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• FI LED UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA HAMMOND DIVISION MAR 14 199& STEPHEN R. LUD~. CLERK
U. S. DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v.
No. H CR 92-113 ) WILLIE EDWARDS, JR.
) GOVERNMENT'S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM Comes now the united States of America by Jon E. DeGuilio, united States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, and says as follows:
The government has alleged that defendant Willie Edwards, Jr. was not only a member of the Lee Edwards narcotics conspiracy, but he was so co~spiracy inextricably intertwined with all phases of the that the entire amount of narcotics attributable to the conspiracy is also attributable to Willie Edwards, Jr. l Edwards (in this document, any reference to "Edwards" me:ans Willie Edwards, Jr.; Lee Edwards and Lorri Edwards- are referred to IThe gov~rnment has never contended that Willie Edwards, Jr. was on a par with Lee Edwards as far as being a leader in the conspiracy, but the government has always argued that Willie Edwards, Jr. 's role was such that he was more accountable for the narcotics dealt by the conspiracy than the many " independent _contractors" who dealt narcotics 'for Lee Edwards. The government's position is set forth at paragraph 6 of the presentence report: c Additionally, the government has advised that tne defendant was involved in the conspiracy longer than the months reflected above which reflect months a wiretap was monitoring the Lee Edwards residence • • • . He was not an organizer or leader in the conspiracy, but is believed to be more cUlpable than independ~nt contractors such as James Davis and Rosetta Pirtl~, as he had a better knowledge and understanding of the s~ope of the conspiracy.
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".
• by using both their first and last names) raises two objections to the presentence report.
First, Edwards "objects to the fact he was involved in the conspiracy longer than the months reflected •••• " Presentence report (fifth addendum), p.
15 .
Second, Edwards "objects to the amount of drugs (47 kilos of heroin) which have been attributed to him for guideline calculations." Presentence report (fifth addendum), p. 16.
I.
LENGTH OF TIME EDWARDS WAS IN THE CONSPIRACY.
Edwards claims he was involved in the conspiracy for a period of approximately four weeks in August and September 1990, during which he lived at Lee Edwards' house, answered the phone, passed on messages, and on two occasions made deliveries of narcotics. Presentence report, paragraph 10.
The evidence, however, indicates that Edwards actively participated in the conspiracy from early 1988 to at least the end of September, 1990!2 Lorri Edwards testified at the sentencing hearing that Willie Edwards, Jr. began running narcotics to an apartment building on 6th and Grant Streets in Gary, out of which Lee Edwards' workers were selling narcotics.
Lorri Edwards testified that while she could not pinpoint the date on which she first became aware of Willie Edwards, Jr. taking narcotics to the apartment building, Edwards began this activity at the latest no more than a year after he was released from prison, where he had been serving Ii a state 2trhe conspiracy terminated on October 11, 1990, when law enforcement agents searched Lee Edwards' residence (during which Lee Edwards shot at federal agents) and arrested Lee Edwards. 2 c
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prison sentence.
• Edwards served a sentence of incarceration in the Indiana Department of Corrections for dealing in a narcotic drug, a Class B felony 'in Indiana.
Presentence report, paragraph 23.
The probation department reported, and the parties agreed, that Edwards was released from the Indiana Department of Corrections on February 24, 1987.
Edwards' Presentence report, paragraph 24.
involvement in the Lee Edwards narcotics That places trafficking organization at February of 1988, at the latest.
Several, but by no means all,3 of the tape recorded telephone conversations engaged in by Willie Edwards, Jr.
intercepted by virtue of the wire tap were introduced into evidence and played at trial.
The most recent of the tapes played was exhibit 118, which was tape a recording September 20, 1990.
of a telephone Therefore, Edwards' conversation occurring involvement in the Lee Edwards narcotics trafficking organization continued until at least near the end of September, 1990.
Edwards actively participated in the Lee Edwards' drug trafficking organization from at least February 1988 until at least the end of September, 1990, or a period of at least 2 1/2 years.
II.
QUANTITY OF NARCOTICS ATTRIBUTABLE TO EDWARDS.
~Edwards claims that during the four weeks he stayed at Lee Edwards' residence in August and September of 1990, Edwards made 3The wire tap laste4 approximately 60 days, beginning in August, 1990 and ending in October, 1990. There were a total of 777 pages of transcripts of pertinent telephone conversations participated in by Willie Edwar(ils, Jr. inter.cepted during the period of the wire tap. The latese of these conversations occurred October 3, 1990.
, 3
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",1 '- • ~1 only t~o/~eliveries • of narcotics:
He advised on two (2) occasions during this time, he made drug deliveries. On one occasion, he delivered a $20 bag of heroin and on another occasion, a $10 bag of cocaine. Presentence report, paragraph 10.
The evidence from the tape recorded telephone conversations introduced at trial alone, however, prove Edwards wrong. number 103 through 118 were tape recordings conversations engaged in by Willie Edwards, Jr. of the conversations where Edwards agrees of Exhibits telephone A summary of some to make deliveries follows:
Exhibit 105 (8/22/90 at 9:03 p.m.):
Mike Sutton orders a "twenty". Sutton is at the Shell station, and Edwards tells Sutton, "Okay, come up there to the corner.
Right at the corner of the street."
Exhibit 106 (8/29/90 at 6:11 p.m.): Little James orders "a three oh" .•.. "on the dude". 4 Edwards says, " ••. I'll be on, on my way, soon as I get it."
They agree to meet "on Fifteenth."
Exhibit 108 (9/7/90 at 11:01 p.m.):
Gary Bradley orders a "four".
Edwards tells Bradley, ".... meet me at Fifth and Taft." Edwards says, "Go on, go on and leave man. I rm on my way. " Exhibit 109 (9/9/90 at 9: 20 p.m.); Annette orders "a seventy boy, ••• dime of girl, ••• two dimes of boy, ••• two dimes of girl, okay, and two dimes of boy". Edwards tells her to "just go in the lot •.• you be there • . • • If I don't be out there by that time, just come to the door."s Exhibit 110 (9/11/90 at 6:51 p.m.):
Mike, Sutton orders a "twenty". Edwards tell~ him, "You know the next street over 4Lorri Edwards testified this was an order for a $30 bag of heroin. Trial transcript, p. 440 sLorri Edwards testified that "boy" meant heroin 'and "girl" meant cocaine.
Trial transcript, p. 439.
For example, this conversation "70 boy" meant $70 worth of heroin, "dime girl" meal1t $10 worth of cocaine, and "two dimes of boy" meant two $10 bags of heroin. Trial . transcript, p. 444, .\ 4 c
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,.
" . - )J • • from here, Rutledge? ••• Okay, go, go down there, I mean, uh, g6, go, go the next street over, from us, stop there, go down Fifteenth, next street over from us, the street after that, about two streets over from here." Edwards tells Sutton, "we got, got the white now. ,,6 Edwards says, "Just meet me down that way."
Exhibit 111 (9/11/90 at 7: 09 p.m.):
Robert "Bob" Brown orders "half a T." Brown asks Edwards, " .•• meet you where?" Edwards replies, "Go down there to that liquor store on Fifteenth. • •. Ilm gonna be right on down there." Exhibit 113 (9/14/90 at 9:47 p.m.): Larry Lowe orders a dime boy and a dime girl. Edwards tells him, " ..• meet me behind behind the house here .•. I mean the next street behind the house on Rutledge. The next street over ••• you know, by the alley •.•. " Exhibit 114,' (9/15/90 at 7: 51 p.m.):
Annette orders, "A thirty cent boy •.• a forty cent boy, and a twenty cent girl." Edwards tells her, "I 1m going to go 'and get that for you know • ••• 'Cause I'm gettin' ready to walk out •.••• meet me right down there on Fifth Avenue ••• by that fillin' station •••• " Exhibit 115 (9/15/90 at 10:50 p.m.): Elaine Hughes orders "a twenty white and a twenty brown." Edwards tells her to park "on Rutledge; the next street over from here.
. .• by the alley. 1-1 Exhibit 116 (9/16/90 at 6: 44 p.m.): Annette orders "a thirty boy and a dime girl." Edwards tells her, "I'm gonna have to meet you somewhere. • •• you know where Rutledge at ••• behind the house? ••• And ,then not that street, not Rutledge, the street before you get to that.
• •• Meet me, you know, just you • • • . You can park them on Fifth Avenue ••• and get out of the car •.• and meet me in the alley down there." Exhibit 117 (9/16/90 at 6:55 p.m.): Mike sutton calls and asks for Willie ••• "the one with the white Cadillac." Willie Edwards, Jr. gets on the phone, and sutton orders "a dime." sutton tells Edwards sutton is -on Fourth and Bridge streets. Edwards tells sutton to walk to Fifth and "... be by that church down there from; from the ••• fillin' station." Exhibit 118 (9/20/90 at 9:29 p.m.): Mike Sutton orders "a dime." Edwards tells sutton, "Come on in back of, you know, Rutledge."
c 6Lorri Edwards testified this is a reference to white heroin. Trial transcript, p. 447..
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• • Edwards clearly is lying when he claims he only made two. . deliveries of narcotics of a $20 bag and a $10 bag. Edwards obviously is accountable for much more than that to which he admits.
The next question is, "For how much is he accountable?"
The Seventh Circuit recently repeated the long standing principle that a participant in a narcotics conspiracy may be held accountable for more than just the quantity of narcotics personally dealt by that participant:
section 1Bi.3 of the Sentencing Guidelines requires the district court to consider "relevant conduct" when calculating a defendant's base offense level. U.S.S.G.
§ 1B1.3.
The court must consider, not just the criminal conduct with which the defendant was charged, but "all acts and omissions ••• that were part of the same course of .conduct or common scheme or plan as the offense of conviction." . U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a) (2).
"[I]n a drug distribution 9ase, II according to the Guidelines Commentary, "quantities and types of drugs not specified in the count of conviction are to be included in determining the offense level if they were part of the same course of.conduct or part of a common scheme or plan as the count of conviction." U.S.S.G. s lBl.3 cmt. 10. Thus, for example, the district court in this case was required to consider, not just the approximately 100 grams of cocaine involved in Demski's "offense of conviction" (attempted. possession with intent to distribute cocaine on February 13,1993), but the entire amount of cocaine involved during the period in which the Taylor conspiracy was active. One who participates in "jointly undertaken criminal activity," whether or not charged may be held accountable for the reasonably foreseeable acts of his co-conspirators if those acts were committed in IUEtherance of the conspiracy. U.S.S.G. § lB1.3, Application Note 2; united states y. Savage, 891 F.2d 145, 151 (7th eir.1989).
united States v. Taylor, 72 F.3d 533, 541 (7th eire 1995) [emphasis added].
The principle that a defendant who was participant in a narcotics conspiracy may be held accountable for the quantity of 1!0 1.\
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• • narcotics dealt by the conspiracy is tempered by the requirement that the narcotics dealt were "reasonably foreseeable" to the defendant:
The Guidelines require district courts to sentence a criminal conspiracy defendant on the basis of all acts committed by the defendant for which the defendant "would be otherwise accountable."
U.S.S.G.
§ 1B1.3.
Application Note 1 defines conduct for which a defendant "would be otherwise accountable" as "conduct of others in furtherance of the execution of the jointly-undertaken criminal activity that was reasonably foreseeable by the defendant." U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3, comment. (n. 1) (emphasis added) • Reasonable foreseeability refers to the scope of the agreement that Fontanez entered into when Ae joined the conspiracy, not merely to the drugs he may have known about.
United states v. Edwards, 945 F.2d 1387, 1403 (7th Cir.1991), cert. denied, u.s.
, 112 S.ct.
1590, 118 L.Ed.2d 308 (1992). -----United states v. Flores, 5 F.3d 1070, 1082-83 (7th Cir.
1993).
However, it is not enough for the District court to reiterate the above defendant conspiracy.
standard is and accountable then for announce all the a conclusion narcotics that dealt the by a The sentencing court must make an " individualized inquiry ••• in order that the defendant is sentenced only on the basis of a conspiracy that was reasonably foreseeable to him setting forth the reasons why the particUlar amount of drugs was reasonably foreseeable to him, before the court."
(7th Cir. 1991).
with reference to the evidence United states v. Edwards, 945 F.2d 1387, 1399 "Before concluding that a given quantity of drugs was foreseeable for sentencing purposes, the district jUdge should make clear that he has considered the evidence of the individual defendant's agreement to join a conspiracy of the scope alleqed by "\ the government."
Id.
Compare, for example, United states v.
'. _7
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• •• ..
" Edwards, supra, where the 7th Circuit found that the evidence indicated the defendant had joined a larger conspiracy "less than two months before federal agents arrested the defendants" [945 F.2d at 1400]; with united states v.
Taylor, supra, where the 7th Circuit approved of sentences imposed wherein the sentencing court held individual defendants accountable for different quantities of narcotics based upon the length of time they were involved in the conspiracy [72 F.3d at 542].
Also see united states v. Flores, supra, wherein the Seventh Circuit found that the sentencing jUdge complied with Edwards by making a statement on the record in support of its determination regarding the quantity of narcotics attributable to the defendant.
In Flores, the Court indicated on the record, "I do fit:'ld by a preponderance of the evidence that" the defendant "was a knowledgeable conspirator with respect to the scope of the activities" among other primary co-conspirators "at least as early as August 1990".
The Court also set forth some of the evidence regarding the activities that the defendant undertook in furtherance of the conspiracy.
united states v. Flores, supra, 35 F.3d 1070 at 1083.
The Court therefore should examine the length of time Willie Edwards, Jr. was a participant the conspiracy, the activities in ~n which he engaged in furtherance of the conspiracy, and the extent of the knowledge he had of the scope of the conspiracy. Based upon those factors, the Court can make an informed determination of the quantity of narcotics dealt by the conspiracy that were foreseeable to Willie Edwards, Jr. when he joiped the conspiracy and while he
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l, ..
•• . 'l J' • continued..to participate in the conspiracy.
that Willie Edwards, Jr.
participated The government argues in every facet of the conspiracy, and therefore Edwards was in such a position that the entire amount of narcotics dealt by the conspiracy during the time that Edwards was a participant was foreseeable to Edwards. The evidence indicates that Edwards was involved in phase of the Lee Edwards narcotics trafficking organization. ~very The organization can be broken down in various elements: 1.
Sources of supply.
Lee Edwards used Raymond Davis as a source of supply of brown heroin, and Abiodun Agbeleoas a source of supply of white heroin.
at Willie Edwards, DEA Special Agent Vincent Balbo testified Jr.' s sentencing hearing that Raymond Davis admitted that he supplied Lee Edwards with brown heroin and that Lee Edwards would .send others to Raymond Davis to pick up the supply.
Raymond Davis identified Willie Edwards, Jr. as one of the individuals who would pick up the supply of heroin for Lee Edwards. The supply of white heroin was more of a rarity, and would come from Abiodun Agbele, who in turn obtained the heroin from Nigeria. Willie Edwards, Jr. knew when there was a supply of white heroin in, as indicated by the telephone conversation recorded in Exhibit 110, summarized customer, "we above, got wherein the white in Willie Edwards, now."
Willie Jr.
tells Edwards, a Jr. 's activities with regard to the sources of supply, alone, distinguish Willie Edwards, Jr. from the rest of the workers and independent contractors ..
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2.'
• Workers.
• Lee Edwards made use of workers. These people would be "fronted" narcotics by Lee Edwards and would return to Lee Edwards a portion of the sale proceeds.
bag, the seller would keep $2, For example, for every $10 and owe Lee Edwards $8.
transcript, pp. 413, and 420-21.
Trial The workers who sold narcotics out of the apartment building on 6th and Grant streets worked on that basis.
Lorri Edwards testified at the setencing hearing that less than a year after Willie Edwards, Jr. was released from prison in February of 1987, apartment building.
Edwards began taking narcotics to the Lee Edwards also had narcotics sold at the Black Horseman liquor store, on Virginia street, which was owned by Lee Edwards.
Trial transcript, p. 411.
I Lorri Edwards testified at the sentencing hearing that Willie Edwards, Jr. sold drugs out of the parking lot of the ·liquor store, testified that she would keep a as well.
Lorri Edwards record of these transactions.
Lorri Edwards identified a black binder seized in the search of the Lee Edwards residence at 460 Taft Place as a book that contained some of these drug records.
Trial Transcript, p.
418.
Lorri Edwards identified an entry dated March 7, 1990 as being a record of narcotics for which Willie Edwards, Jr. was responsible. The record for that date indicated Willie Edwards, Jr. was responsible for 100 $10 bags of white heroin, 30 $10 bags of brown heroin, and 42 bags of cocaine.
Trial Edwards, Jr. was clearly a Transcript, size~ble Edwards.
'Il 1\ 10 • pp.
419-421.
Willie seller of narcotics for Lee
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t ,1 3.
• • '...
Runners.
Lee Edwards also made use of "runners".
These people would answer the phone for Lee, take narcotics orders, and run the narcotics out to locations where they would meet the narcotics customers to complete the sale.
The tape recorded telephone conversations introduced into evidence establish that Willie Edwards, Jr. was heavily involved in this type of activity. Factors which distinguish Edwards from the other "runners" are that Edwards actually lived at the Lee Edwards residence, and Edwards was much more heavily involved in making these transactions than other co-defendants.
4.
Independent contractors.
There were a couple more trusted individuals who Lee Edwards supplied with large quantities of narcotics at a.time to sell from their own locations for Lee Edwards.
Lee Edwards would sometimes supply narcotics customers with the telephone' numbers for these individuals and refer the customers there..
James Davis.
. These individuals included Flakes Kellum and Lorrie Edwards' testimony from Lee Edwards trial transcript, pp. 907-909 [copy attached hereto].
Willie Edwards waS familiar with these individuals, the quantities of narcotics with which they were supplied to sell, and the telephone numbers where they could be reached.
In Exhibit 112, for example, a recording of a telephone conversation occurring 9/14/90 at 4:07 p.m., Edwards tells Brad Guyton that, "Flakes just left here, man. just got 'bout three hundred things. ,,7 He just, he Exhibit 86 from the. Lee 7Lorri Edwards testified this meant Flakes had just left with about 300 $10 bags of "boy", or h~roin. Trial transcript, p. 449.
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• • .,..
Edwards, et ale trial [a copy of which is attached hereto] is a tape recording of a telephone conversation wherein Willie Edwards, Jr. tells Willie Word that James Davis still has some narcoti.cs and Edwards gives Word Davis' telephone number.
5.
Switchinq residences.
Lee Edwards would switch back and forth between two residences, to avoid attracting attention to a sustained volume of traffic at one residence.
manned the phones at both residences.
In Exhibit 108, summarized above, Willie Edwards, Jr.
Trial transcript, p. 449.
Willie Edwards, Jr.
makes statements that indicate he knows the organization is about to switch residences, and arranges to meet the caller at the other residence.
For sentenc~ng purposes, Willie Edwards, Jr.
is held accountable for all the narcotics dealt by the conspiracy which are "reasonably participated trafficking foreseeable" in every to him.
aspect organization, since of all of the the Willie Lee Edwards, Edwards narcotics Jr.
narcotics dealt by the organization in the last 2 1/2 years of the organization's life were attributable to him.
Willie Edwards, Jr.
participated in picking up brown heroin from Lee Edwards' source of supply of brown heroin in Chicago, Raymond Davis.
Willie Edwards, Jr. was familiar with the shipments of white heroin, and informed the customers of when the white heroin was available.
sold from the Lee Edwards residences.
Some of the narcotics were Willie Edwards, Jr. answered the phones at both residences, took narcotics orders, instructed the customers where to meet, and ~et 12 the customers to deliver the
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• • narcotics and obtain the money.
Lee Edwards had workers selling out of the apartment building at 6th and Grant streets. Willie Edwards, Jr. brought narcotics to the building to be sold. Edwards kept responsible.
being a record of narcotics for which others for sizeable quantities of narcotics.
Edwards caused narcotics to be sold from his liquor store. store.
were Willie Edwards, Jr. was listed in the records as responsible Edwards, Lorri Jr.
Lee Willie sold narcotics from the parking lot at the liquor Lee Edwards had independent contractors to whom customers would be referred to purchase narcotics.
Willie Edwards, Jr. knew the names and phone numbers of these individuals, knew whether or not the individuals had a supply of narcotics to be sold and the quantity of narcotics supplied to the individuals, and referred customers to the individuals.
Not only was the entirety of the Lee Edwards narcotics trafficking organization "foreseeable" to Willie Edwards, Jr., but Willie Edwards, Jr. participated in every facet of the organization other than physically mixing and packaging the narcotics, including every facet of the supply and distribution network.
Willie Edwards, Jr. was not a leader in the organization. Edwards was the undisputed leader.
not facing a sentencing Lee However, Willie Edwards, Jr. is enhancement for being a leader every part or organizer.
Willie Edwards, Jr.
was involved in of organization, more so than any other of the co-defendants. the Not only is Willie Edwards, Jr. accountable for all the narcotics dealt
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by ~he • • organization during his 2 1/2 year participation in the organization", but it is impossible to see how Willie Edwards, Jr. can be separated out from the organization and held responsible only for a finite and clearly defined quantity of narcotics. During the Lee Edwards sentencing hearing, the government established the quantity of narcotics accountable to the conspiracy for the period of time that Willie Edwards, participant in the conspiracy.
Jr.
was an active A copy of a transcript of the testimony of DEA Special Agent Vincent Balbo from Lee Edwards' sentencing hearing was introduced into evidence at Willie Edwards, Jr.'s sentencing hearing [and is also attached].
A portion of the government's sentencing memorandum from the Lee Edwards sentencing hearing, dealing with the calculation of the quantity of narcotics dealt by the Lee Edwards narcotics trafficking organization, was also offered to the Court [and is also attached].
One should note from those documents that Raymond Davis said that he was a source of supply of heroin to the Lee Edwards organization since 1988. In addition Abiodun Agbele said that he supplied the Lee Edwards organization with white heroin between 1989 and January of 1990, with an additional shipment being delivered in February of 1990. These dates are significant, because they all fall within the time period, from at least February 1988 to approximately the end of the organization in October of 1990, during Edwards, Jr. was participating in the organization. which Willie The quantities attributed" to the Lee Edwards organization when Lee Edwards was sentenced, then, are the same as the quantities attributable to the .,
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.. ,.
I' organi~ation • • \ during the time period that Willie Edwards, participating in the organization. support appeal.
united states v. Lee Andrew Edwards, 1995) these quantities were upheld [1996 WL 83180] was The evidence and calculations used to Cir.
Jr~ in Lee Edwards' F.3d (7th [a copy of the relevant portions of which is attached].
WHEREFORE, the government respectfully requests the Court to rule in favor of the government with regard to the contested sentencing issues, and to sentence the defendant in accordance with the calculations set forth in the presentence report. Respectfully submitted, JON E. DeGUILIO, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, ~/==:;::::;~;:::=~~~;J.~~~~ ..L~==-"::'==:::=Daniel L. Bella, By :..
Assistant united States Attorney· Attorney No. 2670-45 15 _
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{ • , 't ~ , • J • UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA HAMMOND DIVISION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v.
WILLIE EDWARDS, JR.
No. H CR 92-113 APPENDIX TO GOVERNMENT'S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM
Page 17
l \ • . ., t • INDEX TO APPENDIX • TAB A:
SELECTED
PAGES
CITED
IN GOVERNMENT'S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM OF LORRI EDWARDS' TESTIMONY FROM WILLIE EDWARDS, JR. TRIAL TRANSCRIPT TAB B:
PAGES
CITED
IN GOVERNMENT I S SENTENCING SELECTED MEMORANDUM OF LORRI EDWARDS' TESTIMONY FROM LEE ANDREW EDWARDS TRIAL TRANSCRIPT TAB C:
TRANSCRIPT OF TAPE RECORDED TELEPHONE EXHIBIT 86 FROM LEE ANDREW EDWARDS TRIAL TAB D:
SELECTED PAGES PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED TO COURT OF DEA SPECIAL AGENT VINCENT BALBO'S TESTIMONY AT LEE ANDREW EDWARDS' SENTENCING HEARING TAB E:
SELECTED PAGES PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED TO COURT OF GOVERNMENT'S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM FILED WITH THE COURT IN CONNECTION WITH LEE ANDREW EDWARDS' SENTENCING HEARING TAB F:
PORTION OF OPINION DEALING WITH CALCULATION OF QUANTITY OF NARCOTICS FROM 7TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS DECISION IN UNITED STATES V. LEE ANDREW EDWARDS \\ \ CONVERSATION;
Page 18
t
.
'
•.
.~
••
•
SELECTED PAGES
CITED IN GOVERNMENT'S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM OF LORRI EDWARDS' TESTIMONY FROM WILLIE EDWARDS, JR. TRIAL TRANSCRIPT
Page 19
.t
( ~
•
•..
I
411
Q
Were drugs sold out of both residences?
A
Yes.
Q
Were there other locations that Lee would sell drugs Ollt of besides the two houses?
(.
L. EDWARDS - DIREC'"
A
Yes.
Q
And during the time that you were married to him, did :rou
come to know of another location that drugs were sold out
of?
A
Yes.
Q
What location was that?
A
He had apartment building on 5th and Grant, and a liquor
store on 10th and Virginia, 10th and Virginia or 11th Hnd
Virginia street.
Q
What was· the name of the liquor store?
A
Black Horseman.
Q
And did Lee own that?
A
Yes.
Q
And there was also an apartment building that Lee had on Grant street, is that correct?
A
Yes.
Q
IS that apartment building stili there?
A
No.
Q
And were drugs sold
A
Yes.
Q
What -- would Lee go to the apartment building, for
c
I,
o~t ~
of those locations?
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•
.'
I, I •
Ow
(
most common type of drug or size of drug sold, a dime hag,
what arrangements would he have with the workers who would
sell the dime bags?
A
They would get $2, two or $3 off of each bag and he go;: the rest.
Q
When these workers would work for Lee would they
wOllid
they be given a number of bags at a time to sell?
A
Yes.
Q
Was any record kept of how many bags the workers were given?
(
413
L. EDWARDS - DIREC'"
A
Yes.
Q
Also seized in the search that occurred October 11, 19!1O, was there a black book used to keep notes of these records?
A
Yes.
Q
If I may I approach.
THE COURT:
Q
You may.
Hand you what's been marked for identification purpose as
Government's Exhibit 28, and ask if you can identify that
please?
A
Yes, that's the book that was -- the drugs were -- the
workers, they got so many drugs, and it was written dO'Tn
what they were supposed to
Q
And is that one of
th~ '\
information in?
A
Yes.
t~rn
in.
books that you would keep that
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,
•
.
I
.'
l
II
A
Right there with the glasses and the black and gray sweater.
MR. BELLA:
(
Your Honor, would the record reflect 1:he
witness has identified the defendant, Willie Edwards,
THE COURT:
MR. MAK5IMOVICH:
THE COURT:
MR. BELLA:
418
he's wearing?
L. EDWARDS - DIRECtt
Q
~rr.
Any objection?
No objection.
50 indicated.
You testified that when these packages of drugs were g:.ven
to workers to sell that the -- there was a record kept of
the amount of packages they would get?
A
Yes.
Q
And from that record were you able to determine or keep a
record of how much money they owed Lee for the drugs that
they would sell?
A
Yes.
Q
If I may approach the witness, Your Honor.
THE COURT:
Q
You may.
Lorri, you testified earlier that Government Exhibit 2n, c
the black binder that was seized from the house at 460 Taft
place during this search contained some of these drugs
records, is that righi?
~
A
Yes.
Q
Drawing your attention to the pages in the back of thit;
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..
,, "
419
book, there are some pages that have names on them and
numbers and one of these pages says Joanie and Flakes, who
would that be?
A
That was Flakes and his girlfriend, they worked for
Q
And is that a record of drugs that they would get to
LeE~.
sE~ll
for Lee?
A
Yes.
Q
Does it have a date and certain amounts of drugs on it:'
A
Yes.
Q
And in the case of this page it has certain amounts of either W or a, what would W or a be?
A
W was for white heroin and a was for brown heroin.
Q
And flipping to another page in the book, it says Ella Mae, who would that be?
A
One of Lee's workers.
Q
And where did she work out of?
A
I
really don't know.
I
think she just like in the
strE~et,
you know.
Q
Did she also work at Lee's liquor store?
A
Yes.
Q
And then there's another page of the book that has the name Willie on it, who. would that be?
, \
L. EDWARDS - DIRECtt
A
Willie Edwards.
Q
And that has certain numbers of drugs too, is that right?
. 25
A
Yes.
Page 23
•
.. ...
DIREC~
420
Q
And dates on that as well, is that right?
A
Yes.
Q
And then on the yet another page of the book Willie's name
appears, is that correct?
A
Yes.
Q
And again the same records, is that correct?
A
Yes.
Q
Looking at this page for a moment, it indicates on 3-7··90
(
L. EDWARDS -
100 W's, what would that be?
A
100 dime bags of white heroin.
Q
If Willie, like the other workers, gets $2 of each dim(! bag
sold and $8 went back to Lee, Lee would have $800 coming to
him for that 100 dime bags of white heroin, is that
ri~rht?
A
Yes.
Q
And right next to 100 W's it says eight hundred, is thnt
right?
A
Yes.
Q
And then right below that it says 30 B's, what would that be?
A
Thirty $10 bags of brown heroin.
Q
And if 30 $10 bags of brown heroin were sold Lee would ge\
$8 back for each bag, that would be $240, is that righ 1:?
A
Right.
Q
And right next to that that it says 240, is that correct?
A
Yes.
1\
Page 24
~
t •
{
•
.
I'
L. EDWARDS -
DIREC~
421
Q
Finally below that it says 42 G's, is that right?
A
Yes.
Q
And what would G's be?
A
Cocaine.
Q
What does G stand for?
A
Girl.
Q
Girl, which is another name for cocaine?
A
Yes.
Q
And then there is another dollar fi'gure next to that, 336, is that right?
A
Yes.
Q
And then there is a total of all three of those figures of 1376, is that --
A
Yes.
lS
Q
And then it shows a thousand off, and then another subtotal
of 376, and then 96 off, and another subtotal of 280, is
that correct?
A
Yes.
Q
In addition to selling the drugs or having the workers sell
the drugs out of the apartment building, you testified that
Lee would distribute drugs from the houses on 4th and
Place and 15th and Taft street, is that correct?
~
~aft~
A
Yes.
Q
Would Willie Edwards do anything to help sell drug$ from
2S
the residences at 4th and Taft Place or 15th and Taft
Page 25
.
.
t'
(
•
.
I
at
Q
Boy again is what kind of drug?
A
Heroin.
Q
And girl?
A
Cocaine.
MR. BELLA:
Thank you.
THE COURT:
Cross insofar as this portion.
MR. MAKSIMOVICH:
THE COURT:
You can continue on, Mr. Bella.
MR. BELLA:
Like to play Exhibit 105.
MR. MAY:
I have nothing further.
No cross.
This should be from conversation telephone
(Government Exhibit Number 105, a cassette tape recording, was played in open court.)
-MR. BELLA:
Q
Lorri, all these conversations that we're hearing where
Willie Edwards is identified as the speaker on the
transcript, is that Willie Edwards, the defendant?
\ .
439
219 838-3811 on August 22, 1990 at 9:03 p.m.
(
•
L. EDWARDS - DIRECT
A
Yes.
MR. BELLA:
Let's play the next one, if you don't havQ
any questions.
THE COURT:
Mr. Maksimovich, do you have any
questions?
MR. MAKSIMOVICÂ¥:
No.
MR. BELLA:
Thank you.
2S
THE COURT:
You may go on to the next one.
Page 26
I"
(
•
.
I
I' II
•
L. EDWARDS - DIRECT
MR. BELLA:
MR. MAY:
Thank you, Your Honor.
440
Exhibit 106.
This conversation is to come from telephone
219 949-3704 on August 29, 1990 at 6:11 p.m ••
(Government Exhibit Number 106, a cassette tape recording, was played in open court.)
MR. BELLA:
Q
Just two questions about this.
Lorri, first of all this
caller ordered a three oh on the dude, do you know what
that would be referring to?
A
Pardon me?
I didn't hear you?
Q
Is this caller ordered a three oh on the dude, do you know what that would be referring to?
A
That's a $30 bag of heroin ..
Q
And I-notice that the previous conversation, the first
three that we listened to here were on the telephone
of 460 Taft Place; whereas this one is the phone number at
1522 Taft street.
and forth between the two houses, is that right?
numbe~
And you testified-earlier you moved back
A
Yes.
Q
And they also talk about meeting on Taft Street in this conversation, is that right?
A
Yes.
MR. BELLA:
Oka~.
THE COURT:
Cross.
MR. MAKSIMOVICH:
I have nothing further.
Yes.
Page 27
•
.. .
. s"
(
.
MR. MAY:
•
L. EDWARDS - DIRECT
444
This comes from telephone number 219
883-3811, September 7, 1990 at 11:01 p.m.
(Government Exhibit Number 108, a cassette tape recording, was played in open court.)
MR. BELLA:
I have no questions about that.
THE COURT:
Any questions, Mr. Maksimovich?
MR. MAKSIMOVICH:
MR. BELLA:
MR. MAY:
No cross.
I want to play Exhibit 109.
Exhibit 109, telephone, number 219 883-3811
which occurred on September 9, 1990 at 9:26 p.m.
(Government Exhibit Number 109, a cassette tape recording, was played in open court.)
(:
'
MR. BELLA:
Q
Lorri, 70 boy is what?
A
$70 worth of heroin.
Q
And dime girl is what?
A
$10 worth of cocaine.
Q
And two dimes boy is what?
A
Two $10 bags of heroin.
MR. BELLA:
I have nothing further.
THE COURT:
Cross.
CROSS EXAMINATION
BY MR. MAKSIMOVICH:
1ll
Q
What quantity of we talking about?
heroifi~is
$70, what amount of heroin
a~e
Page 28
••
... ..
.~
(
A
L. EDWARDS -
DIRE~
447
Yes.
MR. BELLA:
Thank YOu..
THE COURT:
Recross.
MR. MAKSIMOVICH:
MR. BELLA:
I have nothing further.
Nothing.
I would ask Your Honor that.we play
Exhibit 110.
MR. MAY:
Conversation was on phone 219 949-3704 on
September 11, 1990 at 6:51 p.m ••
(Government Exhibit Number 110, a cassette tape recording, was played in open court.)
Co, .
MR. BELLA:
Q
Lorri, first of all, there was some discussion about street
names and I notice one portion of the transcript it refers
to Evertt, Clayburn and 5th, sounds like street names to
you in instead of that?
A
Clayburn, Ellsworth but not Clayburn.
Q
Ellsworth.
A
Yes.
Q
And then also -- so when there is discussion about some of
Is there a Cleveland Street near you too?
the streets near you would Rutledge, Ellsworth be some of
the streets near where you were living?
A
Yes.
Q
Also at one point Willie Edwards tells this caller, We got ~
'\
the white now; do you know what that's referring to?
A
The white heroin.
Page 29
•
... .....
(
Q.
A
'.
L. EDWARDS - DIRE'
Can you tell us what, that is?
It's measured out of the teaspoon, the spoons that we used
to measure drugs with.
Half a T would be another measure?
A
Yes.
MR. BELLA:
That's all I have.
THE COURT:
Cross.
MR. MAKSIMOVICH:
MR. BELLA:
MR. MAY:
No cross, Your Honor.
I'd ask, Your Honor, we play Exhibit 112. This call is from telephone 219 883-3811 on
September 14, 1990 at approximately 4:07 p.m ••
(
449
(Government Exhibit Number 112, a cassette tape recording, was played in open court.)
MR. BELLA:
Q
Lorri, I' see from this transcript now you're back at 460 Taft
Place~
is that right?
A
Yes.
Q
And when Willie says Flakes just left here with about three hundred of those things, what does that mean?
A
He had just left with about three hundred packs of -- $10 packs of boy.
Q
And is that the kind of thing that you testified about
before where tlakes would come up and pick up all those
packages and then leave?
A
Yes.
Page 30
,
..
•,,
.
•
•
SELECTED PAGES
CITED IN GOVERNMENT'S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM OF LORRI EDWARDS' TESTIMONY FROM LEE ANDREW EDWARDS TRIAL TRANSCRIPT
Page 31
•
... ....
L. EDWARDS -
DIRE~
907
Yes.
Q
Do you know Willie Edwards, Jr.?
A
Yes.
Q
And what relationship is he to Lee Edwards?
A
That's his nephew.
Q
And did Willie Edwards, Jr., do anything with regard to the drug trafficking?
A
He sold packages, he would answer the telephone and he
would deliver packages for people who would -call and want a
package and Lee might not want them to come to the house so
he -- sometimes Willie would deliver the packages, you
know, to them; they would meet somewhere.
MR. BELLA:
Your Honor, I would ask permission at this
time to play Exhibits 82 through 86.
lS
~HE
MR. MAY:
COURT:
You may.
This is Exhibit 82.
(Government Exhibit Number 82, an audio tape recording, was played in open court.)
MR. BELLA:
Maybe'we should just go along right
through, go ahead and play.
MR. MAY:
Exhibit 83.
(Government Exhibit Number 83, an audio tape recording, was played in open court.)
MR. MAY:
Exhibit 84.
~
(Government Exhibit Number 84, an audio tape recording, was played in open court.)
Page 32
•
... ..
e
I
L. "EDWARDS -
908
DIRE.
MR. MAY:
Exhibit 85.
(Government Exhibit Number 85, an audio tape recording, was played in open court.)
MR. MAY:
Exhibit 86.
(Government Exhibit Number 86, an audio tape recording, was played in open court.)
MR. BELLA:
Q
Lorri, we just heard about five conversations with Willie
Edwards.
The first conversation he agreed to meet that
person at the corner, and the next -- second one he agreed
to meet. at the liquor store, he said I'll be right on down
there.
the house, I'll meet you in the street behind Rutledge
Street and meet in the alley.
that Willie would do for Lee?
And I think the fourth one he said don't come to
Is that the kind of thing
A
Yes.
Q
You say take the phone calls and make deliveries, is that what you're referring to?
A
Yes.
Q
Then that third conversation there was a beep for call
c
waiting; did you have call waiting on those phones?
A
Yes.
Q
And in that conversatfbn, Willie sent someone to Flakes and
tl
said he just left-here with about 300 of them things.
Do
Page 33
f
•
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~
DIRE~
909
you know what that was referring to?
L. EDWARDS -
A
He just got his bags, 300 -- had to be dimes of heroin, it
may have been some girl, heroin, girl.
don't remember.
Or maybe heroin, I
Q
Where would Flakes come to to get those bags?
A
To the house on 4th and to the house on 15th.
Q
In that instance, Willie was referring to somebody over to
Flakes; would that happen sometimes where someone would
answer the phone at your houses and refer people to others who were selling for Lee?
A
Yes.
Q
And was Flakes one of those people?
A
Yes.
Q
In the last conversation Willie referred to someone as Little James, gave out his phone number.
A
Yes.
Q
Is that another one of those people?
A
Yes.
Q
What about -- who is Phenether Buchanan?
A
Lee's niece.
Q
And would she also do some things that would help in the
.
drug sales?
A
Phenether, she stayed with us.
Sometimes she would answer
~
\
the phone and sometimes she would -- somebody would call
and want a package and she would take them in somewhere or
c
Page 34
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•
•
TRANSCRIPT OF TAPE RECORDED TELEPHONE CONVERSATION; EXHIBIT 86 FROM LEE ANDREW EDWARDS T~IAL
Page 35
I ..
, ....
• • ..
, ~ Pn-302 (REV. 3-10-&2) ..- .:
••• f ( .
(
- 1 - FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION ( Date C!' truScriptloD _ _1_1_/_1_/_9_1 _ The followinq is a transcription of a telephone conversation between WILLIE WORD and WILLIE EDWARDS, on telephone number (219) 883-3811, located at 460 Taft Place, Gary, ~ndiana, and subscribed to by LEE ANDREW EDWARDS. This telephone call occurred on September 21, 1990, at approximately 2:45 PM. ...
This was an incominq call.
, '.
':.
The call was monitored by SA DENNIS PHILLIP ; HY~EN.
-.
c 24SF-IP-71386-dt;J71 24SF-IP-71386,Sub J~ . PUe' 24SF-IP'!""71386, Sub Icr t \ lDyutlaaUoD aD ( .. It, ~ 9/21/90· SA DAVXe A.
at Gary, Indiana aOTHb"'~dV . Dato elletatecl 9/21/90 flail el~cumOllt eGDtam. Deither rocommadatiolu aor coadusfollJ of Uao PBIeIl II tlae property of tbe PBi aael b 10.004 to yoat alacy: It a«4 It. eGIllat. aroDot to be cl".r.UJtne4 ofltlf~o your •••q. " 1 .i f') n
Page 36
w.
.'.. ...
a .-.
e( ( ( " 24SF-IP-7l386 2 Willie Edwards (WE):
Hello.
Willie Word
(WW) :
WE:
".-: ..
f" ,.
".
' ..
....
' , ':- :.
~nintelliqible) WW:
Ask the old boy can he fix me sumpin'. (unintelligible) WE:
He not: up I man.
WW:'
J:s Lorri up?
WE:
No.
Ain't none of 'em up.
WW:
Hmm, 1ml1m, WE:
Hmm huh.
WW:
Goddamn.
WE:
Wh•••what: was you looJdn' for, 'though?
.WW:
A 'twenty.
J: ain't They 'sleep.
mmm.
J: need it: bad• ..
WE:
~telliqible) WW:
:r WE:
Yeah, 1: la1ow, but ain'1: nobody up, 'though. can call back maybe 'bout a hour.
WW:
Yeah.
WE:
Oh huh.
1m:
The phone been off the hook.
WE:
Well, J: don't know, J: don't know., (Clears throat) J: don't know.
WW:
Has little Jues still got some? :.
..
Hey, Willie boy I how yeu doin'? need it bad, Willie.
tI '.\ 00144 1: tell you c
Page 37
, • ..- "I • I (" 245F-IP-71386 --3 WE:
Yeah, yeah.
WW:
You know his number?
WE:
Mmm huh.
WW:
What is it?
WE:
Eight eight six three six one one.
WW:
Hey, ub, I ain't qot another quarter. and call him for me• WE:
No, man, I'm not, no.
WW:
Z ain't got another••• .. ; WE:
to ( '.
0" 0"" ..
.
• I :r don't even know how to do all that. that.
Put me on hold J:'m not gonna do WW:
six three six one one.
WE:
No, yeah, six three six one one.
WW:
Okay.
WE:
Yeah, w••• 'cause I don't know how to do all 'that, man.
WW:
Okay.
WE:
:r wanta, I wanta lay back down.
WW:
Okay.
WE:
Okay• WW:
All right, all right, thanks.
WE:
Okay.
.....
(Hangs up telephone) (End) 00145 •
Page 38
•
... ...'.
".
•
SELECTED PAGES PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED TO COURT OF DEA SPECIAL AGENT VINCENT BALBO'S TESTIMONY AT LEE ANDREW EDWARDS' SENTENCING HEARING
Page 39
A " doorway, it p~obably , area.
And did that shot careen Q _.
., .'
,. 7 , :
'~_traight > A.,' Whe re em angle -or go, , '.
down the halJ.way?
.- ug was the ,t .'
~sl .
its angle and ended ..
•. 8 ' .
•. 9 - ..
,
-.• ,.
bedroom door?
that hallway , t ',.
A Yes .'
) Q I want to draw your attentj.c~ !'.C"'.'.
S?ed_~.J.
Agent Balbo, to
your investiga'tion regardi:!? _':.~e ';t-.'.?nti ties of drugs that
Mr. Edwards was
that he participated in hi::
there was testimony
sources of supply of Lse E~w?=~:
there was some testimony r~:;r?::>:':'::7
Nigerian by the name of responsibJ.~ ~a7 d~?J.in?
during the time dr~= ~=~~~i~~ing durin~ ':.~!
':.=i?~ ':.~~':.
activities; there were some ~~ ~~=~in and I think " ::;.?.:-:mond IJavis and a _-'_!:'~_:'c':::-' :_=,;~._1.c . .~,·-r.-!3.. E-L-E, -'
THE COURT:
Coun.sel. - -r,·· '. ':.:
1',0 J.1().V~· to slow ,...
Page 40
"':'.~' • _0, 16 -Q -17 in~e=views A Yes, I did.- 19 Q Drawing your attention fir::t ':':' tell you about his 21 of heroin to Lee Edward37 Da,vis, what did he -">:_:-_-!'lon~~ activit~es 20 23 that were conducted of both individuals?
18 22 ) Did you also participate in ~ source of supply ,I MR. JACKSON:
Th8 question calls for hearsay an3Wer_ You r 24 MR. BELLA:
25 sentencing hearings.
./ HO~lr:···.
' ..
~.
.:.,.(l}tt).:::::ible during
Page 41
.
, of 1992 !
A ~ •...
e.
., 1.
p<:n:o~",.:n:- " this'bui1ding on the fourth .floor with FBI Special Agent .
.'
. , It;,; ~ .
~Karen Pertu50. .....
o'!J:"
tt ;;. ;'.
' ~~:.'..~-' I ' .: ..
'And. duri.ng . _ ..::_ the~ .'.
:).
';.J. ~
.t~ ~ '., . f " 4 " ' \ ' .
..."1~.
cours<: of'th",.t convers'j-tion, Mr. I ' .
~ ' ' - ..
...1.
that on a ~eg~l~r ~~sis h<: suppiied Lee' ~ t '.
:~:
) ~eeks there would ~s
Some
And in all cases we asked " - n~~s· ~r, ~~d D~vis some weeks'there to give Mr.
Edwards the benefit of the doubt. take his time regarding
those
Edwards the benefit of the dO'.'.':-t. , ..
approximately two ounces a
year regular basis, and
the market fluctuated 1:".'1: :'':'=1:1'.,
an ounce of the blC'.ck t?= quant~ties.
THE COURT:
THE WITNESS:
And he said in that case, in giving Mr. wcs~ th~t ':'~ M=.
t~· 1.'-' ~":- !lS'-C'~.~~ 6700.
~ c.
hc.ve been ~s~oin 5~w~rd~ - . ../ '';':'l.tld for a two would pay -- as ~.,?pr.o;",j.mately $6700
Page 42
, " I , ., , . ' ei ther -_. in -most cises Mr. Edwards .,or ,~ ..
r " - - h .
:
f ," • .
one "of the people that Mr~ Edwa~ds di~ected the activities
.
.- .
- , -, ~ ~
of regarding drug trafficking, woul1 go make the pickup in
the City of-~hicago or on occasien M~. Davis did come to
Gary, Indiana to make the delive=y
Q Did Mr. Davis come up with total black tar heroin
h~ ~~ ~&~~~~~~ ':~p~lie~ ~" 0f jU&t how much Lse Edwards' drug
A Again when we talked t'J!1~
Edwards the benefit of
comfortable with the tetal t!"'.~ ':'7'-' -. "'"" ~_&);"2d him to give Mr.
he felt very ...~,... ,:...-,- ,~~ o~ 1:ilo9rams of black tar &~::
hE &~id
Page 43
, .
BALE·I)
,., ., ;.,.
, I " ~ heroin ..
supplied ~o ..
Mr.
~._ He felt that it was , .'.
," I.:, what he' sa~d that he wO'.tl<3 J:-: ;::.C'!1'.f'o"t~.ble
...
~ Mr. Edwards ·the'benefit of .,
~ le~s, the,10~bt.
'.
..
t.1e€ks .'
. given to Mr. Edwards .
.7:.
.; .;-om~ .t and Mr.',Davis told us ~th~t.~i~ kilos" of ihe drug were ,.
.8 l' that some weeks he purch'?~':d 1!ic~" •
., ~ .~' And' again this isn't Q '." I' "~9 ." '.. J ,.....
,~~.
4, time, is it? '..".
•
again as No, this is A • , ," , ~ndic~~~~.
!
«" "ounces 'on a pickup a'nd • ,. t
• , .,'" I two-year period.
.
...:
" SO.over a ~wo-year period ~~ ~~e,"? ~n? ~~d two ounce Q -4..
'..
"1;t ( • quantities Mr. Davis " estim~tec1..
::);.?7: ';he black tar heroin he s~ppli~d'to the Lee Edwards prug
trafficking organization conservatively was six kilograms?
A Yes, sir.
Q And did Mr. Davis also on occas~0~ s~pply of heroin, that is, whits heroi~.
A
Q '"~l'l·l;.e·:'
of white heroin he he.d
trafficking organizati0o c
A to Mr. Edwards?
Yes, sir.
a different kind' Mr. Davis said that nor.m?~.!.~- Edwards would be the blae!:
-..:"
t~r -.'
-"'.
!,SS. Ech'ards drug ?"- ~~~ hy "~ew for a fact that .~ , .
Page 44
"".. :.
,BALI'':'
' ~~ " .there were' occasions ': th?t" " heroin from him, .'
He was 'certain of thi:'
'- ~.
~ 'occasions of ~hat hap!?~niri~!,t-ic<.'.,,i:;!i· .,
.
6, ,- ~ th~ availability was ·of le~st th=e~ , He said that ?t ' ,.
" <I~i:
..-.
~' "i ':-r""n, ~~~css of white heroin ~ . ...t' ....
:...
given to Mr. Edwards, ., .
.<'.\ "":
. ~:<.
.; .\' .. :, .
., between the mid 6500 into 7,...000" ~~~ ~~.telt comfort~ble :, ,-~.
(0'.
" I '.
with the tota~ of approxim~telY'~5700 ~n ounce for'white distr~b~te( ,~ th~t twp-year period .
. - ~".
.
~ ~dwards'ormembers ,_.: . ," -:- - ~ distribu~iD~ to his ~nowled~e:
THE COURT:
• • .; THE WITNERSS:
.
MR. BELLA:
" " •*" - I .../ Q - Now, I asked you if Mr, Dc.vis "'0".:; '11 ti!'!c.tely i.ndicted and
arrested; did there come a time when
through the assistance of a
make a controlled purch~se
A Yes.
Q And can you tell us
A On this particular yo~ coop~rctin?
of h~ro~~ were able to, individual, able to fr.om Raymond Davis?
~bo~t t:h~toccc:;~c" "S W":~ i,v~l"ed in the Title wi.r.~t?!,
III intercepts, the
there was an indicati0!! th·..':. y-
to Chicago to make'a pur.ch~s- ~~ phone, and ~,,~?~~~ ~ovld ~'s ~e70i!!
be traveling from Mr. Davis.
Page 45
S· t" c ~ ....
.f cooperating individual wh0W~~ ~~c~~ ~c~~~t~d~by Mr. Edwards, made a consensu~l ~c~._v~=~~ti~~ or rec~rding or
W'
..
. . . . .
t'ra:,nsmi~t~r invol;,ed ..
., .
\0 • .; c,?nve=s?t:',:,,, '·'!.th Mr, D~vis, w~erein C'.
, Mr. Davis made a sale of • .
-..
thi~ .
.
-,.,.'
- ~...
-,.
t<>.r he roin to - .
'I'
~.
'" .
- -~.
• 'su,bject,;, the cooper::!.t5.n?
}:nd!,-'!.d'.E',1., . .
.
J.
ounce of .. heroin, that. )1rJO. r~.yis.. .- ~~b~i~t~0
Q And what was the resu.lt of
A It was found to contain
Q i"m Ra.ymond Dav~s' ~ DEA t:~?':, ~.:;,::!.ly:;i~~ he~oin i~ .
~ , a strength of 35 percent.
~ " going to show y~u a chart, ·Spec'ie'.l Agen't Balbo', which I
will probably refer to severe.l t:.!IlS:3,· Ancl if the Court
prefers, I
exhibit.
..)
., ~~ " can mark it as an exh:'bit or submit a one-page THE COURT' I hav~ nc 0hjss~i~~
stipulate.
page so it can bl? mads par': ':':': I think we want tc
MR. JACKSON:
THE COURT:
=s~~~s t~~,;:
if ~ounsel can it to size of one =s~':'rd.
The.t·" ,,5.:.:,.. You rno?~t}::~ :.-:--_
you may substitute .
identify it as an exhib!.t. ?:'.c'. .;:.:~ '.::~:'
·~:.·1'·t:
now.
Counsel, ,,,I.:.,:". :.")U ::ubstitute it,
Page 46
• ""':(:~~~~~~~2S:;.-<' ·~t!..1.~~:Jf;S=:U~".:J'f~~O(f~Wt;.~lt~I~;;;:~rr.~::::~:f.;~:~.:.!!'..:~~2:!~!~-tt::::~.:::;:;:~:::~~::"!::ti:i~~~~:S~"'P.::r~~:~ S=t-~~?';:~;'C~~1·~U:·:<:--r. i>1'ii%:"...... ~••~-::.~~~e.~"- .
,
- .:
": .
", ' " ' BALBO - put it on ,the
, , ·0I~:~:c::r , exhibi~ it~~~~:
."
half by eleven.
>.
.' MR.
THE COURT:
'.'~ BELLA:
And yo~~=~ Any obj~,=~:ior.-?
?~in- ~~ .
evidencei'
THE COURT:
~ ..~:
MR. 'JACKSON:
Sho'" co.n '," ,Ill· . ~ ,.
.,,"":.r~ o!Jje,=-:i("~ ; , ,Honor.
.s :.
THE COURT:
what·~ the cbj~c~iQn7 ..
THE COURT:
MR. BELLA:
r- !i':~ t~ do. Your Honor, is 14' use it as a deIit';nstra,tive ~;;hib!.'':: fc!O•. th-= time being, an"d
as -- as special agent Bal~o tes~··:i£~.~s·.
THE COURT:
. . MR. BELLA:
.. -.../) What! would You may .
At the concl~~iDn of his,testimo~y I think we'll lay the foundation; I'll Q ~.
Special Agent Balbo. you r~s~bmit at that time.
tcz.~if~~d ~bo~t ~-:"'a_':d.z., .,::~.
Raymond Davis as a , yo'!, s;;>j.d Raymond Davis
source of supply to L'2'2
estimated a total of ~i;; J:!.l,:,::: ,,-- )~1.?.':), tar heroin, which
would be a total a 6.0"0 ?~a~~ o~ jl~s~ tar heroin that Mr.
Davis supplied to Mr.
that correct?
A Yes, sir.
r-:-:'_v.?·-~,~ ','" -- t=:'-.' ':wQ-year period, is
Page 47
", J
.., .
, And about three:Qunces " " , t
ounce fot 85 grams of
correct?
.
, , 0~ '
A Yes.
Q For a total supplied by M=, , J~.>: ~ '.
,7 '" : -.. ., .
'" A ~.~ correct?
" ......."~ .,,'r.:. ," 0' '$" _.I" .
cf 6.085 grams, is D~v~~ • • J~'; That is also correct.
.
~.
", -
You testified that when you
purchas; of ~eroin,frpm Mr. p~v~~/ the~heroin tested out 35 10,
to make a controlled ,.
percent purity?
Q •
...And would you ~ .'
purity of the heroin M~_ r~~';is w~~ $~pplying?
"
A
, Q
Yes • .
, .'
And'at a 35 percent purity. fo~ ~ tot~l of 6,085 " ."
) ..-/
supplied, if that were reduced to pure heroin, 35 percent
of the total supplied wou11 DS 2·130
A Yes.
Q So if we were to reduce the gr~ms, 5."~~ ?ram~ supplied to the
Edwards drug trafficking ~-~~=i~~~i~n ~y
purity, it would give uz, ,,'),?r~=,:.:,,:?,':r:l,:'
heroin, is that correct-
A Pure heroin, yes.
Q I want to refer to thi:; ~'~";.::
Let's turn to the other sc~:=~e
is that right?
the 35 percent :::.).30 grams of pure .!,,:,':er :,r: :.:0'.',r testimony. ~U'?91r now, Abiodun "
Page 48
, 1 • ·,arrest of 2 < .'
t..
3 , Agbele; did , you also A . ':'."
.. r p~.~+:i":~.p:;.+:..~ 4:h~ Abi6du~ "- "'Yes;_ sir, I 'aid:
" 4 'Q And 'after Mr. Agbe1e was 2DP~ehe~ded did he cooperate -- .
\:o'.~:-"e!.:':
,was he interviewed by 5 <,,:'\-:1 :::~",ci?J.
Agent Karen' 'Pettuso 'of the FBI?
.7 :.,!'<. ,•..Yes, ..
" interviewed by us or we 2sked ~im ~~'~e conservative; 'when 9 you say we, would you be .'
~~~e~~i~?
to youse1f and Special " Agent Pertuso as there , . .,--.
• Yes, s~r.
,.
~ ~ And with regard to Mr. Agbgle , " 15' A ~hat did in supplying the ;;o.c~i~:i ":j.~s He advised that he su.pplie~l, Lse =:d~''''.r-:1,:; exclusively with white heroin.
Q 20 22 , A~bele; Edwards drug trafficking o=g2~izatio~ with heroin? 16 21 - Agbe1e tell you about his 16 19 indicated that you ?~~ Special Agent Pertuso interviewed Mr: 14 17 ~~~, And did Mr. Agbele telJ. ye'.', hop he ?'Jt into the business of supplying Mr.
A Ed'~arC!.s <',".C!. !<'':'''' :;>,",r:, ':'s ;;'.,ppJ.).ec1 Mr. Edwards? Yes, he said that he had Nigeria and enrolled in ~~me t,:, t~~ ~nitec1 States from c~!le?e ~nd5~!ntually got involved 23 I ,j 24 Edwards.
And 25 introduced him to Mr.
wh~n his u~~s w·~' Edw~"~~ "- ~~~" ~~,,~ ~o Mig"ria his uncle Ilim off as a client,
Page 49
••••;.:,:;:::~..'
" ., ; ~ ;QOl:.o;.,;;>..:-",::/,,·,·j \ :;>Ft.al"l~lY~:~:-"""~~'~'~'a:::t:-"$'":.=>:BI:ljji!ll.
_~.P1<~"""-"
• ' --.
r ,
> 1297 , ~ an'd Mr. Agbe1e b'?gcm di.:;l:.r:,b':.':.'.::l' ,, , ...
...1 '·'h~:':.~,h1roin . ~l 41 Edwards at his G,.ry ~ ..!
BALlY) , ' •.
) ~ ;r~:::j_cT~!!c~.
L' .'.
Q At Mr. Edwards' Gari
A Both of them, sir.
Q I'm sorry?
A Both of ,his residences, Q 1522 Taft Street and 460 !esidenc~i )
.•..;,- - -.
" Tc~ft Pl?c:e?
.'
.
"'. A
Yes~
What did Mr. Agb'?le te],l ::-"'-' abo-:.t +:h", q'Hmtities 'of white Q ., - ",
Ii heroin he supplied to Mr.
t A I.
Aga~n ·1 • ~dwa=d:;i • ...
L ...
\ 'in",intE;!!views ·.w~ th M): _ 'Agb~l~" 'we had, two occasions •
in October of 1991, ,.. two, occasion:;-+:o ·spe~k to him, two
interviewi, myself and
Mr. Edwards the benefit of Sps~ial • 1990, Mr: Agbele sold him te~ - o~.!!!c~.~ And then subsequent to +:hc.t
?~=+:uso, the'do~~t, ~that ,,
A7snt ')!).
again giving between 1989 and of white heroin.
he distributed.to
Mr. Edwards another 180 gr-ams of whi':", her-oin in February
of 1990.
Q The dates on which you inter'Tiswsd M=_ Agbele in October --
THE COURT:
THE WITNESS:
THE COURT:
MR. BELLA:
180 o'-,.!).c~:'?
No, 160 :=a~i Q do you know what those wa-'
-
Page 50
, • " "
:
A Yes, october 4th anc1, ?l:h Q And during what pedo(1 of., ",i.ie,s "":.'" ':, ;> 0::
")")1 ~ .a-'"f):I'
•
- , BALE·') ~ .;.l to " "
; ,Edwards with thi:; ten ''f • A
",.'om,:'::; ,.;:
And this ten ounces of. whi !:£ he!:,:,i:! th::','t fir. Agbele Q source of that heroin' supplied to Mr. Edwarc1s, , .\.: .",': ~ .. " to Mr. Agbele?
"
Q You indicated that hi:; un,:1e .
".~ '.
NS=~ b~,:,!:
to Nigeria, is that " correct?
-, ,11 ~' ' ""t , ;I., :'
" .
- , Yes.'
,I .,..
...
And did he leave this-ten'Du~ci:; o~ hs!:oi~ .' A" o Q "'- , to supply to Mr. Edwards?
A
Specifica1ly for distribul:io:! t':' I
.
:
' Hi s uncle'.
r , A , 0 , And then Mr. Agbele told Q .'
.
~=.
Edwards.
YQ'.~ t"'.2i: ',~, Psl:ln~ary of 1'990 he ,
distributed an additional l.80 ",=,-,,::;-,:; of "'hite heroin to Mr.
Edwards, is that right?
A Yes.
Q Your understanding that ths t£c
was left with Mr. Agbele
Mr. Edwards at tJlat pcint in
A h~d 7~n=£s of white heroin that al=eady been distributed to ~~.~~~ He had already gotten ':i,,=, 'If. ,:1,"'" .' .'. ~,;,'O'.J. ten, and then he
.'
" ~'
, ~~£ 'h·h:.t? h~roiri Between 1989 and 1990.
,.' '<'!'
.
, Q secure another 1130 :rr'O',m:; -:--" ':~~- And did Mr. Agbe.Le ;-~ desc,-!,~" '-':i.",', h"':'J;,n.
"'.".', h'J"' !1€ "as able to corne
Page 51
l • ....~.
.
;"'~~:'::i=-:<~~~-',.~i!;":i~~';':"i"'~"':'~':>:'~~':':o:"'~;':'~~¥,*~';':'4;::";:;:i:;'~;"'.l.~:;"::::!:~;'';~;':';'~;''?~''':';-'''''·'·''''r ....·...t-:..:: ::;~~~:.~~"C"~r~~:'~,;>i' , ., I :
.,e .
into possession of , Yes,' he had ..
..of.'
') th~ , ", indi~ated -I" • '_~being' map e." to ,him; .~h."": Cice ro 'Avenue near the Mic.>'c.~.' i( • " who had 'brought .in q'}.~nt:.i+:'5.,::,s .::-::: "1!,:j.~,=· ~!e!'oin , -<~:/. ~ " > , , J-.~. '," ~ ":.:
" had the 180 grams 6 '.', ; "to:
....
• " ."
~~ ~: ":'" : '.
~dw~~ds ...~ ~hat" and· -::
• ·r '..
ne • had continued .,?,;; • .C.to make contact with him lookin2 ". ,
- for additional ....• ':"
:l-.
?·... t...
.- v· to' sell,: and that he "'me.d!2· th~ distribution. based on'\~ '" ..'
"".'.~..
I , .
f ~nd the fact that·Mr.
., .
".
r ~, Edwards was a .regular client cf !',is. l .~ ~.
,., " I Agbele in ..
:3 " .
hi~ prior d,e;alings wii:.h Mr:: , 10 " -'.
::. - ; - ".
" ounces 'of 'white • ·total'.distii!.l'.~ted.
fen .to.
e ._ '.'
:f:'-~·.t .
':_~'~""""'I
", .- ~, heroJ.n and an'~dditional l~O.~rami'cf white heroin t~ Mr. ;- ...
'''-~ .'
Edwards, 1s that correct?
13 ,.
. "', tha't's correct.
, t-- ~ • r , ~ "'_~';",,~ " •• ~.
.
.t \if ,j r· ."
~',... 1-" ;... ., :_ ~ tP!."
;t., 15 And you indicated these distrib~~i~ns would be made' at >Mr. 16 Edwards' residences, is 17 18 ~ 21 Yes, sir.'
Q Would Mr. Agbele visit Mr. Edward.s' residences to make the deliveries?
A what stuck out most iD. hii n~!.;c.~ '-'~.':.": ?:).<:'C'ma-U,y there was a _ and he normally '",ou.ld.
23 Mr. Edwards or one of 24 house and meet hlm.
p,?::,~ h; ~ r rssidence off 460 Taft, doctor's office near .f'1,':
22 25 csr=sst?
A 19 20 th~t ?':
.. 'S'
.« :'..= . :; office, and then ,~,":.::!:_.
p.
. "J'.' I cl '10 !.nto the house ". -+
Page 52
:.~~:".
~ ~ :to I ........:'·.t..,.:;;);)~~~;,JN~~:,:;{" .
~iol~~':'::i..'l~~:':':i~:';'~I~~':;~>::'~·~~'" • -.
-';"~~.:'".li'~~:'~~':;';';":":O~::U.~:':':~~""'. , BALr0 - t'IB.J3C7.'
< '.:~:~~J''''~:;~:-?~:i~~;:~'''-';:J.~'::~~~;::''->:Z~'''''::::.''';'~''':' ,~ Q e"ei~ t~ Draw yout attention • .J' • • ..
j'. • :. I:'
:..
• .
,- ~hii ~ . ' l· .
1300 .,
~~. :\:S:::::J.
~~e=t.
indicated that .,,,
Abiodun Agbele distrib~~~c.,;=i=~~
white to Mr.
. ,heroin' ,.
=:.;r',,~.::r·:~,".~.
::',-, .. ,:
total of 283.5 grams, A Q >.
,That'~' i~ that ~c==~~t?
correct.'
And 180 grams of heroin d~!i'rs=s~ in ::~~ruery of 1990 and · ':: ... ~ ~.:~!-:~... ~\.~ ..- ~ , '.
the total of the 180 qrams ?[ems was 463.5 grams, :.......:l.. ' ...-,. .....~_... .,.....
is that coi:r~ct?
.r _ " · M' ' .,.
..
A Yes.
Q Now, did you also have A , Yes.
Q Prior to his arrest?
A Yes, we did.
Q And can you tell us how th~~ .C~~~ ~~out?
A On November 20, 1990 coop",::;;>.tir.,? '.ndividua1, an individual • ..
, .
, .
I oc~~~i~n ~?
maks a controlled ., >.
k
that Mr. Edwards was controlling end directing in the drug
trafficking, 'agreed to make e
And in fact made phone
completed a transaction
white heroin at McDonald'~ ~S~~"~=~n~
Hammond, Indiana, con~2ct ~i~~ f~!:
th~ heroin was purch.;\sed £':J:
Q And what was that date ~ ...•":\' ~g~in ~ purchase for us.
Mr. Agbele, and in fact O~=~h0~~ ••••• On that particula=
con~[ollsd ?D _ •••• i- .. ~ of one ounce of Kennedy Avenue in ._.- O!1(:'
ounce of
Page 53
, • - .
"
, -, A November 20 of 1990.
Q • Was that ounce • ~.
.'
, ' £-:..:' ~·:!~.J.:-;.:5.~?
'.
,- ..
...;:.:..
: .).'.,:
..
tr-~t ~~~2~~i~?
Q And what was the resu2t of
A
Q of 50 pe rcent.
It 'was found to contain h~=Qin ~~ ~ ~t .:i'.
',.:: :.
.Drawing your attention b~ck t~ t~s ch~rt. did that ,'.
- ' . ..
...., .
'.
~
controlled
.
~urchase ~n give you ' ide~ of the percentage of percentage purity of heroin M=. Agbe2e was selling?
A Yes.
Q And.you said it was 50
A Yes.
Q Drawing your attention ~.
to t~e ch~rt just a moment, Your Honor_ .
. 15 b~c~ THE COURT:
Q You sm~12er If I may refer to a .
m~y.
ue=~ion Yo~ Your Honor, " of this, I don't think .2re~dy testified that
it got blown up on the chart.
the total of heroin that Mr. Agbele testified to or said
that he delivered to Mr. Ec\"?.=c.s
right?
A Yes, sir.
Q And at a 50 percent pur!,'::'.' grams of pure heroin, !.53.5 grams, is that '::~i:.': ···~·:lc. tr"'.n~late -
.,'~.~ - ~s
A That's correct.
Q Now, if we may P'lt those ~~:~~ ,:",:~.J,z.
- ..
into 232 ::r=-= .;.. ":
':Y,'ether. your. previous .=
Page 54
; • ..
.....
• ~ --::.:
....
, . 1302 .- 'Raymon~ ~~~ii
testimony was that the
pur.ity translated to 2,J.3" q::~.C1.:' .... r-
~gbe1e
translates into 232 gr~.m", "f 9',~:r:s '-,~,-'J5,n, C'.nd- that the
total of pure heroin wa", then
.... .,.., - .
~ j ~~ heroin.at 50 2,~5:
.... .
he:r:o'in, and,the .
~O ~ .to per~ent , purity ?,-ams, is that right?
Yes, sir.
A "f' • r~view the~s ",'Q Have you had occasion to
and do those appear to be acc~=ate·to
A That is correct.
Q Now, we have -- from Raymond Dav5,:o
'.
calculations before you?
~.z:c1.
...
..
Abiodun Agbe1e an equiva1ent,of ~,362·.gram:o af p~=s.h,,-oi~·comin~ into the '.
•
-.
would'Lee ~dwards'turn around possession of Lee Edwards.
",.
and sell that pure heroin on the or would he do
something to the heroin before selling it? ~t=eet "
A
out on the street as he
by informant information, as
conversations on the telephone,
was not ready yet to bg
Q
pu!:ch~ssd wel~ _that he would .to C'.'.t W~.:o was also introdu':ed ir!
cut the heroin, is Yes, as well as paraphs~n~:.i·'
A And that's backed up , , ai some .of the ~~'J~t that the heroin ~--/ ':>r.'. ·.·:.::'.C~ cc" Mr. Edwards using a e-'2'" 5.ntroduced in evidence l:~:=·,:,,'..:~·
th~,t it.
di~:tri~~~s~ ( think 5, t us'~ he would never put it i=eica~ing And there was testimony at t:r:ial coffee grinder,
-,,'• heroi~:
No, he would always cut the !
iI. To ':h5_!'.k some lactose _ Ed.WCl.r.ds used to =s·;~. ~ .
·.~t~in9 the paper, the
Page 55
~~~: '~'~~'<ol~c;:;~""~~::::i:':~~;~:;:S:5''''':;:;:':':-~:i:~'':::~~::-':::'~;;;':'\.":":iE":.:*r:~':·::::~::':;:;'J;!;':':;:;'::~'::~I';::'''':;':"!':':'::-~'''::i:.:'''!,;:'~~~-:': ~~C~:~".;:~?:':'~;·~::~.;'i'····"';i?.}i..."·.. ~"t::::.::.;:;:;s:::";:, l.:~~'f~~ , . .; • ,3"\ .; aluminum £oi1 and ;i¥' t • ..
, ~ ~ Pettigre~
'6 .f~ making a ".
well about the se~is~ ~ ~)t'.
• ../" ~."
..' .. £ •• '- , ~~n~7cI~s~ " h~roin Edwards during those t ""' ...:
.
, ~ • 1303 ." - .',' ~ha~ ~~, .
.
~~~~i?~S'd contr~ll~d analysi~: ..
is - bought from Mr.
b',\::s, bei,ng submi tted to the ~~~t ...
C0~rect?
'.
That is correct.
And would that analysis show the Q .
buys 0f heroin ,from 4.
' DEA laboratory.for
!( ....
Now, there was also tE:s"::'.:'!'('!".~.-~ ~f: .·::~~.~.1 ~b01.1.t a Q
f.'" • varic~~ ,
::;'1 .
:
appro~imate percentages of "
purity of heroin that Mr, r ..
A.
r-
. >.
~ Q > was selling on the Edw~"~3 street?
Yes, sir.
....
Do you have befo~e YOQ a
summary of those lab
the quantities purchased
heroin purchased?
s~ri~s cf ~h0S~ rep0r~s in~~~ating , , A Yes.
Q And can you tell us what those were?
A Yes, on March 23 of 1??0 a grams was made; it was
Laboratory and
percent.
analyze~ the purchase dates, ' ~~~ti?rew ,17
lab reports and a =on~r~~led sub~i~ted t~ and the purity of purchase of 11.6 the DEA North Central ': ('~. i: =: .:. n. h. 'S :: ':' :T.!'!. :'.....11. pu r i t Y 0 f
4. 7
were purchased, 0ne
5.7 grams.
: ...
~irams, the other in • .
Page 56
'r :"1l:r.,p~ ..:;r..t":~~':J"'\.f:i~;':>"'~"._V;~"~"'~C"-:"~~"jr.~:o...:x.:;:Jt.:;:..:\:":1:'.~·:'-?~~W';'~~i;·!~·l06:":J:J~:i;l:;~-:o:;.:~~~~~~.~,~~~-:;~:.:.:~ .;..... ;.t>;:~~~:-~:el'::~~~~ <.
.
" 4IIIl • ~ 4· • .::~.
~ ,.
. BALr~0' .', ;t:"·~~ .
·1· ., !'r f.. ~C7.'
1304 ...
analyzed to ~.:
central Laborato~y in C~i~~?~ ,I~~i~~i& and , "'.
,,' 4.8 and 4. 7 • percl~nt be , .~, Itt P."!:'; :
. On June 1.1 of ~d.'J".r.C'.& ~.~ were purchsed from Mr, and it was submitted t':'
" l:.h~:
.
'. .
.~ ,'; .:-~ .'
::~nl:.!:oI1ed 1)El'. )T.~.:,:~and analyzed to contain hSl'oin. '.
?
i~.
.. l. , ~. \ purchase, ' '-",ntr<'.J, Laboratory' ? ..D~=c~nt purity.
~ I· • 14._1 grams of On September 5 of heroin were. purchased from Mr. 5d w arc.& in a controlled , purchase.
It was submitt~~:. t~ !~01:th !.'E,"- Central Laboratory " he~,:,i~ i~ and analyzed to contain On October 10 of 1990 heroin from Mr. Edwards in grams and the other 1 ~ psrcent purity.'
tw~ ~~hibits contr~llec.
gra~ ~he~ w~=s were purchas~d of purchases, one 85.8 both submitted to the DEA North Central L?bo:~?to=:.- ~.:o. Chicago; the first
1."-
. ,
exhibit·ofB5.~ grams'was ~~alyz;~ to be 4 percent pure ~nd
contained heroin.
percent pure,
Q oth~r Just? m!.r!'J.ts. ::o'.'.r..&eJ..
purchase, which ,..,as 11.0
date was that?
THE WITNESS:
THE COURT:
MR. BELLA:
Q one contained heroin 47 The THE COURT:
The I notice that the :;~:2.m::
June 11':h .
f j..,:si:.
.:;' .. , The third -:'!:.-:s,; :;,,:!",,:cznt pure, what ~~ - 1??0.
_. - = = heruin purchased,
Page 57
..
~:-:~:,:~~-:~~::~:,:r.t~ ~;,::;::;;:~:.:o=.::~'l:':':':':";'~':~~::>~:~';::;::;:; :.:.:::.: :':':'::'t;::':':-~:':':':'~:;:-~::;:~~:~;:;'~";"';';';";:;:~;~~':;;~;:::;:'::';:;:~:~:!':«;'C:':l:':-':'~':'~':':'~:>:':>.~B:-.. ., #:
l BALBI') ,.--..
i 1 I of them on one .tWQ 2 dat~.
five percent pud,ty.
':"T~r.r"'j" ~,"""..,I _._ .'
[ j .• f·''':'~. T..,~' ·~.)t·-~.::d~,;J A."'.G t:ho;::o stands out,of . . one gr~m o~ attempted to been one ':~o;:,-o;:':;:
- 3 were " ~ .~.
To .~ ~S~ '~;'': p~rity:
.
4 -5 1'~ ,.
..;: .:':' ...• ,.
. ..
A •
6 -7 8 I 9 ~ Yes.
f~r A I.
~ •.
If you notice, " as I indicated, it 11 , .
Q .....
.....,.
K" Okay.'
that was for $600.
.
" ':c':@~ .
of 11.5 grams purchased ... on Ap ri I 23,' 1990; wha t W~,[; t!:'.s t,~,:~,~, MR. BELLA:
A 18 . ..
" 11.5 or 1'..5?'11 point March 23 was 11.6.
On April 23 there were' two separate;" and they would be totalling 11,5 MR. BELLA:
19 Q I'm referring to April ~3r'~' ':h~r~ -o;:=~ two separate packets.
21 22 . = _ THE COURT:
23 MR. BELLA:
25 An~ r' 16 24 ?r~~ April 23, 1990; you sc,ia, th~rs 'vsre t"l'Q packets ~f hero{n, -THE , COURT:
20 ono;:
Let's 'draw your c,tte:ltio:o ":6 th" purchases made on 15 17 w~s 5.8 grams and 5.7 gram:;: fc,- a 13 .14 ,) l@:;:t purchase?
~Y9s ~~'q~ant~ty.
would be charged for that 10 , ':~~~ Yes, sir"it was a 1ittlo;: bit hi7hsr than what normally- • f ......." ~ that last' one?
~dw~rd:;:, -~- " .
, ."
"" , ~ \,i • me~~' Q ,',And was extra money paid ~.
.~ hav~ Q 5.8 grams and 5.'7 grams on that particul,H Oi.',tS.
£~., !
".''', .. '' ........
?
. . :~.( ~~tal ':'.f)t~.l of 11.5 grams purchase price ~
Page 58
...
.... BALB0 -
.
• ,nTrr.-'_..
1306 • paid for that?
,, ' ~."
..
A $1,000.
Q So a thousand dolle-.r" f-:::
A Yes.
Q And for just the one .-.'. , :::
',::" ;z ~, '.'
':he-. t date?
~:r " '; , ~-:1' ".
• A, Yes.
Q And bn June 11 there waa aooths= A Q .r is sl~vsn r:::
:;::-1.':';.
grams'purchased; ~:!-?t?
;' " ~~g~~=~ A Correct ..
Q You testified that you bs Cc:!n:? .
.
~.
'.
investigation, did you becom~ w5. th the :: 2.!:'.i J. :L c. r " fa!=:d25.ar with the phone calls , 16 that were purchased -- tha': were mads to Lee Edwards or to '17 .)
. :5600 was paid, So th'e purchase price ps= ",-an ':c: ':l~.~ one gro.m of more pure'~eroin was quite a b i .'
(\ $1,000.
" 15 '.
II' "I.;":..:
" what was the total pu!'ch?sc:~ 14 ~-:i:"!:'s~ ',!!
',that right? " . A .
?r~.~.
th~ 18 and 19 sell?
A Yes, sir.
21 Q And what kind of 22 A It was correct that quantiti~=:
ws=s ~~O bags of heroin E::"'-,~·--:·.::'_~Z w~" purchasing small :!~ 24 and boy and girl, bercjn.
'.,::':~~-" t~at " " ':h?t would calIon the == phone would be purcha"in?
And so would you say ~~0S2?
n0':~.;..),:,::'~"':'-').·, 23 Q Title III wiretap kinds of quanti':!s!' that Les Edwards would usually 20 25 ':h~ his residences during the period of ~~~~ •
Page 59
.·1307 .
, , j, , quantities in a 'high vol{1!!',~' ,, th~_!!
., •i , .
'- And these $10, $20 ba9 , -.
':1. •• _ • •" -:- _ •• ~ "f l-,'':'1'''~in that would be ~ "'.
sold on the 'street, in the co,<"~~rs'? Qf yO\.1,r DEA agent have you come hav~ as'to what the usual .....
' ~o ~~ experience.
Exp~!'tise a~ a or knowledge .ou1"ity ..'
. of heroin in those str~et lev~l '.
,', ~e?
" small quantities would A s....; ".~,,::o:.,J-; l .: .....
large quantitiesi That's exactly correct, A Q ."
, "In my experience as a ~n:':Q::r:e:1\e'-lt J.e',W 'offi.cet working " narcotics for .!lver 12 y~?!'''' ..~. ': .
v~-::7 ;0 common on the street, exhibits purchased b~ m?self 01" controlled • " .purchases made.to be ", analy"Ec on ':h~ st1"eet it would '" r t ....
consistently be perc~n~age:; 0:: 1'03,,' ,than ten percent on a regular basis ..
.'
, And these pe,rcent'age of he::o!.r.. Q .
~ .
few, portions of a :::dw.::'.r.ds, that Mr.
• I,'
~ Edwards was selling ~1:?":
/' percent~ge your expectations of whal:
...,'" I •
give or take a aro~nd pQin~, "o'~ld would that match. with bE sold on the 'street?
A That's consistent with my ,:xpe::!,E:1Se, Q And is it also consistent wil:h <:he intelligence information you received about the A S~wa1"ds was selling?
he1"~ir..
M::,
c :.'!"."::·'- ~ _... :' ",r:'.'
."-.bi.ochm Agbele ~~.
'o::Q~n of 2,362 grams Yes, sir.
established that frQ!1'.
P there was the equivalEnt ~., going to Lee Edwards h'~ an~ ~' ~:?ff'sking organization.
Page 60
~.,~:,.,. ~~: '''::-~~''l7:'':''':;;:::~:"'~:"'"':!::;'<' ,,:,,0;"=';;. ·:",;;",t',',(,;:;::o::,,,,,,,,,: ,,,;;;,,,'. I" ".,.' :~,' <'":".""-: <'''''''''':''''''''~'''''i'P..~'''i<' 0 '.
I .:.
:''''2;''_:'$:{~'~:''~·""",~",-",>,·,W:::'''''"'''!.~'"3 • .
0' BALJ:·0 ..:. r 1 !!'.:::S:r ... ..
,._., tha t wouJ. e1. bo;. 1')" At a five
O' ' ' ' '
;-'.
~ .:
..-,,,,~,,,,\~_LpurCl
- -... -- ... - heroin to achieve
to give Mr.
Edw~rds ~~~ bs~s£it , < be acc;:urate!:o multiply
th~~t of the doubt, ....'
b-:- -n would it'" , t~ receive a five .
percent mixture of
.t· ~ ',' ' " and assume a fi v~ pe '(cs~~ .... ,.:.::J-.'.1. -:' , ~:,:p_l.~:d ~b.'a·t
.'
~ -, , her0i~7 sir.
A Yes,
Q '
And that would then ., transl~te in~~ 47,240 grams or in
excess of 47 kilos of hero:.n so'le' 'b:: Mr. Edwa'rds on the
street at a five percent Edwards the benefit of A Yes, sir.
Q And again you have -.
A
do~~~.
~s ~gain giving Mr.
that correct?
e~a.min'2,:l the::;r;.
fi:r'_~!'es and find that Yes, I have.
• ..
Counsel, :. f. X-ou :1'_13": wC'.nt to mark it on "
th~ ~n~ these were calculated ac ct.'.!:' 2'. t e 1. :-:-?
m~.~~urs ,.
THE COURT:
the exhibit.
MR. BELLA:
Your Hono~, at this point I move to admit
as exhibits Government
by eleven representation of th. ste=t that was used for
Special Agent Balbo's
Exhibit B, being a E~h:bit A, tsst:~~n:.
s~~~e,-~ ~f t~s b~ing e~~ an eight and a half ~1~0 Sovernment s~~t,-011~d purchases made
MR. JACKSON:
THE COURT:
' (';over!"..n\';n~ ":;::.":..·'''t !.T.:.~.':"'):::; .1\ and B were ar]rni tte:c' in1o.Q ~·r~.r;_er·.-:€
Page 61
.1309 ' " .. - ....
'"
i ..
, THE COURT:
, 4 .
~,,, ..
-' /.
I .
)..\ I f :':
.
t..,i tness', -'.~ May.
. in 'evidence, does that 2CC','.!:<;'.te!.·' ::sf!"sct the dates, '. ";"'; ~.
" I show you Government s;:h.:.bi t S. '''bJch has been introduced Q
,.
" _ Hortor:
",:;: .'
~" MR. BELLA:
..
- .. , ...
...
:J.~.
'~_ ".
"amounts of q~antities purchassd. 2n~ psrcentages of purity , ,' " of heroin purchased fro!!:!, M::. :::6."'2 =:'.2' •. <;'.nd wi th the -' , exception 'of l!
....
.;;
',' ' .
;" , ., the ve'ry whsre the ., "
no amount shown, the correct
purchases?
2~~~n~c.
there is paid for all those t,
A Yes, sir, it does.
,
Q And I believe at the tri<;,,2. of ':':::.s !!'.<;'.tter there was .
testi~ony
regarding e~ch and evsry one of those controlled , "
purchases and the amounts pai(; inc!..uding the very first
purchase as well, is that correct?
A Yes,' there was.
Q If I may submit this, 'Your Bonar. r ~pecial Agent Balbo,
would you say that -- yo" ':est!.f:,sc' th<;,.t you asked Raymond
Davis and Abiodun Agbe!.s t:' ':os 'Os:".s··'!:?t ,:onzerative in ~
i Edwards, is that r!.ght?
~--_--
A Yes, they did.
Q In addition to thoz'? t"":, s···:':cs ., ."
:;nr:r}).y, are you aware ./
of other sources of s'-',r.,l:,.- _.r.
.:J. ..... " , -
~~ .'1r. Ec1wa.rds?
..
Page 62
. :': :l ~ :;~~., ~:.~~ ~, '~:".
.'
, , I " , -'I , .
~', ' : ; i
• ~'·;/C.:,'::~:':;;:;:I;;:;:-':~':':'~:i~~~:::~'-:':i~:·:::'·:' :,.:;':1:,;:,::'::::::1:'" .:,::. ::'::::;~:': ::::'~~':?J:;:.~;:i:::.:.'::'::::;ii':::·:'::· .~. ::"':-::~~:~:':,}~,}",::!:::~~\::(.~.::::.:".,::;>::: -::t:r.:~ , :.:;';":":'; :;:':;. '..-..; :.;'ii;;:..~·:.. ~.•.:;,t~~::.i.~ " 1310 BALE,l')
- 1 A Yes.
I •
Q And was there also an .
I ,/" , •I , ~
5.::l~':··i':.·.'?,l '~~.
-.
A " Yes, sir.
" •: ......
Q
-'.;', ~."
n:>.rne of Raymond Burrell who was indicted alan? -;th Mr. Edwards? ,
t'.~~ And does your informat~.o!J source of. supply to Mr.
A
Q ,.
:.n0.i-:?.':::
~:!:.:;d:
h.~ WC'.$ also a Edlo'~:=c:::?
That's correct.
'.was there' even in fact e. !!'.~!et.~.r:,? ~~",:w,='::n .M!'. 'Burrell and .
.
per\o~ c~ Mr. Edwards during the
where conversations betwee" Mr.
were intercepted and where ~~s Title III wiretap ~'lrr:J.J.
?nd Mr. Edwards .'
'.
.'
.
} observed to be mee~ing an Mr~., ·:S·.,r'~ell was actually .
c~ssoci~.te , of Mr_ Edwards to make a delivery?
A That's correct.
Q That meeting that was
observe~ b:' zurveillance agents, that was not a controlled buy, I take it, is that correct?
"'A
Q No, it was Just observed by surveillance units. So you were unable to come intc pas~:zzion or did not come into possession of that
qu~ntit? ~f ~Erain to be able to
that Mr. Burrell delivsreo:l to
)
A No, we did not.
Q In any event, you're ?W?re
heroin to Mr. Ed"arc1s
in these calculations?
t!',".',t, ~',:-, :;-:,··';>,r~lz.
~~~~r ~0~rces :>::, -.~'" a"an 5.s that right?
of supply of ':::"ken into account
Page 63
BALBO -
J 1311 CRC'SS "
MR. JACKSON:
THE COURT:
THE WITNESS:
A
., Overruled Yes, there are other sources tha~ ar:s not taken into Q Would you say that these totals ar:s somewhat conservative, the totals as to the
Mr. Edwards over the perio0
amDU~~ o~ s~r~et ~f ti~s level heroin dealt by th~t'we have talked about?
A ~=.
I believe that these totals givs Edwards the benefit of \
,,' " C MR, BELLA:
Your Honor.
~e!evancy.
account in these totals.
Objectio~.
.
the doubt in all cases.
MR. BELLA:
Thank you, sir.
THE COURT:
Cross.
MR. JACKSON:
Thank YO'~.
r have nothing further.
Y~·.:r:
!ione r: • CROSS EXAM:HT,i,,:,:rOlJ
B~~
MR. JACK30N:
Q yo~ Mr. Balbo, at what time did and a:l~
A I believe it was between nins
Q That was Y,our testimon:{ a,r, t·:i?,:.7
A I believe it was. yes.
Q Now, you executed a .~....y5 ""-0._0' -- the other agents execute the warrant O:l !!::-. Ed','a,rds' residence?
?D~r w~rr~~f:, wa.~ 1" a.m ..
~~i~ Yo1.~r surprise warrant or ?our knowledge have did you have -- or did Mr irny advance notice of ~ serv!,~?
this warrant?
Page 64
"
•
•
SELECTED PAGES PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED TO COURT OF GOVERNMENT'S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM FILED WITH THE COURT IN CONNECTION WITH LEE ANDREW EDWARDS' SENTENCING HEARING
•
Page 65
• ~ I • • ..
/P,'
admitted to his quilt.
report indicates, magnitude of drugs "The Even now, paragraph 11 of the presentenc€the defendant he involved and played in the The jury convicted Edwards of maintaining criminal a enterprise, which Edwards Edwards is not entitled to an adjustment of responsibility.
xx.
XS the amount of heroin used for guidelines calculations supported by the evidence.
Evidence presented both at trial and at the evidentiary sentencing hearing held May 5, 1994 support the amount of heroin used for guidelines calculations in the presentence report. DEA Special Agent Vincent Balbo testified at the sentencing hearing that Raymond Davis and Abiodun Agbele were sources of supply of heroin to Lee Edwards.
Special Agent Balbo testified that Raymond Davis was ,I' interviewed on Auqust 19, 1992.
Davis had pl~d guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin, and had agreed to cooperate with the government.
Davis said that he was a source of supply of heroin to Lee Edwards since 1988.
Edwards or one of his workers would come to Davis' residence and pick up ounce quantities of heroin, that would normally cost about $6,500, for which they would pay cash. On a regular basis, Edwarc;1s' workers would travel to Davis I chicago residence at least twice a week to purchase black tar heroin. Usually, Edwards or his workers ~ould drive Edwards' Ford pick up '\ truck.
Davis said that over a two year period he supplied Edwards ·12
Page 66
."
t •• ,..
..
I • with approximately 6 kilograms of black tar heroin. Davis said he . also supplied Edwards with 3 ounces of white heroin for $6,700 per ounce paid in cash.
Special Agent Balbo testified that physical surveillance and intercepted telephone conversations corroborated Davis '. information.
The amount of heroin delivered by Davis to Edwards is summarized as follows:
= = 6 kilos of black tar heroin 3 oz. of white heroin x 28.35 g./oz.
TOTAL
Spe~ial 6,000 grams 85 grams 6,085 grams Agent Balbo also testified regarding the purity of the heroin being supplied by Davis.
Special Agent Balbo testified that on September 14, 1990, cooperatinq individual Jimmy Edwards, in cooperation with the DEA, made a purchase of heroin from Davis • •1 The cooperating individual purchased 24.4 grams of heroin for $6,700.
A DEA laboratory tested the heroin, and found it to be 35% pure.
If one were to calculate the quantity of pure heroin in the quantities that Davis sold to Lee Edwards, one would engage in the following calculation:
6 kilos of black tar heroin 3 oz. of white h~in x 28.35 g./oz.
= = 6,000 grams 8$ grams 6,08S grams TOTAL x 35 ~ Davis heroin is 35~ pure TOTAL OF PURE HEROIN .
13 2,130 grams
Page 67
•• ' • ....
•• Special Agent Balbo testified that Abiodun Agbele also pled quilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin, and that Agbele also agreed to cooperate with the government.
Special Agent Balbo testified that Agbele was:interviewed on October 4 and October 9, 1991.
Agbele said that he was a source of supply of white heroin to Lee Edwards.
Agbele said that his uncle'from Nigeria who had been living in this country was about to return to Nigeria, and that his uncle provided Agbele with a supply of heroin to sell to Edwards. Agbele said that between 1989 and January, 1990, Agbele sold 10 oz. of white heroin to Edwards.
180 grams Aqbele obtained a resupply of another of heroin from a courier who Agbele understood had brought the heroin into this country from Nigeria, and Agbele delivered this additional amount of ,heroin to Edwards in February, 1990.
10 oz. of white heroin x 28.35 g./oz.
= 180 g. of heroin delivered in Feb., 1990 = 180 grams 463.5 grams TOTAL Special Agent Balbo also 283.5 grams testi~ied reqardinq the purity of the heroin being supplied by Agbele.· Special Agent Balbo testified that on November 20, 1990,' cooperating individual Jimmy Edwards, in cooperation with the DEA, made a purchase of white heroin from Agbele.
The cooperat.lng individual purchaseQ 25.87 grams of heroin for $7,000.
50% pure.
A DEA laboratory tested the heroin, and found it to be 'Il '\ 14 c
Page 68
• • ".
If one were to cal~ulate the quantity of pure heroin in the quantities that Davis sold to Lee Edwards, one would engage in the following calculation:
10 oz. of white heroin x 28.35 g./oz = 180 g. of heroin delivered in Feb., 1990 = 283.5 grams " 180 grams 463.5 grams TOTAL Agbele heroin is 50 % pure x SO % TOTAL OF PURE HEROIN Special A~ent 232 grams Balbo also testified regarding the purity of the heroin being sold by Lee Edwards at street level.
trial established that cooperating individual Testimony at and government witness Walter Pettigrew made a series of six controlled purchases of narcotics Pettigrew ...
from Lee were Edwards.
introduced into . The narcotics evidence at purchased by trial, and DEA laboratory analyst Sanford Angelos testified at trial regarding his analysis of the narcotics purchased.
At the sentencing hearing, Special Agent Balbo summarized the evidence regarding the narcotics purchased by Pettigrew.
relevant facts The following of the purchases made chart summarizes the by Pettigrew from Lee Edwards 2 :
ZIn addition to the purchases of heroin made from Lee Edwards by Walter Pettigrew, there were also two purchases of cocaine: On 9/1/90,·2.6 grams of ~ocaine of a purity of 87% purchased for $250, and on 9/5/90', 20.5 grams of cocaine of a purity of 83% purchased for $1,800. The evidence indicated that Walter Pettigrew purchased cocaine tram Edwards in addition to heroin; and the tape recordings of "intercepted telephone convers~tio~s introduced. into .ev.idence indicated that Lee Edwards was sellJ.ng cocaine J.n addJ.t1.on to heroin. However, the guidelines calculations discussed here only 15 C
Page 69
.....
I •• ...
• • PURCHASES OF HEROIN FROM LEE EDWARDS BY WALTER PETTIGREW:' Date Amount Substance Purity 3123190 11.6 g.
heroin 4.7 % 4/23/90 5.8 g.
5.7 g.
heroin n 4.8 % 4.7 % S 1,000 (for both) 6/11190 11.0 g.
heroin 3.0 % $ 1,000 9/5/90 14.1 g.
heroin 1.2 % $ 10/10/90 85.8 g.
1.0 g.
heroin 4.0 % 47.0 % n n Special Agent II Balbo testified' that after Price $ SOO 700 $ 5,400 $ 600 Edwards would purchase supplies of heroin from Edwards' suppliers, Edwards would "cut" the heroin, or mix it with other substances to increase the quantity of heroin available for sale.
As a reSUlt, the purity of the heroin sold by Edwards would be ¢lecreased.
Special Agent Balbo take into account the street level quantity of heroin attributable to Lee Edwards, for the reason that the majority of the evidence from which calculations of quantity may be made involved heroin, and the government believes the quantity of cocaine attributable to Edwards based upon the evidence would not be large enough to affect ~he guideline calculations.
3A trial transcript has already been prepared. Pettigrew's trial testimony reqardinq the purchases on the various dates referred to in this char~ appear at the foll~winq locations in the trial transcript:
3/23/90, pp. 339-44; 4/23/90, pp. 344-48; 6/11/90, pp. 348-52; 9/5/90, pp. 352-58 (this purchase was the consummation of a partial purchase made on 9/1/90); 10/10/90, pp. 358-71.
Sanford Angelos was the DEA laboratory chemist who testified regarding his examination of the heroin purchased by Pettigrew from Edward~, inclUding the identity of the substance as heroin, the weight of the substance purchased, and the relative purity of the heroin. Mr. Angelos' testimony regarding tne heroin purchased on the various dates referred to in this chart appear at the following locations in the trial transcript: 3/23/90, pp. 56571; , 4/23/90, pp. 571-72, 580-8l,~\ 583-84; 9/5/90, pp. 585-86; 10/10/90, pp. 588-90.
-, -16 6/11/90, pp.
582-83;
Page 70
.. ..,..
-.
.. ".'..
testified that the • abov~ purchases were typical concentration of the heroin sold by the Edwards organization.
Assuming an average concentration of the heroin sold by Edwards of 5% would be generous towards Edwards, in that .his heroin often was concentration.
o~ an even lesser An examination of the Pettigrew purchases listed' above reveals that the purity of the Edwards heroin generally rang~d from 3% to 5%.
There was one purchase, the one-gram purchase made on October 10, 1990, where the purity was higher. Special Agent Balbo testified that was a special purchase for which Pettigrew paid a substantially higher sum, and was a rarity.
Special Agent Balbo' s testimony was corroborated by the intercepted telephone conversations introduced into evidence at trial, which uniformly indicated that Edwards was selling small, inexpensive amounts of heroin.
of the doubt, ."
It is safe, and.even gives Edwards the benefit to assume that Edwards was selling heroin at a concentration of 5% I' Given the amounts of heroin supplied to Edwards by Davis and Agbele as set forth above, and given the concentrations of the heroin sold by ,those suppliers, one is able to determine the quantity of pure heroin' contained in the supply that Edwards obtained.
That calculation of the amount of pure heroin attributaDle to Edwards from his sources of supply has already been set forth above.
In order to turn pure heroin into a mixture at a concentration of 5%, 'one would have to cut pure hetoin 20 times. (cutting pure heroin 20 times would mean that 1/20th, or 5%, of the heroin was pure.)
Given the 5~ 17 concentration of heroin that
Page 71
'?
..
• • ..
• .,; Edwards'was selling, one can determine the weight of the heroin . that Edwards actually sold by taking the pure heroin attributable to Edwards from,his by 20.
sou~ces of supply, and multiplying that amount The result would accurately approximate the amount of heroin sold by Edwards as a result of the heroin supplied to· Edwards by Davis and Agbele.
The calculations in their entirety are shown below:
CALCULATION OF STREET LEVEL HEROIN ATIRmUTABLE TO LEE EDWARDS RAYMOND DAVIS 6 kilos of black tar heroin 3 oz. of white heroin x 28.35 g./oz. = 6,000 grams 85 grams = 6,085 grams TOTAL x 35 % Davis heroin is 35% pure . TOTAL OF DAVIS PURE HEROIN 2,130 grams ABIODUN AGBELE .,' 10 oz. of white heroin x 28.35 g./oz 180 g. ~f heroin delivered in Feb., 1990 TOTAL = = 283.5 grams 180 grams 463.5 grams x 50 Agbele heroin is 50% pure TOTAL OF AGBELE PURE HEROIN % 232 grams PURE HEROIN TOTALS DAVIS pure heroin AGBELE pure heroin 2,130 grams 232 grams TOTAL OF PURE HEROIN 2,362 grams Multiply total of pure heroin by 20 to obtain a 5% mixture of heroin 2,362 grams x20 TOTAL AttRIBUTABLE TO LEE EDWARDS 'fl 1\ 18 47,240 grams - or 47 kilos c
Page 72
~ • • ., ..,.'..
'.
Edwards'was selling, one can determine the weight of the heroin , that Edwards actually sold by taking the pure heroin attributable to Edwards from,his by 20.
sou~ces of supply, and mUltiplying that amount The result would accurately approximate the amount of heroin sold by Edwards as a result of the heroin supplied to' Edwards by Davis and Agbele.
The calculations in their entirety are shown below:
CALCULATION OF STREET LEVEL HEROIN ATTRmUTABLE TO LEE EDWARDS RAYMOND DAVIS 6 kilos of black tar heroin 3 oz. of white heroin x 28.35 g./oz. = = 6,000 grams 85 grams 6,085 grams TOTAL Davis heroin is 35% pure x 35 % . TOTAL OF DAVIS PURE HEROIN 2,130 grams ABIODUN AGBELE .,' 10 oz. of white heroin x 28.35 g./oz 180 g. ~f heroin delivered in Feb., 1990 TOTAL = = 283.5 grams 180 grams 463.5 grams Agbele heroin is 50% pure x 50 % TOTAL OF AGBELE PURE HEROIN 232 grams PURE HEROIN TOTALS DAVIS pure heroin AGBELE pure heroin 2,130 grams TOTAL OF PURE HEROIN 2,362 grams 232 grams Multiply total of pure heroin by 20 to obtain a SCIJ mixture of heroin c 2,362 grams x 20 TOTAL ATTIUBUTABLE TO LEE EDWARDS ~ !\ 18 41,240 grams - or 47 kilos
Page 73
• • ., t>-- Even this amount ~s conservative, in that Edwards also had other suppliers of heroin.
For example, ,Robert Burrell, one of Edwards' co-defendants, pled quilty to supplying Edwards with heroin.
Edwards' wife, Lorri, also testified regarding Edwards repeatedly obtaining supplies of heroin from Burrell. The facts and evidence, consisting of the information provided by Davis and Agbele, the purchases by Jimmy Edwards from Davis and Agbele, the purchases by Walter Pettigrew from Lee Edwards, the physical surveillance, and the intercepted telephone calls, all support the above analysis of the amount of heroin attributable to Lee Edwards.
Paraqraph 25 ·of the presentence report suspended, was sentenced on November 17, 1986 to 2 years, and he was placed on 2 years probation on Both 17, 1986.
,I'
count 3, charging conspiracy to distrib heroin and cocaine, and count 4, charging the offense of m · taining a continuing criminal occurred from enterprise, January, 1986, through convicted on both co about October, 1990.
at least Edwards was In addition, Lorri Edwards testified she 1986, and that Lee. Edwards was operating his organization at that time.
Therefore, Edwards instan:t offense while he was on probation, 30of the presentence criminal history PQiR~S.
'"'\ 19 report properly and assesses
Page 74
f' "•
...
,
•
•
.
PORTION OF OPINION
DEALING WITH CALCULATION OF QUANTITY OF NARCOTICS FROM 7TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS DECISION IN UNITED STATES V. LEE ANDREW EDWARDS
I'
Page 75
r I •• • • Copr. (C)· West 1996 No claim to o;rig. u.s. govt. works ---F.3d---(Cite as: 1996 WL 83180 (7th Cir.(Ind.») UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v.
Lee Andrew EDWARDS, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 94-3307.
united states court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.
Argued Sept. 8, 1995.
Decided Feb. 27, 1996.
Appeal from the united states District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division. ~o. 92 CR 113--Rudy Lozano, JUdge.
Before BAUER, COFFEY and EVANS, Circuit JUdges.
COFFEY, Circuit JUdge.
*1 Lee Edwards appeals his conviction. and sentence for engaging in a. continuing criminal enterprise, consp1r1ng to distribute narcotics, distributing narcotics, using a communication facility to facilitate drug trafficking, and using a firearm during and in relation to a narcotics offense. We affirm.
I. Background Lee Edwards operated a drug ring from his two residences, 460 Taft Place and 1522 Taft Street, in Gary, Indiana and from the liquor store he owned in Gary, the "Black Horseman. " The investigation of Edwards included wiretaps, surveillance, and controlled drug buys, and culminated in a search of Edwards's residence.
. * * *
B. Sentencing
1. Quantity of Attributable Heroin Edwards argues that the sentencing court erred in determining that he was responsible for 47 kilograms of heroin. The first of Edwards's contentions is that the district court erred in relying on unreliable, hearsay testimony to determine the total amount of pure heroin that he purchased for distribution. Second, the defendant argues that the sentencing court improperly calculated the weight of diluted heroin that Edwards sold on the street level. We review the district court's calculation of the quantity of narcotics attributable to Edwards for clear error. united States v. Taylor, 72 F.3d 533, 542 (7th Cir.1995); united States v. VoId, 66 F.3d 915, 918 (7th cir.1995). The law regarding the evaluation of evidence supporting sentencing determinations is well settled: Information may properly be used in sentencing when it has "sufficient indicia of reliability" to support its probable accuracy. united states v. Ewers, 54 F.3d 419, 421 (7th Cir.1995) (citing united states v. Lueddeke, 908 F.2Q 230, 234 (7th Cir .1990) ). However, this reliabilj.ty standard "must be rigorously -
Page 76
r I
•
I•
•
•
applied."
united states v. BeIer, 20 F.3d 1428, 1432 (7th Cir.1994)j see U.S.S.G. s 6A1.3(a) ("In resolving any reasonable dispute concerning a factor important to the sentencing determination, the court may consider relevant information without regard to its admissibility under the rules of evidence applicable at trial, provided that the information has sufficient indicia of reliability to support its probable accuracy."). united states v. Townsend, 73 F.3d 747, 751-52 (7th Cir.1996).
At the sentencing hearing, DEA Agent Vincent Balbo testified that he had interviewed two of Edwards's heroin suppliers: Raymond Davis and Abiodun Agbele. [FN9] According to Balbo, Davis told him that Edwards purchased one to two ounces of "black tar" heroin a week for two years, between 1990 and 1992, paying approximately $6700 per ounce.
Davis made a conservative estimate that he had sold Edwards a total of six kilograms of black tar heroin over the course of the two years. Additionally, Davis told Agent Balbo that he sold Edwards 85 grams of "white" h~roin.
*7 From the Davis evidence, the sentencing court calculated that 6,035 grams of total sold heroin (six kilograms black tar heroin plUS 85 grams white heroin) at 35 percent purity [FN10] yields 2,130.grams of pure heroin.
Agent Balbo next testified that in October 1991 he interviewed Abiodun Agbele, another source of Edwards's heroin. Abiodun told Agent Balbo that he had sold a total of 463.5 grams of "white" heroin to Edwards in 1989 and early 1990. From the Abiodun evidence the sentencing court calculated that 463.5 grams of total heroin at 50 percent purity [FN11] yields 232 grams of pure heroin. Thus, the combined pure heroin supplied by Davis and Abiodun amounted to 2,362 grams (232 plus 2,130).
DEA Agent Balbo testified that from his experience in law enforcement, pure heroin is almost always "cut" or diluted before it is sold on the street.
In order to calculate the street or retail level purity of Edwards's sales, Agent Balbo summarized the drug purchases made by a cooperating individual, Walter Pettigrew, from Edwards. [FN12] A DEA lab had analyzed the narcotics purchased by Pettigrew from Edwards and calculated the percent purity of each samplej the majority of the purchases contained less than 5 percent pure heroin, confirming Agent Balbo's testimony regarding the practice of diluting narcotics before street sale. Applying the street level purity of 5 percent to the 2,362 grams of pure heroin supplied by Davis and Abiodun, the district court calculated street level sales of 47,240 grams of heroin.
[FN13]
Although Edwards argues that the information provided by heroin suppliers Davis and Abiodun is unreliable because they were cooperating witnesses (and hence had a motive to exaggerate Edwards's purchases to receive more favorable treatment from the government), we observe that their statements were corroborated by other evidence at trial.
Jimmie Edwards, Edwards's brother, testified that Davis and Abiodun were two out of defendant Edwards's four sources of heroinn Lorri Edwards, the defendant's wife, also testified that she was aware Abiodun was a regular
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supplier· of heroin.
Edwards himself, upon arrest, told the DEA that he had been purchasing ounce quantities of heroin a week from Davis for the previous year-and-a-half. Moreover, the government's calculation was conservative:
it ignored the heroin supplied by Matthews and Burrell, two additional sources of narcotics for Edwards.
We conclude that the information relied upon to calculate the total amount of· Edwards's drug supply bore "sufficient indicia of reliability." See Taylor, 72 F.3d at 543 (Because the individuals who provided this information gave largely consistent and mutually corroborating accounts, we are not overly concerned that some of these individuals were drug users). United States v. Rose, 12 F. 3d 1414, 1425 (7th Cir.1994) ("We cannot expect that witnesses will possess the credibility of people of the cloth, such as rabbis, priests, and nuns .••• II) • Although the quantity of pure heroin supplied by Davis and Abiodun was determined by analyzing the purity of a single sampie purchase, "the district cour,t may base its findings as to the quantity of drugs involved in an offense on estimation. " Vega, 72 F. 3d at 512 {citing united States v.
Sturman, 49 F.3d 1275, 1284 (7th Cir.1995».
*8 Edwards also asserts that it was clear error for the sentencing court to assume that the 2,362 grams of pure heroin attributable to Edwards was all sold on the street at 5 percent purity (yielding 47,240 grams of total "retail" heroin). Edwards points to the fact that· he sold one gram of heroin to Walter Pettigrew, a cooperating individual, that was 4 7 percent pure heroin.
See united States v. Nobles, 69 F.3d 172, 191 (7th Cir.1995) ("Judges in the federal system, whether they are in the trial or appellate system, do not operate in a vacuum, shielded from knowledge of drug operations in the real world.") (quoting united States v. Hatchett, 31 F.3d 1411, 1420 (7th Cir.1994». However, according to the testimony at sentencing, that sale of a single gram was an exception: the DEA lab determined that six other sales to Pettigrew were of heroin in purities of.4.7 percent, 4 . 8 percent, 4 . 7 percent, 3 • 0 percent, 1 • 6 percent, and 4 . 0 percent, respectively.
Agent Balbo testified that these purity figures confirmed his own knowledge that heroin distributed at the street level is almost always cut to less than 10 percent purity. Further, according to the information set forth in the DEA wiretaps and the defendant's own admissions, the bulk of Edwardsts drug sales were street level and in the form of $10 cut bags of heroin, weighing one tenth of a gram. Edwards's own drug sellers, Barefield, Kellum, and Campbell, testified at trial that Edwards fronted them $10 packages of cut heroin to sell. Thus, the street level purity of 5 percent accurately portrayed Edwards's criminal enterprise. We conclude that the district court did not commit clear error in its determination of the quantity of heroin attributable to Edwards. See Sasson, 62 F.3d at 889 (stating that it is rational to penalize a defendant for the combined weight of a drug's active ingredient and the carrier medium because the carrier facilitates distribution and sale of the narcotics); United States v. Tucker, 20 F.~d 242 (7th Cir.1994) (defendant
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• • accountable for the weight of water and baking soda contained in a cocaine-base mixture).
III. Conclusion The convictions and sentences of Lee Edwards are AFFIRMED.
FN9. Upon his arrest, Edwards had named Davis, Abiodun, Burrell, and Matthews as suppliers of heroin.
The DEA arrested Davis and Abiodun, who cooperated with the government in its prosecution of Edwards.
FN10. The 35 percent purity for the Davis heroin was determined as follows:
Agent Balbo testified that during the investigation of Edwards, a cooperating individual, workin~ within Edwards's drug ring, had intercepted a weekly drug shipment from Davis to Edwards and forwarded it to the DEA. The DEA laboratory reported that the shipment contained one ounce of 35 percent pure black tar heroin. The 35 percent purity figure was applied to all of Edwar~s's heroin purchases from Davis.
FNll. According to Agent Balbo, a cooperating individual under DEA supervision had purchased one ounce of white heroin for $7000 from Abiodun in November 1990. The DEA laboratory determined the heroin to be 50 percent pure.
FN12. The Pettigrew purchases were: 11.6 grams of 4. 7 percent pure heroin for $500 on March 23, 1990; 5.8 grams of 4.8 percent pure heroin and 5.7 grams of 4.7 percent pure heroin for $1000 total on April 23, 1990; 11 grams of 3.0 percent pure heroin on June 11, 1990; 14.1 grams of 1.6 percent pure heroin on September 5, 1990; 85.8 grams of 4.0 percent pure heroin on October 10, 1990; and a special $600 purchase of 1 gram of 47 percent pure heroin also on October 10, 1990.
FN13. Given that Pettigr.ew paid $600 for one gram of 47 percent pure heroin, the value of 2,362 grams of pure heroin would be in excess of $3 million.
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• UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA HAMMOND DIVISION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v.
WILLIE EDWARDS, JR.
CAUSE NO. 2:92 CR 113 (08) CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE BY MAIL The undersigned hereby certifies that she is an employee in the Office of the united States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana and is a person of such age and discretion as to be competent to serve papers.
copy of said t~e copy That on March 14, 1996, she served a attached Government's Sentencing Memorandum by placing in a postpaid envelope addressed 'to the person hereinafter named, at the place and address stated below, which is the last known address, and by depositing said envelope and contents in the united States Mail:
ADDRESSEE:
Attorney Scott L. King c/o Office of the Mayor City of Gary 401 Broadway Gary, IN 46402 Barbara J. Ronciak, Leg~l Secretary U.S. Attorney's Office 100~\Main street, suite A Dyer, Indiana 46311
(219) 322-8576
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