However, even where a plain error is found to exist, a court of appeals may exercise its discretion to notice a forfeited error only if the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. United States v. Cotton, 535 U.S. 625, 631, 122 S.Ct. Fraction began selling crack cocaine in Chicago at age 14 for the Gangster Disciples gang. 2D1.1. But a Chicago Housing Authority sergeant who works in the Robert Taylor Homes said despite the sophistication of the drug trade, rules and bylaws created by imprisoned gang leaders are routinely violated on the street. An extension was applied for and granted on July 20, 2000, and allowed continued surveillance through August 18, 2000. 841(a)(1), and Davis was charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, also in violation of 21 U.S.C. However, even if the judge had taken into account Hankton's leadership role when determining the quantity of drugs attributing attributable to him, this would not have been improper because, as explained above, although there may have been some overlap in the factual predicate for both enhancements, each enhancement addressed distinct aspects of the defendant's conduct. Schmeilski, 408 F.3d at 919. In at least one of those conversations Davis states that he purchased powder cocaine specifically for the purpose of further processing it in order to manufacture and distribute the resulting crack. The government also introduced the signed plea agreements of other members of the MCs in which they admitted that they had purchased crack cocaine from Hankton. Made public recently by police sources, the sheets outline how gang members should behave while peddling drugs in the Robert Taylor Homes. Five others remain fugitives. 841(a)(1) (Counts II, III, IV, and V) and Davis was charged with knowingly and intentionally possessing with intent to distribute approximately 250 grams of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. The gang's various criminal undertakings were coordinated through a hierarchical-type infrastructure and included, but were not limited to, the possession and distribution of powder cocaine and cocaine base (better known as crack).3. Said differently, Hankton takes issue with the sentencing judge's focus on his leadership conduct which he claims is unrelated to the underlying crime of distribution of a controlled substance. In the Illinois prison system, they are a part of the People Nation. (T. 1981, 1993). To support the proposed guidelines enhancements, the government presented evidence detailing Hankton's role as a leader or organizer within the MCs organization. Fraction and eight of the 11 codefendants charged in the complaint are or have been affiliated with the Vice Lords, the Black P Stones, and the Mickey Cobra Stones, all of which are subgroups of the Chicago-based People gang. This evidence was fully corroborated by the testimony of Agent Darin, which the sentencing judge expressly found to be credible. The indictment also alleged that the defendants participated in various other drug-related crimes arising out of their membership in, and affiliation with, the "Mickey Cobras" ("MCs") street gang, which operated on the north-side of Chicago, Illinois during the 1980s and 1990s. The following day, Davis also agreed to plead guilty to possessing, with the intent to distribute, approximately 250 grams of cocaine, also in violation of 21 U.S.C. At Davis' sentencing hearing, the government began by calling Agent Darin to the stand as the first witness in support of the contention that Davis' sentence should be enhanced for the possession with the intent to distribute 50 to 150 grams of crack cocaine. As the district court concluded, given the entirety of the government's submission, [Agent Darin's testimony] is reliable evidence and should be given substantial weight by the court [i]t is corroborated [i]t all ties together. The rules make it clear that activities normally associated with gangs, like graffiti and fighting, are not acceptable while drugs are being sold, he said. 25. Mickey Cobras Foondit 1954 Namit efter Henry "Mickey" Cogwell Foondin location Westside, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Years active 1954-Present Territory Chicago, Illinois Ethnicity Maistly African American Creeminal activities Drog Trokin, Robbery, Extortion, Murther Allies People Nation, Black P. Stones, Vice Lords Rivals At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial judge concluded that based on the plea agreements and testimony given at sentencing, Hankton could have reasonably foreseen that the amount of [crack cocaine] he was dealing was well in excess of 500 grams, and could reach even beyond 1.5 kilograms. Indeed, the District Judge determined that the recorded [Title III] calls alone take the amount well beyond the 500-gram minimum.20 Moreover, citing the live testimony and the physical evidence confiscated from Hankton's residence (such as correspondence identifying Hankton as King), the court found that [Hankton] [was] one of several organizers and one of several leaders within [the] structured criminal organization and that he exercised control and power over other members of the gang and felt a four level leadership enhancement to Hankton's sentence was warranted pursuant to U.S.S.G. The government concluded that, because Hankton had admitted to distributing 156 grams of cocaine and because the plea agreements attributed at least an additional 344 grams of crack to him, it was reasonable to conclude from the evidence presented at sentencing that he had distributed in excess of 500 grams of cocaine for the purposes of U.S.S.G 2D1.1. The rationale for this is clear: The sentencing stage of a trial is one of the most important parts of the criminal process. In determining reliability we consider the totality of the evidence before the sentencing judge, United States v. Span, 170 F.3d 798, 803 (7th Cir.1999), but a sentencing determination may be premised on any basis supported by the record. (quoting United States v. Carson, 9 F.3d 576, 584 (7th Cir.1993)); see United States v. Reneslacis, 349 F.3d 412, 417 (7th Cir.2003). (T. 1993, 2223, 3194). According to Olden's testimony, which was unrebutted at sentencing, it was reasonable for the district court to conclude that Hankton personally distributed between 134 and 1071 grams of crack cocaine, to Olden alone, in the space of just these five months.26 See Salinas, 62 F.3d at 859; see also United States v. Durham, 211 F.3d 437, 444 (7th Cir.2000) (stating that estimates of drug quantity are acceptable if they are based on evidence possessing a sufficient indicia of reliability and not nebulous eyeballing). See United States v. Paladino, 401 F.3d 471, 481 (7th Cir.2005). 3B1.1(b). The Mickey Cobras' drug operation is set up so that shifts of "security" patrol the lobby area, acting as lookouts for police or anyone else who might interfere with drug sales, according to police and the list of rules. It was allot of Cobra Stones but once Mickey died some stayed Stones,some became Mickey Cobras and some were King Cobras. Indeed, it would be antithetical to consider these to be mutually exclusive endeavors. Finally, the rules make clear that anyone who violates them will be dragged before the gang's "board" and punished. See supra p. 13. In 2006, multiple people died from overdose when a strengthened variant of heroin made its way into the houses. After a nine month undercover narcotics investigation, in January 1998 the Chicago Police Department arrested 31 Spanish Cobras in "Operation: Mongoose", including some gang leaders. Hankton's plea agreement also set forth his disagreement as to the two enhancements proposed by the government under the sentencing guidelines: one concerning the drug quantity involved and another pertaining to Hankton's alleged leadership role in the offense. This is not to mention the fact that Davis was provided with ample opportunity to rebut the hearsay evidence proffered against him in the form of the co-defendant plea agreements, either by calling his own exculpatory witnesses or through his cross examination of Agent Darin. The informant agreed to wear an undercover recording device while interacting with Hankton. Indeed, the plea agreements were more than sufficiently corroborated at Hankton's sentencing hearing by the credible testimony of the live witnesses, i.e., Agent Darin and Detective Charles. Officials said the Mickey Cobras include as many as 1,500 members and control the area around the Cabrini-Green public-housing complex. Also, the district court did not rely solely on witness testimony concluding that Hankton was responsible for distributing more than 500 grams of crack. See id. Id. http://www. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005) and United States v. Paladino, 401 F.3d 471 (7th Cir.2005). There, he said, teenage gang members are more interested in their own pocketbook than gang loyalty. In another conversation, Darin described a conversation between Hankton and co-defendant Jammah Olden, where Olden requests that Hankton supply him with: About a half. Darin testified that, a half, as used in that particular context, referred to one half-ounce of crack cocaine. Thf 44 is also very deep and they also rep cobra heavily. For example, the government was unable to obtain conclusive information about Hankton and Hankton's associates without arousing suspicion. Additionally, the use of undercover agents [was determined to] be impractical and dangerous due to the highly suspicious' nature of the alleged offenders.. 26. 846 and 18 U.S.C. "And they really do have elaborate procedures.". Thus, because witness testimony-the testimony of a witness, Agent Darin, whom the district judge had previously determined to be credible-was introduced to corroborate information contained in the co-defendant's plea agreements and thus infused that evidence with an indicia of reliability. See United States v. Martinez, 289 F.3d at 1028-29; Torres-Ramirez, 213 F.3d at 980. When the amounts of crack cocaine that the co-defendants admitted Hankton distributed to them were tallied, the government estimated that the amount of crack Hankton distributed (as established in the plea agreement documents alone) to be 1166 grams. Based on his understanding of the inner-workings of the MCs, Charles stated that on April 12, 2004, Williams had been issued a severe beating or violation as the MCs called it, for allegedly stealing approximately $3,000 from the gang. In fact, both Agent Darin and Jammah Olden testified that the gang's sole source of revenues was from the sale of illegal drugs. Finally, Hankton and Davis request that we order a limited remand to determine whether the district court would have imposed a different sentence had it known that the Sentencing Guidelines were merely advisory. 2518(1)(b) & (c). Bell pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 40 years in prison, while the other two enforcers--Jamaine Jackson and Carl Williams--were convicted at trial and given 60-year prison terms each, according to Assistant State's Atty. of crack cocaine every four days over a period of five months). The trial judge concluded that Davis' base offense level was 32 along with five criminal history points, meaning that the appropriate sentencing range to be applied was 210 to 262 months. While it may be true that the sentencing judge primarily focused on Hankton's gang activities, there was good reason for doing so. Accordingly, it is well-settled law that hearsay is not only an acceptable basis for a sentencing determination, United States v. Smith, 3 F.3d 1088, 1100 (7th Cir.1993), it is often an integral part of the sentencing process, United States v. Badger, 983 F.2d 1443, 1459 (7th Cir.1993). Notes [ edit] Although there was some ambiguity in Olden's testimony as to his interpretation of the terminology used by the MCs to refer to crack cocaine, he eventually testified that he purchased a hard form of cocaine from Hankton. In particular, Ngaya Brunner admits to purchasing approximately 10 and one-half grams of crack from Davis. Cuisine: American Neighborhood: Los Feliz Website: www.shuttersonthebeach.com 2. Three Mickey Cobras members, including Lindsey Bell, the gang's chief enforcer, were convicted in Cook County Criminal Court of beating Williams to death with baseball bats in a hallway outside . Olden testified that eventually Hankton became King of the north side of the city. Even a conservative estimate of the amount of cocaine Hankton supplied Olden with amounts to approximately 4.6875 ounces or 134 grams of crack cocaine (which is equal to Hankton supplying Olden with 1/8 oz. The area around the buildings, at 5326 S. State St., 5322 S. State St. and 5323 S. Federal St., is known as "The Hole. See United States v. White, 406 F.3d 827, 835 (7th Cir.2005); United States v. Castillo, 406 F.3d 806, 823-24 (7th Cir.2005). Agent Darin, a member of the FBI's joint gang task force and a trained drug traffic investigation agent, testified concerning Hankton's coordination of the drug trade for the MCs as well as his role as King or leader of the gang throughout the city in 2000 and 2001. He's got the Mercedes, and he's got a BMW too. 28: "There will be no getting hi or drinking on the line. Instead, the government argued that, in addition to possessing powder cocaine, Davis was also responsible for possessing with the intent to distribute between 50 and 150 grams of crack cocaine, pursuant to U.S.S.G. 8,000 to 10,000 that lives in the United States of America. For example, the co-defendants' plea agreements state that Hankton sold them primarily crack cocaine-according to the government's calculation, 1156 grams total. "He's got the props. Where different aspects or components of the defendant's behavior are addressed by different enhancements, improper double counting has not occurred. 841 and 846. Nonetheless, as Agent Darin's testimony and the phone conversations established, Hankton dealt primarily in crack and the large wholesale purchases were made with the intent of converting the powder cocaine into crack. View Menu. What's more, Detective Charles testified that he personally witnessed Hankton standing with several other men in the parking lot of Williams' building at 1150-60 North Sedgwick Street, from 8:00-10:00 p.m. the evening of her murder. Following the arrests, on July 3, 2001, Hankton and Davis, along with six9 other individuals, were indicted inter alia on drug conspiracy and drug possession charges.10 As discussed infra, Hankton and Davis entered into separate plea agreements with the government and each of them admitted facts sufficient to establish criminal liability beyond a reasonable doubt. In order to corroborate Agent Darin's testimony, the prosecution called one of Hankton's co-defendants, Jammah Olden. Darin testified as to a series of taped wiretap colloquies between Hankton and Davis about the proper way to cook or convert powder cocaine to crack cocaine.24 For example, during one of the taped consultations Davis acknowledges that he successfully cooked at least one ounce of cocaine that day and was fittin' [sic] to do more. In the same conversation Davis states that earlier in the day he had procured an additional dry nine or nine ounces of powder cocaine in hopes of perfecting his crack producing skills. They get lunch breaks, set time for shifts, are not supposed to socialize.". The Mickey Cobras now have their own unique written constitution and by-laws, which show a strong Islamic influence, just like those of the modern-day BPSN. See United States v. Barnes, 117 F.3d 328, 337 (7th Cir.1997). June 16, 1993)). As this court has previously noted [i]t is well known that drug dealers commonly use code language out of fear that their conversations will be intercepted. United States v. Harris, 271 F.3d 690, 702 (7th Cir.2001). Put simply, a district court may not characterize the same conduct in two different ways to arrive at two separate sentence enhancements that result in an upward adjustment of the sentencing range. Instead, all of the evidence presented-as well as commonsense-suggest that, in fact, Hankton's gang activities were intimately, related to and intertwined with, his drug distribution activities. ", And rule No. On the high end, Hankton may have supplied Olden with as much as 1071 grams of crack (which is equal to 1 oz. "Prentis Smith testified that he was a former member of the Mickey Cobra street gang. Gutta cobras (including) thf44 in the lowend probably the deep spot for cobras but they not . In the Illinois prison system, they are a part of the People Nation. "If anyone break these laws or house rules more than three time, the penalty will increase," rule No. Also, as the factfinder at sentencing, the judge was free to draw whatever conclusions he might about the testimony given and evidence introduced in order to determine an appropriate sentence. See supra p. 7-9. See supra p. 9.Hankton argues that the testimony of Detective Charles and Agent Darin as to his role in the MCs should not have been considered because they were [not] qualified as experts in anything. This is misleading, for the district court made an express finding that Detective Charles was indeed an expert on the MCs, see supra p. 7, as well as expressly finding him to be a credible witness. Likewise, Agent Darin was also expressly found by the judge to be a credible and reliable witness. 2D1.1(a)(4).23 In addition, the government maintained that Davis' offense level should also be increased by 3 levels because he qualified under the Guidelines as a manager or supervisor of a criminal activity involving more than five participants. Thus, because the plea agreements submitted at sentencing were corroborated by the credible testimony given by Agent Darin, as well as the live testimony of co-defendant Olden-both of which were subject to thorough cross-examination at sentencing-we hold that the sentencing judge did not err, much less commit clear error when considering this most reliable evidence when determining that Hankton was responsible for distributing in excess of 500 grams of crack cocaine pursuant to U.S.S.G. There are 30,000 to 50,000 MS-13 members and associate members that is worldwide. Accordingly, consideration of any additional amounts attributable to him via his leadership role in the MCs was superfluous.30. To corroborate Detective Charles' testimony, the government introduced sworn statements from two sub rosa government witnesses, identified in the record only as A and B.12 In their statements both witnesses identify Hankton as the don or leader of the MCs at Cabrini-Green.

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