Accordingly, it is well-settled law that hearsay is not only an acceptable basis for a sentencing determination, United States v. Smith, 3 F.3d 1088, 1100 (7th Cir.1993), it is often an integral part of the sentencing process, United States v. Badger, 983 F.2d 1443, 1459 (7th Cir.1993). As part of the plea agreement, Hankton admitted that on three separate occasions in Cook County, Illinois, between February and April 2000, he distributed a total of approximately 156 grams of crack to an individual who, unbeknownst to him, was a confidential informant recruited by the FBI. (T. 1993, 2223, 3194). Sign in and out each day. In fact, 2D1.1 and 3B1.1(a) are premised on entirely different conduct; for while an individual may be found to have distributed a certain quantity of drugs making him eligible for a sentence enhancement under 2D1.1, he need not be a leader or organizer of a criminal activity, as described by 3B1.1, to do so. 801, that evidence was corroborated by other evidence submitted at sentencing, and thus could reasonably be considered reliable by the sentencing judge. 22. "The loyalty is to the dollar," said Sgt. Indeed, the evidence obtained by investigators made clear that Hankton had, over a period of years, progressed through the hierarchy of the MCs and attained the position of King of Kings, or leader of the MCs on the entire north side of Chicago. Davis pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and admitted that on June 27, 2000, he obtained approximately 250 grams of powder cocaine from Hankton, with the intention of distributing it to others.22 Nonetheless, the government argued at sentencing that Davis was responsible for the possession of more than just the 250 grams of powder cocaine that he admitted to in the plea agreement. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In a number of those plea agreements, the defendants admit purchasing crack cocaine from Davis. At Davis' sentencing hearing, the government began by calling Agent Darin to the stand as the first witness in support of the contention that Davis' sentence should be enhanced for the possession with the intent to distribute 50 to 150 grams of crack cocaine. Although not dispositive as to his role as a leader in the organization, Hankton is referred to in the record first as don (during the late 1990s) and then as king (beginning in 1999). We disagree. FindLaw.com Free, trusted legal information for consumers and legal professionals, SuperLawyers.com Directory of U.S. attorneys with the exclusive Super Lawyers rating, Abogado.com The #1 Spanish-language legal website for consumers, LawInfo.com Nationwide attorney directory and legal consumer resources. Among its demands: exact change, no cutting in line and no $1 bills. In a separate indictment, Hankton was accused of passing on orders from gang higher-ups in April 1994 to have Williams killed over a narcotics dispute. Last summer, Hilbring recalled, officers seized an instruction list that a West Side gang was passing out to its drug customers. Although there was some ambiguity in Olden's testimony as to his interpretation of the terminology used by the MCs to refer to crack cocaine, he eventually testified that he purchased a hard form of cocaine from Hankton. Dodge city is not active anymore but they were notorious back in the day. 2. 7. During the mid 1950s the Egyptian Cobras fought heavily with a gang called the 14th Street Clovers. In addition, it was the government's position that the plea agreements received in evidence demonstrated Davis' authority position in the MCs, citing references to him as Sultan Supreme or lieutenant in the gang and leader of the MCs at the Lathrop Homes. 3B1.1(a). Nevertheless, as we have stated, the rules of evidence do not apply at sentencing, see Hardamon, 188 F.3d at 849, and the judge was entitled to consider any relevant evidence assuming that evidence included a sufficient indicia of reliability. See Robinson, 164 F.3d at 1070. Cobras & Matadors ($) Write a Review. The Mickey Cobras now have their own unique written constitution and by-laws, which show a strong Islamic influence, just like those of the modern-day BPSN. 16. Specifically, he claims that notwithstanding evidence that he held a high rank in the MCs, his role in that organization did not make him a leader or organizer in a drug distribution offense. Hankton stresses that his rank in the MCs alone did not translate into leadership responsibility, much less control over the gang's drug distribution activities. Thus, since 2D1.1 and 3B1.1 address different conduct and because the trial judge did not rely on Hankton's leadership role in the MCs to enhance his sentence pursuant to 2D1.1, there was no improper double counting and Hankton's claim fails in this regard. . "It's just like any other corporation," said Donald Hilbring, commander of the Chicago police gang unit. Cocaine base, better known as crack cocaine, is produced by cooking or mixing powder cocaine (cocaine hydrochloride) with sodium bicarbonate and boiling the mixture until left with a rocklike formation of pure crack cocaine (cocaine minus the hydrochloride). 841(a)(1) (Count VI). In fact, both Agent Darin and Jammah Olden testified that the gang's sole source of revenues was from the sale of illegal drugs. See supra p. 7-9. The gang's various criminal undertakings were coordinated through a hierarchical-type infrastructure and included, but were not limited to, the possession and distribution of powder cocaine and cocaine base (better known as crack).3. The members of the gang used phrases such as a 16th or a teenager to refer to 1/16th of an ounce of crack cocaine, eight-ball, ball or Michael Jordan to refer to 1/8 of an ounce of crack cocaine, quarter, quaker or quake to refer to 1/4 of an ounce of crack cocaine and onion, zone or piece to refer to a whole ounce of crack cocaine. Cuisine: American Neighborhood: Los Feliz Website: www.shuttersonthebeach.com What's more, Detective Charles testified that he personally witnessed Hankton standing with several other men in the parking lot of Williams' building at 1150-60 North Sedgwick Street, from 8:00-10:00 p.m. the evening of her murder. Furthermore, Agent Darin also testified as to Davis' role as a manager/supervisor in the MCs drug operations. 1781, 152 L.Ed.2d 860 (2002). Davis disagreed with each of the proposed enhancements, in the plea agreement, reserved his right to argue his position at sentencing. He's got the Mercedes, and he's got a BMW too. 841(a)(1). "He's got the props. In addition, the government contended that Hankton's offense level should be increased by 4 levels because the defendant was an organizer and leader of criminal activity that involved five or more participants, pursuant to U.S.S.G. At a press conference that included officials from the FBI, Chicago police and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, U.S. Atty. 2 See supra p. 13. Three Mickey Cobras members, including Lindsey Bell, the gang's chief enforcer, were convicted in Cook County Criminal Court of beating Williams to death with baseball bats in a hallway outside . The district court's determination concerning a defendant's role in the offense is a finding of fact, subject to a clearly erroneous standard of review on appeal, United States v. Brown, 900 F.2d 1098, 1101 (7th Cir.1990), and this remains the case post-Booker. The record reflects that most of the large wholesale purchases involved powder, as opposed to crack, cocaine. at 980. The collective name of joined gangs under the five point star banner (V.L.,B.P.S.,L.K., M.C.,4.C.H.,). 2D1.1(a)(3), Hankton's base offense level was 34 due to the aggregate amount of drugs involved in the offenses he admitted to, i.e., more than 150 grams of crack. We disagree. Because we are convinced that the district court did not impermissibly consider unreliable evidence in enhancing Hankton or Davis' sentences for drug quantity and their respective leadership roles in the offense we uphold the validity of the sentencing enhancements imposed. Juwan Gatlin was a member of a street gang known as the Mickey Cobras. The gang long has controlled the area of the Hole, though most of the other buildings in Robert Taylor are the turf of their rival, the Gangster Disciples. But a Chicago Housing Authority sergeant who works in the Robert Taylor Homes said despite the sophistication of the drug trade, rules and bylaws created by imprisoned gang leaders are routinely violated on the street. The following day, Davis also agreed to plead guilty to possessing, with the intent to distribute, approximately 250 grams of cocaine, also in violation of 21 U.S.C. Made public recently by police sources, the sheets outline how gang members should behave while peddling drugs in the Robert Taylor Homes. As to the quantity of drugs Hankton should be held responsible for, it was the government's position that, pursuant to U.S.S.G. On the record before us, we cannot ascertain with any exacting degree of certainty whether the sentencing judge would have imposed identical sentences for Hankton and Davis had he known that the sentencing guidelines were not mandatory at the time. 18. Gang members who sell "packs" of cocaine "on the line" must be finished with work by midnight. Hankton has failed to point to anything in the record which might render Agent Darin's testimony at sentencing unreliable, aside from his assertion that portions of his Darin's testimony constituted inadmissibly hearsay. I've caught them as young as 12 on the line.". See United States v. Sutton, 406 F.3d 472, 474 (7th Cir.2005) (citing United States v. Benitez, 92 F.3d 528, 538 (7th Cir.1996)). Introduced were the plea agreements of Davis, Woodrow Green, Jammah Olden, Rasuah Brunner, Ngaya Brunner, Timeka Murdock and Mekeba Gates. In order to corroborate Agent Darin's testimony, the prosecution called one of Hankton's co-defendants, Jammah Olden. 28: "There will be no getting hi or drinking on the line. The statements did suggest that the original order to issue Williams a beating may have emanated from, or been approved by, a higher authority in the gang; however, A and B agree that the order to beat Williams came to them directly from Hankton. It is consistent with what the court has heard as the various defendants have entered their pleas of guilty. We agree with this assessment. View Menu. Section 3B1.1 of the sentencing guidelines is applicable where the defendant was an organizer or leader of a criminal activity that involved five or more participants or was otherwise extensive. U.S.S.G. Violations of the instructions in the memo "most certainly will not be tolerated," the chairman and his board write in the memo. See United States v. White, 406 F.3d 827, 835 (7th Cir.2005); United States v. Castillo, 406 F.3d 806, 823-24 (7th Cir.2005). Darin testified as to a series of taped wiretap colloquies between Hankton and Davis about the proper way to cook or convert powder cocaine to crack cocaine.24 For example, during one of the taped consultations Davis acknowledges that he successfully cooked at least one ounce of cocaine that day and was fittin' [sic] to do more. In the same conversation Davis states that earlier in the day he had procured an additional dry nine or nine ounces of powder cocaine in hopes of perfecting his crack producing skills. Gang investigators over the years also have confiscated edicts from imprisoned gang leader Larry Hoover, the "chairman" of the state's largest street gang, the Gangster Disciples, Knox said. Sellers are allowed to have "a 60-sack on the line," meaning 60 small bags of cocaine in one pack, Guthrie said. We uphold the validity of both Hankton and Davis' sentence, but remand to the district court for further consideration as mandated by this court's decision in United States v. Paladino, 401 F.3d 471 (7th Cir.2005). The authors have spent decades investigating gangs as well as researching their history and activities, and . Following Agent Darin's testimony, the government introduced Davis' plea agreement as well as the plea agreements of the other co-defendants. Hankton responds that [i]t's guaranteed. Agent Darin testified that butter was a common code word for cocaine and that the two were actually discussing the future sale of either crack or powder cocaine. Through the use of the cooperating witness, the FBI was able to conduct a number of controlled purchases of crack cocaine. As this court has held, the pre-Booker mandatory application of the sentencing guidelines ipso facto constitutes plain error. What's more, the evidence submitted at sentencing was internally consistent with the totality of the evidence in the record and various aspects of that evidence corroborated other aspects. A pen register is usually installed at a central telephone facility [and] records on a paper tape all numbers dialed from [the] line to which it is attached. The co-defendants' plea agreements submitted at Davis' sentencing demonstrated that Davis was in the habit of distributing crack cocaine. Like many of Chicago street gangs, the Mickey Cobras have a long history. It was allot of Cobra Stones but once Mickey died some stayed Stones,some became Mickey Cobras and some were King Cobras. As the district court concluded, given the entirety of the government's submission, [Agent Darin's testimony] is reliable evidence and should be given substantial weight by the court [i]t is corroborated [i]t all ties together. When determining the drug quantity attributable to Hankton pursuant to 2D1.1 the judge specifically found that, considering the admissions of the defendant in the plea agreement as well as the evidence concerning the intercepted phone conversations, Hankton was responsible for distributing well beyond 500 gram[s] of crack. The five-point star banner's collective name for joined gangs. For example, although the judge recognized that Hankton was not the sole and only leader of the organization, he did exercise control [and] power [t]he telephone calls clearly establish that [t]hey show his concern for the organization itself, its image. In addition, the court referenced evidence presented by the government which illustrated Hankton's role in the murder of Annette Williams, see supra pp. This is not to mention the fact that Davis was provided with ample opportunity to rebut the hearsay evidence proffered against him in the form of the co-defendant plea agreements, either by calling his own exculpatory witnesses or through his cross examination of Agent Darin.