. What better way to observe it than taking a break from the hype?
Rather than repeating the popular fiction about methamphetamine (that use is skyrocketing, that only stepped up policing will counter the trend, and that addiction is untreatable), let's take a moment today to consider the evidence.
First, methamphetamine use is not prevalent. Although some 12 million Americans have tried methamphetamine, this is far fewer than the number who have tried inhalants (23 million), hallucinogens (34 million), cocaine (34 million), or marijuana (96 million).
Of those who have tried methamphetamine, only 1.5 million have used the drug in the last year; and only 583,000 have used it within the last 30 days.
There is no indication that methamphetamine use is increasing. The proportion of Americans who use methamphetamine on a monthly basis has hovered in the range of 0.2 percent-0.3 percent since 1999.
In fact, according to the 2005 Monitoring the Future survey, the percentage of high school seniors who reported using methamphetamine in the last year fell to a low of 2.5 percent in 2005. (Use of depressants, meanwhile, increased from a low of 2.8 percent in 1992 to around 7 percent in 2005.)
Second, policing is not "taking care" of methamphetamine. While limits on purchases of precursors have pushed many illicit labs out of our neighborhoods, the drug is still being manufactured -- just now it's across the border.
Indeed, methamphetamine is now as available and cheap as it has ever been. This comes as no surprise. As long as demand for an illegal drug exists, there will be supply to meet it.
While policing has failed to curtail use of methamphetamine, it has successfully overloaded our jails and prisons. In the 1980s-90s, California followed national trends by relying increasingly on punishment and prisons as its primary response to arrests for illicit drug use. The total number of people imprisoned in California for drug possession quadrupled between 1988 and 2000, peaking at 20,116.
It was in response to this trend that California voters decided to change tactics. In 2000, 61 percent of California voters passed Proposition 36, the treatment-instead-of-incarceration law, which provides treatment to over 35,000 Californians convicted of nonviolent low-level drug offenses each year. Over half (53 percent) of Prop. 36 participants -- over 19,000 people -- enter treatment for methamphetamine abuse each year.
Prop. 36 has provided valuable evidence that methamphetamine addiction is quite treatable. According to state data on Prop. 36, methamphetamine users have a treatment completion rate of 35 percent, higher than users of cocaine/crack (32 percent) or heroin (29 percent). Although this was an important learning opportunity for policymakers, it was not news to treatment specialists. In fact, there have been at least twenty recent studies showing the efficacy of methamphetamine treatment.
The next step for policymakers is to provide treatment on demand, so that people suffering from addiction have access to treatment outside of the criminal justice system. It is both cheaper and better for public safety to provide treatment to those who need it sooner rather than later.
Other evidence shows that California's public health measures have not gone far enough. Although the Governor signed the Pharmacy Syringe Sale and Disease Prevention Act in 2004, well under half of California's 58 counties have implemented the program to allow nonprescription purchases of up to ten syringes at pharmacies. This is literally killing some of our state's most vulnerable residents.
According to the California Society of Addiction Medicine, 30-50 percent of those with newly identified HIV-infection use methamphetamine. Increasing the availability of sterile syringes through syringe exchange programs, pharmacies, and other outlets is proven to reduce unsafe injection practices, curtail transmission of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, increase safe disposal of used syringes, and help intravenous drug users obtain drug education and treatment.
The truth about methamphetamine is that its use is not growing exponentially, that addiction is treatable, and that the risks it poses to public health can be mitigated.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Tennessee store owner charged with meth conspiracy
Store owner charged with meth conspiracy
Crossville Chronicle
By Michael R. Moser/Editor
April 29, 2010
CROSSVILLE — A multi-county, multi-agency investigation into trafficking of components used in the clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine has led to the door step of a Loudon County feed store owner who was indicted this week by a federal grand jury.
The investigation originated in Cumberland County and quickly led local investigators to adjoining counties. Sheriff's investigators then sought the help of federal agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Justice, and months of undercover operations culminated into the arrest this week.
Charged in the multi-county federal indictment is Eugene Allen Trent, 50, of Lenoir City.
He faces charges of conspiring to manufacture more than five hundred grams of methamphetamine, conspiring to distribute iodine knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it would be used to manufacture meth, and eight counts of distribution of iodine knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine.
"For the past three years or so, my investigators have told me that nearly all of the iodine they were finding in labs in our county were coming from the same place," Sheriff Butch Burgess said Thursday. "This caused us to take a second look at that aspect of the meth problem and investigators were able to trace the iodine sales back to the source."
Trent is scheduled to appear in court April 30 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee in Chattanooga. A trial date has yet to be set, according to a press release issued by the Department of Justice.
If convicted on the methamphetamine conspiracy charge, Trent could be facing a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison, up to a maximum of life in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $4 million and up to ten years in prison on each of the iodine charges.
U.S. District Attorney James R. (Russ) Dedrick applauded the efforts of the multi-jurisdictional and multi-agency investigation probe. In addition to DEA and Cumberland County sheriff's investigators, the Loudon, Rhea and Roane county sheriff's departments, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Meth Task Force were involved in the investigation.
The probe has been ongoing for over the past year and it has involved numerous undercover purchases, two federal search warrants, numerous traffic stops and other investigation techniques developed by the Tennessee Meth Task Force, the press release stated.
The indictment, which remains sealed, also includes numerous other individuals in the Eastern District of Tennessee who have been charged with conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine and other related violations.
"There has been a resurgence of methamphetamine manufacturing in the Eastern District of Tennessee and the cooperative spirit of these sheriff's departments and other agencies is an excellent example of the type of effort needed to combat this very serious problem," Dedrick said in the release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Perry H. Piper will represent the United States in prosecution of the case.
The Department of Justice, in the release, stated that the public should be reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven in court.
Crossville Chronicle
By Michael R. Moser/Editor
April 29, 2010
CROSSVILLE — A multi-county, multi-agency investigation into trafficking of components used in the clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine has led to the door step of a Loudon County feed store owner who was indicted this week by a federal grand jury.
The investigation originated in Cumberland County and quickly led local investigators to adjoining counties. Sheriff's investigators then sought the help of federal agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Justice, and months of undercover operations culminated into the arrest this week.
Charged in the multi-county federal indictment is Eugene Allen Trent, 50, of Lenoir City.
He faces charges of conspiring to manufacture more than five hundred grams of methamphetamine, conspiring to distribute iodine knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it would be used to manufacture meth, and eight counts of distribution of iodine knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine.
"For the past three years or so, my investigators have told me that nearly all of the iodine they were finding in labs in our county were coming from the same place," Sheriff Butch Burgess said Thursday. "This caused us to take a second look at that aspect of the meth problem and investigators were able to trace the iodine sales back to the source."
Trent is scheduled to appear in court April 30 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee in Chattanooga. A trial date has yet to be set, according to a press release issued by the Department of Justice.
If convicted on the methamphetamine conspiracy charge, Trent could be facing a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison, up to a maximum of life in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $4 million and up to ten years in prison on each of the iodine charges.
U.S. District Attorney James R. (Russ) Dedrick applauded the efforts of the multi-jurisdictional and multi-agency investigation probe. In addition to DEA and Cumberland County sheriff's investigators, the Loudon, Rhea and Roane county sheriff's departments, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Meth Task Force were involved in the investigation.
The probe has been ongoing for over the past year and it has involved numerous undercover purchases, two federal search warrants, numerous traffic stops and other investigation techniques developed by the Tennessee Meth Task Force, the press release stated.
The indictment, which remains sealed, also includes numerous other individuals in the Eastern District of Tennessee who have been charged with conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine and other related violations.
"There has been a resurgence of methamphetamine manufacturing in the Eastern District of Tennessee and the cooperative spirit of these sheriff's departments and other agencies is an excellent example of the type of effort needed to combat this very serious problem," Dedrick said in the release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Perry H. Piper will represent the United States in prosecution of the case.
The Department of Justice, in the release, stated that the public should be reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven in court.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Man sentenced to 96 years gets new trial
Court says wiretap mistake means convicted meth supplier gets new trial.
The Denver Post
Posted: 03/07/2010 01:00:00 AM MST
A wiretap error means a Colorado Springs man sentenced to 96 years on charges of supplying methamphetamine will get a new trial.
Thomas Lynn O'Hara III was convicted in 2007 of taking part in a drug ring that moved 10 to 15 pounds of meth every week from Colorado Springs to Mesa County.
But the Colorado Court of Appeals granted O'Hara a new trial in an opinion issued last Thursday. The court ruled that Mesa County prosecutors erred in getting the correct permission for a wiretap.
Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger said Friday he may appeal to the state Supreme Court.
The Denver Post
Posted: 03/07/2010 01:00:00 AM MST
A wiretap error means a Colorado Springs man sentenced to 96 years on charges of supplying methamphetamine will get a new trial.
Thomas Lynn O'Hara III was convicted in 2007 of taking part in a drug ring that moved 10 to 15 pounds of meth every week from Colorado Springs to Mesa County.
But the Colorado Court of Appeals granted O'Hara a new trial in an opinion issued last Thursday. The court ruled that Mesa County prosecutors erred in getting the correct permission for a wiretap.
Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger said Friday he may appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Less than 2 oz. of meth seized after 4 year investigation
Three arrested in drug investigation
By Miranda Del Pozo
Friday, March 26, 2010 at 4:41 p.m.
Three people are arrested following a four year drug investigation.
Drug agents also seized thousands in cash, weapons and meth. The Sumter County Sheriff's Office says Susan White, Carl Blaine and David Lee were arrested yesterday. During the arrest, agents found $10,000 cash, 1 1/2 ounces of crystal meth valued at $7,000, a 2000 Dodge Ram van and 15 weapons ranging from rifles to pistols. Police say shortly after the arrest of David Lee, they searched his home at 134 Drayton Lane in Vienna and found 15 different types of guns valued at $7,000, ammo and crystal meth and marijuana valued at $4,500.
The Dooly County Sheriff's Office, Americus Police Department, Lee County Sheriff's Office, GBI and DEA helped with the investigation.
By Miranda Del Pozo
Friday, March 26, 2010 at 4:41 p.m.
Three people are arrested following a four year drug investigation.
Drug agents also seized thousands in cash, weapons and meth. The Sumter County Sheriff's Office says Susan White, Carl Blaine and David Lee were arrested yesterday. During the arrest, agents found $10,000 cash, 1 1/2 ounces of crystal meth valued at $7,000, a 2000 Dodge Ram van and 15 weapons ranging from rifles to pistols. Police say shortly after the arrest of David Lee, they searched his home at 134 Drayton Lane in Vienna and found 15 different types of guns valued at $7,000, ammo and crystal meth and marijuana valued at $4,500.
The Dooly County Sheriff's Office, Americus Police Department, Lee County Sheriff's Office, GBI and DEA helped with the investigation.
Disparity in sentencing
Tucson woman given 6 years for role in drug-related killing
Story By Kim Smith Arizona Daily Star
Friday, March 26, 2010 8:59 am
Pima County Superior Court Judge Deborah Bernini sentenced a 36-year-old Tucson woman to six years in prison Friday for her role in the July shooting death of a suspected drug dealer.
Eva Macias, 36, pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in Rosendo Ortega's death in January and had been facing between four and eight years in prison.
Ortega, 20, died after Macias and her sister, Alma Trinidad Huizar, 25, decided to rob Ortega of his drugs, things went awry and he was shot to death by Michael Haro.
Macias told Ortega's family she prays every night for God to give them comfort and she hopes they'll be able to forgive her someday.
Earlier this week, Haro, 21, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case. Angelica Leon was placed on four years probation for conspiracy to commit robbery. Huizar is serving six years for negligent homicide and Ahbram Avalos, who gave Ortega the drugs, is serving five years on a drug charge.
Story By Kim Smith Arizona Daily Star
Friday, March 26, 2010 8:59 am
Pima County Superior Court Judge Deborah Bernini sentenced a 36-year-old Tucson woman to six years in prison Friday for her role in the July shooting death of a suspected drug dealer.
Eva Macias, 36, pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in Rosendo Ortega's death in January and had been facing between four and eight years in prison.
Ortega, 20, died after Macias and her sister, Alma Trinidad Huizar, 25, decided to rob Ortega of his drugs, things went awry and he was shot to death by Michael Haro.
Macias told Ortega's family she prays every night for God to give them comfort and she hopes they'll be able to forgive her someday.
Earlier this week, Haro, 21, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case. Angelica Leon was placed on four years probation for conspiracy to commit robbery. Huizar is serving six years for negligent homicide and Ahbram Avalos, who gave Ortega the drugs, is serving five years on a drug charge.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Texas man gets 35 years for 4.6 oz of marijuana
Tyler Man Gets 35 Years For Drug Possession
By DAYNA WORCHEL
Staff Writer Tyler Morning Telegraph
Friday March 05, 2010
A Smith County jury found a Tyler man guilty on Thursday of possession of less than five pounds but more than four ounces of marijuana in a drug-free zone.
The jury in the 7th District Court with Judge Kerry Russell presiding then sentenced Henry Walter Wooten, 54, to 35 years confinement in prison. He was not assessed a fine.
Wooten, who had pleaded not guilty to the current charge, had been found guilty of two felonies in Smith County, one in 1987 and one in 1989. He pleaded true to both of those on Thursday before he was sentenced. His 35-year sentence will run consecutively to any other sentences that may be unexpired from his prior felonies, Judge Russell said in court.
The defendant had been accused of possessing marijuana within 1,000 feet of the Ebenezer Day Care Center in Tyler in October 2008.
Tyler police officers were alerted to Wooten's location because of the smell of the marijuana. Tapes played in court showed Wooten removing a number of individual plastic bags loaded with the drug from his pockets. Officers also found a larger bag of marijuana in Wooten's car the same day.
Wooten, who had remained incarcerated since he was arrested for the offense in 2008, had decided he wanted a private laboratory in Tyler to test the marijuana he was accused of possessing when he was arrested. Smith County Assistant District Attorney Richard Vance said Wooten did have a right to ask for such testing.
Both the results from the tests conducted by T.H.E. Lab in Tyler in January, and the tests conducted by the Department of Public Safety Laboratory soon after Wooten's arrest were very similar in results.
Trey Cloud, DPS forensic chemist, testified that the weight of the marijuana seized from Wooten when he was arrested was 4.6 ounces, and the packaging alone weighed 1.06 ounces. He also testified that the drug seized from Wooten was indeed marijuana.
Tom Thompson, from the private laboratory, who testified on Wednesday, said his analysis showed the packaging alone weighed 1.059 ounces.
Cloud testified that the weight of the marijuana, which was analyzed closer to the time of the offense, in this case, in December 2008, was more accurate. The testing done by the private lab was performed on Jan. 29, 2010.
In his closing arguments to the jury, Vance told them they set the standard for the community.
"Every decision made by a jury sets a precedent," he said.
He appealed to the jury to use their common sense and to look at the evidence.
"Wooten pulled bag after bag from his pockets like one of those clowns you see -- and in the driver's seat of his car was a big bag and digital scales," Vance said.
Defense attorney O.W. Lloyd told the jury in his closing arguments he was not there to yell at them and put the pressure on them about precedents. "You don't have to be a chemist -- you believe what you believe."
Vance had asked for the jury to give Wooten a sentence of 99 years. Leslie McLean served as co-counsel with Vance.
By DAYNA WORCHEL
Staff Writer Tyler Morning Telegraph
Friday March 05, 2010
A Smith County jury found a Tyler man guilty on Thursday of possession of less than five pounds but more than four ounces of marijuana in a drug-free zone.
The jury in the 7th District Court with Judge Kerry Russell presiding then sentenced Henry Walter Wooten, 54, to 35 years confinement in prison. He was not assessed a fine.
Wooten, who had pleaded not guilty to the current charge, had been found guilty of two felonies in Smith County, one in 1987 and one in 1989. He pleaded true to both of those on Thursday before he was sentenced. His 35-year sentence will run consecutively to any other sentences that may be unexpired from his prior felonies, Judge Russell said in court.
The defendant had been accused of possessing marijuana within 1,000 feet of the Ebenezer Day Care Center in Tyler in October 2008.
Tyler police officers were alerted to Wooten's location because of the smell of the marijuana. Tapes played in court showed Wooten removing a number of individual plastic bags loaded with the drug from his pockets. Officers also found a larger bag of marijuana in Wooten's car the same day.
Wooten, who had remained incarcerated since he was arrested for the offense in 2008, had decided he wanted a private laboratory in Tyler to test the marijuana he was accused of possessing when he was arrested. Smith County Assistant District Attorney Richard Vance said Wooten did have a right to ask for such testing.
Both the results from the tests conducted by T.H.E. Lab in Tyler in January, and the tests conducted by the Department of Public Safety Laboratory soon after Wooten's arrest were very similar in results.
Trey Cloud, DPS forensic chemist, testified that the weight of the marijuana seized from Wooten when he was arrested was 4.6 ounces, and the packaging alone weighed 1.06 ounces. He also testified that the drug seized from Wooten was indeed marijuana.
Tom Thompson, from the private laboratory, who testified on Wednesday, said his analysis showed the packaging alone weighed 1.059 ounces.
Cloud testified that the weight of the marijuana, which was analyzed closer to the time of the offense, in this case, in December 2008, was more accurate. The testing done by the private lab was performed on Jan. 29, 2010.
In his closing arguments to the jury, Vance told them they set the standard for the community.
"Every decision made by a jury sets a precedent," he said.
He appealed to the jury to use their common sense and to look at the evidence.
"Wooten pulled bag after bag from his pockets like one of those clowns you see -- and in the driver's seat of his car was a big bag and digital scales," Vance said.
Defense attorney O.W. Lloyd told the jury in his closing arguments he was not there to yell at them and put the pressure on them about precedents. "You don't have to be a chemist -- you believe what you believe."
Vance had asked for the jury to give Wooten a sentence of 99 years. Leslie McLean served as co-counsel with Vance.
Accomplice In torture case gets 2 years probation
Accomplice in Tucson torture case gets probation
Mar. 8, 2010 02:56 PM
Associated Press
TUCSON - One of four people accused of torturing a Tucson man for hours has been sentenced to two years of probation.
Larry Bruce Hammond pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and agreed to testify against former beauty queen Kumari Fulbright, whom he said he helped hold a former boyfriend captive for eight to 10 hours in December 2007.
Court documents say that Hammond, Fulbright and two other men pointed pistols at the man, threatened his life, and stole his wallet, cell phone, briefcase, and $500 to $600.
The documents also say Fulbright bit her ex-boyfriend several times while he was tied up and that she stuck a butcher knife in his ear. He escaped after a struggle.
Fulbright pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
Mar. 8, 2010 02:56 PM
Associated Press
TUCSON - One of four people accused of torturing a Tucson man for hours has been sentenced to two years of probation.
Larry Bruce Hammond pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and agreed to testify against former beauty queen Kumari Fulbright, whom he said he helped hold a former boyfriend captive for eight to 10 hours in December 2007.
Court documents say that Hammond, Fulbright and two other men pointed pistols at the man, threatened his life, and stole his wallet, cell phone, briefcase, and $500 to $600.
The documents also say Fulbright bit her ex-boyfriend several times while he was tied up and that she stuck a butcher knife in his ear. He escaped after a struggle.
Fulbright pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Teacher in prison for meth distribution
Former Big Island Teacher In Prison For Meth Distribution
Daryl Huff KITV 4 News Reporter
POSTED: 1:59 pm HST March 2, 2010
HILO -- Lynn Dionise, a former special education teachers, was scheduled for sentencing on state drug charges Tuesday, but she couldn't make it. Dionese, 52, is serving time in federal prison on the Mainland in another drug case.
Attorneys say the state and federal drug cases were not directly related, although both were prosecuted at the same time.
Hawaii County Police raided Dionise's condominium in Keaukaha in Apri 2008 and where they found about 7 grams of crystal methamphetamine and about $13,000 in cash in a safe. She was charged in state court with drug distribution and later pleaded guilty to promoting dangerous drugs in the second degree, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Meanwhile, she was also being investigated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration after being heard on a wire tap working with a dealer named Jorge Alberto Leal. Dionise was indicted nearly 8 months after her arrest in the state case, but the courts proceded much more quickly. After pleading guilty, Dionese was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison. While out on bail, Dionice struggled with her drug addiction and was forced to face the judge several times for violating her bail conditions.
Dionise's attorney says she chose to surrender to federal prison, so that the state court would have the option of sentencing her to serve her state time along with the federal sentence, rather than serving one sentence after the other.
Now, in order to be sentenced in the state case, prosecutors will have to use a writ to have her released from federal custody and transported to the Big Island, a process that can take several months.
Daryl Huff KITV 4 News Reporter
POSTED: 1:59 pm HST March 2, 2010
HILO -- Lynn Dionise, a former special education teachers, was scheduled for sentencing on state drug charges Tuesday, but she couldn't make it. Dionese, 52, is serving time in federal prison on the Mainland in another drug case.
Attorneys say the state and federal drug cases were not directly related, although both were prosecuted at the same time.
Hawaii County Police raided Dionise's condominium in Keaukaha in Apri 2008 and where they found about 7 grams of crystal methamphetamine and about $13,000 in cash in a safe. She was charged in state court with drug distribution and later pleaded guilty to promoting dangerous drugs in the second degree, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Meanwhile, she was also being investigated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration after being heard on a wire tap working with a dealer named Jorge Alberto Leal. Dionise was indicted nearly 8 months after her arrest in the state case, but the courts proceded much more quickly. After pleading guilty, Dionese was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison. While out on bail, Dionice struggled with her drug addiction and was forced to face the judge several times for violating her bail conditions.
Dionise's attorney says she chose to surrender to federal prison, so that the state court would have the option of sentencing her to serve her state time along with the federal sentence, rather than serving one sentence after the other.
Now, in order to be sentenced in the state case, prosecutors will have to use a writ to have her released from federal custody and transported to the Big Island, a process that can take several months.
Monday, March 01, 2010
Woman receives 15 year prison sentence for meth conspiracy
Tennessee woman receives prison time for taking part in meth ring
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Dyersburg State Gazette
A Union City woman accused of participating in a methamphetamine-selling ring was sentenced Feb. 23 in U.S. District Court in Jackson.
Janet Martinez, who was born in 1979, must serve 180 months in a federal prison. She must complete a 500-hour drug program while she's there. Afterward, she will be placed on supervised release for five years, must participate in any recommended drug and alcohol testing and treatment programs and provide DNA samples.
Martinez also was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the court.
She was one of nine persons accused of establishing a methamphetamine market in Obion County. All nine have pleaded guilty; two more are awaiting sentencing.
Martinez pleaded guilty March 9, 2009, to conspiring to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Dyersburg State Gazette
A Union City woman accused of participating in a methamphetamine-selling ring was sentenced Feb. 23 in U.S. District Court in Jackson.
Janet Martinez, who was born in 1979, must serve 180 months in a federal prison. She must complete a 500-hour drug program while she's there. Afterward, she will be placed on supervised release for five years, must participate in any recommended drug and alcohol testing and treatment programs and provide DNA samples.
Martinez also was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the court.
She was one of nine persons accused of establishing a methamphetamine market in Obion County. All nine have pleaded guilty; two more are awaiting sentencing.
Martinez pleaded guilty March 9, 2009, to conspiring to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine.
68 year old woman sentenced to 5 years in prison for meth
68-year-old Covelo woman sentenced to prison in meth case
Feb 27, 2010 The Ukiah Daily Journal
A 68-year-old Covelo woman was sentenced Friday to five years in state prison on charges related to her sale of methamphetamine in the Covelo area.
Nancie Erline Henthorne was arrested last year by the Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force on methamphetamine-related charges. In January, a jury found Henthorne guilty after a three-day trial.
"About 40 percent of the court's resources are devoted one way or another to methamphetamine-related offenses or methamphetamine-related problems," Superior Court Judge Richard J. Henderson said.
Henderson said Henthorne's actions were selfish and damaging to the community.
"Meth is a terrible scourge in this community," Henderson said. Henthorne's case was one of the most difficult sentences for Henderson to consider in his career due to Henthorne's age, he said.
In Covelo, Henthorne had operated the now-closed Casita Gallardo restaurant. Police said they found more than seven ounces of methamphetamine at her home, a .22 caliber Derringer pistol and about $30,000 cash in a Tri Counties Bank safe deposit box.
Defense attorney Justin Petersen said that Henthorne, with her former business and now her home gone, has lost everything.
"When the business failed she turned to selling methamphetamine not out of greed," Petersen said, "but to save her family and lift them out of the gutter." Deputy District Attorney Katherine Houston said that Henthorne was a major supplier of methamphetamine in the Covelo area.
"If we all lose our business or job or have financial problems, that does not justify us going into the drug-dealing business," Houston said.
A seven-year sentence without probation was recommended by the Probation Department, Henderson said.
Houston said the court has no choice but to send a message to Mendocino County residents that methamphetamine offenses mean a prison sentence.
"Your honor," Houston said, "this is the case to do this with, to tell methamphetamine dealers that you are going and you are going for a long time."
Feb 27, 2010 The Ukiah Daily Journal
A 68-year-old Covelo woman was sentenced Friday to five years in state prison on charges related to her sale of methamphetamine in the Covelo area.
Nancie Erline Henthorne was arrested last year by the Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force on methamphetamine-related charges. In January, a jury found Henthorne guilty after a three-day trial.
"About 40 percent of the court's resources are devoted one way or another to methamphetamine-related offenses or methamphetamine-related problems," Superior Court Judge Richard J. Henderson said.
Henderson said Henthorne's actions were selfish and damaging to the community.
"Meth is a terrible scourge in this community," Henderson said. Henthorne's case was one of the most difficult sentences for Henderson to consider in his career due to Henthorne's age, he said.
In Covelo, Henthorne had operated the now-closed Casita Gallardo restaurant. Police said they found more than seven ounces of methamphetamine at her home, a .22 caliber Derringer pistol and about $30,000 cash in a Tri Counties Bank safe deposit box.
Defense attorney Justin Petersen said that Henthorne, with her former business and now her home gone, has lost everything.
"When the business failed she turned to selling methamphetamine not out of greed," Petersen said, "but to save her family and lift them out of the gutter." Deputy District Attorney Katherine Houston said that Henthorne was a major supplier of methamphetamine in the Covelo area.
"If we all lose our business or job or have financial problems, that does not justify us going into the drug-dealing business," Houston said.
A seven-year sentence without probation was recommended by the Probation Department, Henderson said.
Houston said the court has no choice but to send a message to Mendocino County residents that methamphetamine offenses mean a prison sentence.
"Your honor," Houston said, "this is the case to do this with, to tell methamphetamine dealers that you are going and you are going for a long time."
Saturday, February 27, 2010
First time drug offender asks Obama to commute her 27 year sentence
Dear Mr. President,
Today is President’s Day. As the President of the United States, you have the unique and absolute power to commute the sentence of any federal prisoner. That means you could send me home today, and that is what I am asking you to do.
From everything I have observed, you are a compassionate and just man. I pray that if you learn of the story behind my sentence, you will be moved to exercise your clemency power to give me a second chance.
I am a mother and grandmother serving my 17th year of a 27-year federal prison sentence for a first time, nonviolent crack cocaine offense. I never used or sold drugs, but I was convicted under conspiracy laws for participating in a drug organization by running errands and wiring money. Had I been convicted of a powder cocaine offense, I would be home with my three daughters and two grandchildren by now. I have had a lot of time to think about where I went wrong, and I genuinely take full responsibility for my actions. But I hope you will see that over 16 years in prison is enough time for me to pay my debt to society.
When I was 21 years old, I found myself in a horridly abusive relationship with a man in Portland, Oregon, who intimidated, cursed, slapped, punched and kicked me. I had my first child, Kasaundra, when I was 16 years old, and this man was the father to my second child, Ayesha. Even though my self-esteem at this point in my life was virtually nonexistent, in my heart I knew that this life wasn’t what I wanted for myself or — most importantly — for my children.
The only option I could see was to go live with my cousin, Ahad, in Omaha, Nebraska. Ahad set me up with a safe place to live, and most importantly, it was hundreds of miles away from my violent ex-boyfriend. Ahad recently wrote a letter in support of my commutation petition. In it, he accurately summed up the situation:
After less than two years, I decided to move back to my hometown in order to get away from the drug operation. I wanted my girls to grow up with their mother earning an honest living and leading by example. I enrolled in a welfare-to-work program and was getting back on my feet.
But soon after I returned home, I was arrested, indicted and convicted of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine from my time in Omaha with Ahad. I was sentenced to life in prison (later reduced to 27 years), based on the total quantity of drugs involved in the operation. I gave birth to Kamyra, my youngest child, in prison. That was one of the hardest experiences of my life.
During my more than 16 years of incarceration, I have taken long, hard looks at myself. I’ve done everything in my power to redeem myself and to demonstrate through deeds that upon release, I will be a community asset, not a community liability.
If you commute my sentence, I could have 10 years back on my life. Ten more years to make up for being so far apart from my daughters. Ten more years to realize my dream of starting a nonprofit dedicated to providing community services for the children of incarcerated parents. Ten more years to make a real, positive difference in the world.
I hope you will give me that chance. You have said you believe the crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity should be eliminated. I know Congress is considering legislation to equalize the federal sentences. You should understand, however, that none of the legislation being considered would apply retroactively to me.
As much as I am cheering — even from behind prison bars — for a reform in the federal laws, I don’t want to fall through the cracks. I still have a lot of living, mothering and giving to do.
I would not be writing to you today unless I had no other option. I have appealed my case to the highest courts in the land, and you, and you alone, Mr. President, can send me home by exercising your executive clemency power to commute my sentence.
Sincerely,
Hamedah Hasan
Click here to ask President Obama to commute Hamedah’s sentence.
Today is President’s Day. As the President of the United States, you have the unique and absolute power to commute the sentence of any federal prisoner. That means you could send me home today, and that is what I am asking you to do.
From everything I have observed, you are a compassionate and just man. I pray that if you learn of the story behind my sentence, you will be moved to exercise your clemency power to give me a second chance.
I am a mother and grandmother serving my 17th year of a 27-year federal prison sentence for a first time, nonviolent crack cocaine offense. I never used or sold drugs, but I was convicted under conspiracy laws for participating in a drug organization by running errands and wiring money. Had I been convicted of a powder cocaine offense, I would be home with my three daughters and two grandchildren by now. I have had a lot of time to think about where I went wrong, and I genuinely take full responsibility for my actions. But I hope you will see that over 16 years in prison is enough time for me to pay my debt to society.
When I was 21 years old, I found myself in a horridly abusive relationship with a man in Portland, Oregon, who intimidated, cursed, slapped, punched and kicked me. I had my first child, Kasaundra, when I was 16 years old, and this man was the father to my second child, Ayesha. Even though my self-esteem at this point in my life was virtually nonexistent, in my heart I knew that this life wasn’t what I wanted for myself or — most importantly — for my children.
The only option I could see was to go live with my cousin, Ahad, in Omaha, Nebraska. Ahad set me up with a safe place to live, and most importantly, it was hundreds of miles away from my violent ex-boyfriend. Ahad recently wrote a letter in support of my commutation petition. In it, he accurately summed up the situation:
The thing is, Ahad was dealing crack cocaine. Although I never used drugs myself, it wasn’t long before he asked me to run various errands and to transfer some money. He never held a gun to my head; I knew what I was doing, and I regret my poor decisions during this period of my life more than anything else. At the time, I felt out of options, and I believed that I needed to perform these tasks to show my gratitude for Ahad’s help in escaping my abusive relationship.Her boyfriend was a gang member and his main goal in life was to be the best gang member he could be. He beat Hamedah all the time and threatened to kill her. She could not hide from him in Portland – he knew where everybody lived. He drank a lot and used drugs. It was not a good environment for Hamedah to raise her kids in, and it wasn’t safe for Hamedah either. So she came to me in Omaha.
After less than two years, I decided to move back to my hometown in order to get away from the drug operation. I wanted my girls to grow up with their mother earning an honest living and leading by example. I enrolled in a welfare-to-work program and was getting back on my feet.
But soon after I returned home, I was arrested, indicted and convicted of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine from my time in Omaha with Ahad. I was sentenced to life in prison (later reduced to 27 years), based on the total quantity of drugs involved in the operation. I gave birth to Kamyra, my youngest child, in prison. That was one of the hardest experiences of my life.
During my more than 16 years of incarceration, I have taken long, hard looks at myself. I’ve done everything in my power to redeem myself and to demonstrate through deeds that upon release, I will be a community asset, not a community liability.
If you commute my sentence, I could have 10 years back on my life. Ten more years to make up for being so far apart from my daughters. Ten more years to realize my dream of starting a nonprofit dedicated to providing community services for the children of incarcerated parents. Ten more years to make a real, positive difference in the world.
I hope you will give me that chance. You have said you believe the crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity should be eliminated. I know Congress is considering legislation to equalize the federal sentences. You should understand, however, that none of the legislation being considered would apply retroactively to me.
As much as I am cheering — even from behind prison bars — for a reform in the federal laws, I don’t want to fall through the cracks. I still have a lot of living, mothering and giving to do.
I would not be writing to you today unless I had no other option. I have appealed my case to the highest courts in the land, and you, and you alone, Mr. President, can send me home by exercising your executive clemency power to commute my sentence.
Sincerely,
Hamedah Hasan
Click here to ask President Obama to commute Hamedah’s sentence.
No charges for armed robbery attempt
Two arrested after attempted robbery of drug dealer, police say
Feb. 22, 2010 03:02 PM
The Arizona Republic
Two Mesa men were arrested after a drug dealer was held up at gunpoint in an attempted robbery Saturday afternoon, police said.
Police responded to a report of gunshots in a neighborhood in the 200 block of North Gilbert Road at 4:30 p.m.
Witnesses saw two men leaving the scene in a car, a vehicle matching the description was pulled over a few blocks away on a side street near University Drive between Gilbert Road and Stapley Drive.
The men in the car were identified as driver Jonathan Walker and passenger Rodney Nielson, ages unavailable, police said. Walker was later reported to be driving with a suspended license.
Walker and Nielson both admitted to attempting to buy drugs, police said.
Nielson told police he pulled a gun on the drug dealer and tried to take his drugs and money, police said. Nielson also admitted to firing one round into the ground.
Walker told the officer that there was a black bag filled with drug paraphernalia behind the passenger seat, police said. The officer found the bag and found several syringes, a spoon with burnt residue, and tin foil. Walker and Nielson admitted to using the items to inject heroin.
Walker was booked on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under a suspended license. Nielson was arrested on charges of unlawful discharge of a firearm. Nielson was also being investigated on drug paraphernalia charges.
Feb. 22, 2010 03:02 PM
The Arizona Republic
Two Mesa men were arrested after a drug dealer was held up at gunpoint in an attempted robbery Saturday afternoon, police said.
Police responded to a report of gunshots in a neighborhood in the 200 block of North Gilbert Road at 4:30 p.m.
Witnesses saw two men leaving the scene in a car, a vehicle matching the description was pulled over a few blocks away on a side street near University Drive between Gilbert Road and Stapley Drive.
The men in the car were identified as driver Jonathan Walker and passenger Rodney Nielson, ages unavailable, police said. Walker was later reported to be driving with a suspended license.
Walker and Nielson both admitted to attempting to buy drugs, police said.
Nielson told police he pulled a gun on the drug dealer and tried to take his drugs and money, police said. Nielson also admitted to firing one round into the ground.
Walker told the officer that there was a black bag filled with drug paraphernalia behind the passenger seat, police said. The officer found the bag and found several syringes, a spoon with burnt residue, and tin foil. Walker and Nielson admitted to using the items to inject heroin.
Walker was booked on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under a suspended license. Nielson was arrested on charges of unlawful discharge of a firearm. Nielson was also being investigated on drug paraphernalia charges.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Drug dealer sentenced to 14 years
Meth dealer sentenced in Phoenix to 14 years
Dec. 17, 2009 04:19 PM
Associated Press
Authorities say a Mexican man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for dealing drugs.
Prosecutors say 23-year-old Jesse Garza of Culiacan, Sinaloa, pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. He was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix.
Authorities say Garza arranged for a meth shipment from Phoenix to Indianapolis in July and August 2008 and provided a vehicle outfitted with a hidden compartment.
A police bust of the customers' stash house in Indiana led authorities to Garza and he was arrested in Phoenix on Sept. 16, 2008.
Dec. 17, 2009 04:19 PM
Associated Press
Authorities say a Mexican man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for dealing drugs.
Prosecutors say 23-year-old Jesse Garza of Culiacan, Sinaloa, pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. He was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix.
Authorities say Garza arranged for a meth shipment from Phoenix to Indianapolis in July and August 2008 and provided a vehicle outfitted with a hidden compartment.
A police bust of the customers' stash house in Indiana led authorities to Garza and he was arrested in Phoenix on Sept. 16, 2008.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Woman serving 15 year sentence for conspiracy
Marsha Cunningham
#30862-077
15 Years - Crack Conspiracy
My name is Marsha Cunningham, and I am a nonviolent first time offender serving a 190-month sentence for possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and cocaine, aiding and abetting. I am presently at Marianna Federal Prison Camp in Marianna, Florida.
At the time of my arrest I was 26 years old. I was feeling as though I was just really beginning to live my life and accomplish certain things in life. I had a good job at a mortgage company in the foreclosure department, a nice condo, and two vehicles (one paid for). And to make my life complete, I met a man whom I fell in love with. After a while of dating, I let that man move in with me. He had the keys to my house, cars and heart.
On August 5, 1997, my entire world was turned upside down. I returned home from work that day to a house full of DEA agents. I was informed that my boyfriend had been arrested earlier during the day for drug trafficking. Then they arrested me because they found drugs in the storage compartment in the bottom of the stove.
I was taken to the FBI office and questioned about the drugs. I told them that I didn't know anything about the drugs and that they were not mine. The agent told me that he knew that the drugs were not mine and that my boyfriend told him that the drugs were his. However, the agent felt like I knew where my boyfriend got the drugs. But I didn't and still don't. From lack of knowledge and having a boyfriend that I could not keep my eyes on 24 hours a day, the government punished me with a sentence of 15 years in prison.
I was found guilty by association. What society needs to realize is that I could have been anyone: their sister, daughter, mother, aunt, or grandmother. Everyone makes mistakes, and nobody knows what all goes on inside their home when they share it with someone else and are gone from home eleven hours a day.
I agree that everyone should know everything about whom they love and sleep with. But the truth is we don't. We tell each other what we want them to know. I always thought that I was protected by the Constitution. I thought that because of due process of law, no one could be convicted if there was even just a shadow of a doubt.
In my case the government assumed that because my boyfriend was a drug dealer, lived with me, and drove my car that I knew what he was doing. Therefore, I am guilty of the same crime, possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base. But other than my boyfriend living with me, and driving my car, there was nothing to link me to his illegal activity. I was never seen by DEA agents with my boyfriend at any of the drug transactions, and there were no drug sales conducted out of my home. I never took any phone messages for him. The fact is he never conducted his illegal activities in my presence.
If I was suspected of assisting him in his illegal activity, why wasn't I put under the same surveillance as my boyfriend? Why was my name not on the search warrant to my apartment? Why was I not even mentioned in the search warrant? At my trial the DEA agent testified that they knew about me, but I was never put under surveillance because there was no need. They knew who the drug dealer was. And he is serving a 17-year prison sentence, two years more than I am! The criminal justice system thought that harsher sentences under the mandatory minimum sentencing would help win the war against drugs, but it isn't. All it is doing is locking up more people, and causing children to grow up without mothers and fathers. Society needs to realize that our legal system has failed. We all know that society cannot operate without law and order. But what all people need to realize is that the criminal justice system is a big business. Until society addresses the causes of why they are building more prisons and locking up more people, the legal system is going to continue to lock up even more people. First, the legal system has to admit that what has been tried has failed.
There are a lot of people incarcerated now with lengthy sentences and not because they were kingpins in big drug rings. Many were just friends, girlfriends, or wives of mid-level or street level drug dealers. Some people locked up were drug users and need to be in a drug rehab and not in prison for many years.
The criminal justice system is getting richer by incarcerating us for many years. It is costing the Bureau of Prison $25,000.00 a year to incarcerate me. And I am expected to be here 15 years. And who is paying for this? The taxpayers, and every new prison is costing middle class America plenty! America spends more money to incarcerate than they do to educate.
Right now the people who are least culpable of committing a crime are the ones doing the most time. Drug addicts are doing more time than their supplier instead of being in rehab to help them kick their addiction. Murderers, rapists, child abusers, and robbers are doing less time than first time nonviolent drug offenders. Because of mandatory minimum sentencing policies, people who have never been in any type of trouble are serving long prison sentences for non-violent crimes that they themselves did not actually commit.
It does not matter what your station in life is, or how much money you have acquired. Nobody is immune to crime. It can touch every social class. Drugs are a problem in America, but the mandatory, minimum sentences of ten years to life or 'three strikes you're out' are not the answer. How many billions of dollars of the taxpayers' money is America going to waste while the problem continues unaddressed and unsolved.
http://www.novembercoalition.org/thewall/cases/cunningham-m/cunningham-m.html
#30862-077
15 Years - Crack Conspiracy
My name is Marsha Cunningham, and I am a nonviolent first time offender serving a 190-month sentence for possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and cocaine, aiding and abetting. I am presently at Marianna Federal Prison Camp in Marianna, Florida.
At the time of my arrest I was 26 years old. I was feeling as though I was just really beginning to live my life and accomplish certain things in life. I had a good job at a mortgage company in the foreclosure department, a nice condo, and two vehicles (one paid for). And to make my life complete, I met a man whom I fell in love with. After a while of dating, I let that man move in with me. He had the keys to my house, cars and heart.
On August 5, 1997, my entire world was turned upside down. I returned home from work that day to a house full of DEA agents. I was informed that my boyfriend had been arrested earlier during the day for drug trafficking. Then they arrested me because they found drugs in the storage compartment in the bottom of the stove.
I was taken to the FBI office and questioned about the drugs. I told them that I didn't know anything about the drugs and that they were not mine. The agent told me that he knew that the drugs were not mine and that my boyfriend told him that the drugs were his. However, the agent felt like I knew where my boyfriend got the drugs. But I didn't and still don't. From lack of knowledge and having a boyfriend that I could not keep my eyes on 24 hours a day, the government punished me with a sentence of 15 years in prison.
I was found guilty by association. What society needs to realize is that I could have been anyone: their sister, daughter, mother, aunt, or grandmother. Everyone makes mistakes, and nobody knows what all goes on inside their home when they share it with someone else and are gone from home eleven hours a day.
I agree that everyone should know everything about whom they love and sleep with. But the truth is we don't. We tell each other what we want them to know. I always thought that I was protected by the Constitution. I thought that because of due process of law, no one could be convicted if there was even just a shadow of a doubt.
In my case the government assumed that because my boyfriend was a drug dealer, lived with me, and drove my car that I knew what he was doing. Therefore, I am guilty of the same crime, possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base. But other than my boyfriend living with me, and driving my car, there was nothing to link me to his illegal activity. I was never seen by DEA agents with my boyfriend at any of the drug transactions, and there were no drug sales conducted out of my home. I never took any phone messages for him. The fact is he never conducted his illegal activities in my presence.
If I was suspected of assisting him in his illegal activity, why wasn't I put under the same surveillance as my boyfriend? Why was my name not on the search warrant to my apartment? Why was I not even mentioned in the search warrant? At my trial the DEA agent testified that they knew about me, but I was never put under surveillance because there was no need. They knew who the drug dealer was. And he is serving a 17-year prison sentence, two years more than I am! The criminal justice system thought that harsher sentences under the mandatory minimum sentencing would help win the war against drugs, but it isn't. All it is doing is locking up more people, and causing children to grow up without mothers and fathers. Society needs to realize that our legal system has failed. We all know that society cannot operate without law and order. But what all people need to realize is that the criminal justice system is a big business. Until society addresses the causes of why they are building more prisons and locking up more people, the legal system is going to continue to lock up even more people. First, the legal system has to admit that what has been tried has failed.
There are a lot of people incarcerated now with lengthy sentences and not because they were kingpins in big drug rings. Many were just friends, girlfriends, or wives of mid-level or street level drug dealers. Some people locked up were drug users and need to be in a drug rehab and not in prison for many years.
The criminal justice system is getting richer by incarcerating us for many years. It is costing the Bureau of Prison $25,000.00 a year to incarcerate me. And I am expected to be here 15 years. And who is paying for this? The taxpayers, and every new prison is costing middle class America plenty! America spends more money to incarcerate than they do to educate.
Right now the people who are least culpable of committing a crime are the ones doing the most time. Drug addicts are doing more time than their supplier instead of being in rehab to help them kick their addiction. Murderers, rapists, child abusers, and robbers are doing less time than first time nonviolent drug offenders. Because of mandatory minimum sentencing policies, people who have never been in any type of trouble are serving long prison sentences for non-violent crimes that they themselves did not actually commit.
It does not matter what your station in life is, or how much money you have acquired. Nobody is immune to crime. It can touch every social class. Drugs are a problem in America, but the mandatory, minimum sentences of ten years to life or 'three strikes you're out' are not the answer. How many billions of dollars of the taxpayers' money is America going to waste while the problem continues unaddressed and unsolved.
http://www.novembercoalition.org/thewall/cases/cunningham-m/cunningham-m.html
Friday, February 19, 2010
Former lawyer spent 12 years in prison for conspiracy
Diana Webb
#99871-011
12 1/2 Years
Meth Conspiracy
I was born in 1967 and was sentenced in 1996 to 12.5 years in federal prison for conspiracy to manufacture meth. I am a first-time non-violent drug offender. When released from prison I will be 40 years old, and then will be on supervised release for 5 more years.
Years ago I became friends with a man who I found out much later bought and sold methamphetamine. I met him through the tenants of a rental house he owned. He was charming and friendly. He asked to stay in my apartment while I was at work, and he was doing major refurbishment on his own house at night. Unknown to me, he used my washer and dryer for himself and his friends and generally trashed my house. After several weeks of this I tried to end this arrangement, but he refused to leave.
Then began a cycle of verbal abuse that soon escalated to violence. I had thought of myself as an aspiring young professional woman. Now I felt like dirt. Women who suffer abuse acquire a co-dependency and inner shame. They don't want to tell anybody. They long to be loved, and out of fear and guilt they stay with the abuser. For me, through a support group I found the strength to walk away.
My friendship with that man lasted only a few months, but the consequences were deeper than anything I could imagine. During the entire time, he was engaged in a drug-dealing ring.
A couple of years after I terminated our friendship, he and two others were indicted for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine. I was questioned by detectives and asked for my cooperation. I had received death threats and did not cooperate, so I was included in the indictment. He cooperated with the government and received a four-year sentence, reduced by one year for participation in a drug treatment program in prison. During that period I learned he had molested a child. That charge was swept under the rug, and no action was taken against him, since he had become a government informant.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines I was facing 293 months. A recommendation was made for a downward departure to only 12 1/2 years -- which was thought of as a lucky break -- for the abuse documented in medical and police reports and photographs. Since he was a government informant, no action was taken on the abuse cases. In the state of Missouri where I am from, the Crime Victims Compensation Fund pays medical bills related to abuse if criminally prosecuted by the State. Since none of the abuse cases were prosecuted, I had to pay the medical bills out of my own pocket. I lost my home through forfeiture. I lost my career as an attorney. I lost my job, my license, and 12 1/2 years of my life. I lost the opportunity to have children as I will be too old on release. I lost precious years with my family. I lost thousands of dollars in legal fees, and I lost happy times with my friends. When you come to prison, it is very lonely. Everyone forgets about you except your family and your closest friends.
Conspiracy was originally meant to catch the "king pin" at the top who frequently escaped prosecution by utilizing underlings. What has occurred is that conspiracy is now an all-encompassing charge under which the man at the top escapes punishment, since he has the most to tell in order to reduce his sentence. Others who may have played a minimal role receive 10 years to life, since they do not have information helpful to the government, or out of fear for their lives dare not reveal information they may have.
With the incentive to fabricate stories due to harsh mandatory sentences for conspiracy, the criminal justice system has torn apart families, pitting brother against brother when family members are indicted. It has ripped the fibers of the family unit which holds the country together. My father fought in three wars to defend this country. He would turn over in his grave if he could see what this country is doing to its citizens.
#99871-011
12 1/2 Years
Meth Conspiracy
I was born in 1967 and was sentenced in 1996 to 12.5 years in federal prison for conspiracy to manufacture meth. I am a first-time non-violent drug offender. When released from prison I will be 40 years old, and then will be on supervised release for 5 more years.
Years ago I became friends with a man who I found out much later bought and sold methamphetamine. I met him through the tenants of a rental house he owned. He was charming and friendly. He asked to stay in my apartment while I was at work, and he was doing major refurbishment on his own house at night. Unknown to me, he used my washer and dryer for himself and his friends and generally trashed my house. After several weeks of this I tried to end this arrangement, but he refused to leave.
Then began a cycle of verbal abuse that soon escalated to violence. I had thought of myself as an aspiring young professional woman. Now I felt like dirt. Women who suffer abuse acquire a co-dependency and inner shame. They don't want to tell anybody. They long to be loved, and out of fear and guilt they stay with the abuser. For me, through a support group I found the strength to walk away.
My friendship with that man lasted only a few months, but the consequences were deeper than anything I could imagine. During the entire time, he was engaged in a drug-dealing ring.
A couple of years after I terminated our friendship, he and two others were indicted for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine. I was questioned by detectives and asked for my cooperation. I had received death threats and did not cooperate, so I was included in the indictment. He cooperated with the government and received a four-year sentence, reduced by one year for participation in a drug treatment program in prison. During that period I learned he had molested a child. That charge was swept under the rug, and no action was taken against him, since he had become a government informant.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines I was facing 293 months. A recommendation was made for a downward departure to only 12 1/2 years -- which was thought of as a lucky break -- for the abuse documented in medical and police reports and photographs. Since he was a government informant, no action was taken on the abuse cases. In the state of Missouri where I am from, the Crime Victims Compensation Fund pays medical bills related to abuse if criminally prosecuted by the State. Since none of the abuse cases were prosecuted, I had to pay the medical bills out of my own pocket. I lost my home through forfeiture. I lost my career as an attorney. I lost my job, my license, and 12 1/2 years of my life. I lost the opportunity to have children as I will be too old on release. I lost precious years with my family. I lost thousands of dollars in legal fees, and I lost happy times with my friends. When you come to prison, it is very lonely. Everyone forgets about you except your family and your closest friends.
Conspiracy was originally meant to catch the "king pin" at the top who frequently escaped prosecution by utilizing underlings. What has occurred is that conspiracy is now an all-encompassing charge under which the man at the top escapes punishment, since he has the most to tell in order to reduce his sentence. Others who may have played a minimal role receive 10 years to life, since they do not have information helpful to the government, or out of fear for their lives dare not reveal information they may have.
With the incentive to fabricate stories due to harsh mandatory sentences for conspiracy, the criminal justice system has torn apart families, pitting brother against brother when family members are indicted. It has ripped the fibers of the family unit which holds the country together. My father fought in three wars to defend this country. He would turn over in his grave if he could see what this country is doing to its citizens.
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