mickey cobras laws

As the King, Hankton was responsible for everything from the direction of the conversion of powder cocaine into crack to the organization of the gang's basketball games. Section 3B1.1 of the sentencing guidelines is applicable where the defendant was an organizer or leader of a criminal activity that involved five or more participants or was otherwise extensive. U.S.S.G. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Clarence Hankton and Gregory Davis were prominent members of the MCs, a dangerous and violent street gang that operated primarily out of housing projects on the north-west side of Chicago. Nonetheless, the government insisted that based on [Hankton's] offense conduct and relevant conduct he was actually responsible for distributing more than 500 grams of crack, which would result in an offense level of 36. See id. It is consistent with what the court has heard as the various defendants have entered their pleas of guilty. We agree with this assessment. See United States v. Paladino, 401 F.3d 471, 481 (7th Cir.2005). In addition, the judge agreed to maintain the two witnesses statements under seal on the similar grounds. Davis also argues that the sentencing court erred by admitting unreliable hearsay evidence when determining that he possessed with intent to distribute 50 to 150 grams of cocaine under U.S.S.G. This evidence was fully corroborated by the testimony of Agent Darin, which the sentencing judge expressly found to be credible. Meaning that, without anything more, evidence of drug transactions referenced in the telephone recordings that Agent Darin testified concerning was sufficient to attribute over 500 grams of crack cocaine to Hankton under the sentencing guidelines. If you would ike to contact us via email please click . 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. In order to assist the court in understanding Hankton's role in the drug trade, Agent Darin-based on his training and four years of experience with drug investigations-testified as to his interpretations of the conversations extracted from the FBI's wiretap recordings, which were replete with code language.14 Specifically, Darin provided background for a number of controlled drug purchases (from Hankton) conducted by the FBI15 and described admissions by the co-defendants that they purchased varying amounts of crack cocaine from Hankton. Olden's understanding was that, during that period of time, Hankton was the King or leader of the MCs on the North-Side of Chicago.18 Specifically highlighting Hankton's leadership role, Olden went on to describe an instance where Hankton had ordered Olden and other members of the MCs not to run, but to stand and fight when they became involved in an altercation with members of a rival gang, the Gangster Disciples, over drug peddling territory. Nonetheless, Hankton argues that the sentencing judge's mention of his leadership role in the organization while finding that he was also eligible for a sentence enhancement for distributing more than 500 grams of cocaine under 2D1.1 constituted impermissible double counting. 15. Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. ", The motivation for young gang members, Knox said, is "there is a way out of this misery, and I too can be a gang leader.". Like the Cobras in Cabrini (the castle) were King Cobras and Mickey's. Then in the 90s to make it even worse Prince Money ( Mickey's son) flipped GD and allot of cobras went with him. A central theme to the Mickey Cobras' rules is respect for the drug customer. A.Validity of Davis and Hankton's Sentencing Enhancements. See supra p. 7-9. At the close of the sentencing hearing, after weighing the evidence presented, the district court determined by a preponderance of the evidence that Davis had indeed possessed with intent to distribute between 50 and 150 grams of crack cocaine and that he was a manager or supervisor of a criminal activity, within the meaning of 3B1.1. 364, 54 L.Ed.2d 376 (1977). 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. 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. See id. 841(a)(1) (Count VI). Olden also explained that in 1997, Hankton held the position of Don of Dons of the Cabrini Green projects on the north side of the city of Chicago, a position granting Hankton authority over other gang members. In addition, it was the government's position that the plea agreements received in evidence demonstrated Davis' authority position in the MCs, citing references to him as Sultan Supreme or lieutenant in the gang and leader of the MCs at the Lathrop Homes. Specifically, he claims that notwithstanding evidence that he held a high rank in the MCs, his role in that organization did not make him a leader or organizer in a drug distribution offense. Hankton stresses that his rank in the MCs alone did not translate into leadership responsibility, much less control over the gang's drug distribution activities. Knox's textbook, "An Introduction to Gangs," lists several gang constitutions, which are filled with rules, pseudo-religious ramblings and the expected problems with spelling. For example, the co-defendants' plea agreements state that Hankton sold them primarily crack cocaine-according to the government's calculation, 1156 grams total. In order to corroborate Agent Darin's testimony, the prosecution called one of Hankton's co-defendants, Jammah Olden. Chicago Police Detective Kenneth Charles, one of the officers charged with investigating Williams' murder and a court recognized expert on the MCs, related information that he uncovered which led him to believe that Hankton had ordered the beating that resulted in Williams' death. See, e.g., United States v. Von Loh, 417 F.3d 710, 712 (7th Cir.2005). In 2006, multiple people died from overdose when a strengthened variant of heroin made its way into the houses. 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. See, e.g., United States v. Hardamon, 188 F.3d 843, 849 (7th Cir.1999). Accordingly, lest we allow an illegal sentence to stand, we believe it appropriate to order a limited remand in this case, while retaining jurisdiction, for proceedings consistent with this court's decision in Paladino, 401 F.3d at 483-84. Thus, since 2D1.1 and 3B1.1 address different conduct and because the trial judge did not rely on Hankton's leadership role in the MCs to enhance his sentence pursuant to 2D1.1, there was no improper double counting and Hankton's claim fails in this regard. 846 and 18 U.S.C. 16. 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. Specifically, Agent Darin testified as to the meaning and context of a number of intercepted phone conversations Davis had with Hankton and other individuals in which Davis discussed cooking large amounts of powder cocaine in order to produce crack cocaine. The gang has distributed narcotics since the late 1960s . We simply cannot be sure. Gang members who sell "packs" of cocaine "on the line" must be finished with work by midnight. As this court held in United States v. Torres-Ramirez, credible corroborating testimony is sufficient to provide hearsay evidence, such as the plea agreements and the statements therein, with an indicia of reliability and satisfies the defendant's entitlement to have his sentence determined based on reliable evidence. 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. 2D1.1(a)(3), Hankton's base offense level was 34 due to the aggregate amount of drugs involved in the offenses he admitted to, i.e., more than 150 grams of crack. As such, gang members are forbidden from parking in the basketball court or playground from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. to leave room from customers. Rule No. Learn more about FindLaws newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy. Some of the factors for a sentencing court to consider when determining whether a defendant held a leadership role under 3B1.1 include: the defendant's (1) exercise of decision-making authority; (2) participation in committing the offense; (3) recruitment of accomplices; (4) degree of participation in planning or organizing the criminal activity; (5) degree of control or authority exercised over others involved in the criminal activity; and (6) the nature and scope of the illegal activity. United States v. Falcon, 347 F.3d 1000, 1004 (7th Cir.2003) (citing United States v. Noble, 246 F.3d 946, 953 (7th Cir.2001)). Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. The regular Mickey Cobras sets are definitely under the 5 (People Nation . See United States v. Torres-Ramirez, 213 F.3d 978, 980-81 (7th Cir.2000) Under circumstances such as these we are unwilling to find fault with the sentencing judge's decision to credit Darin's statement in determining the drug quantity attributable to Hankton. Introduced were the plea agreements of Davis, Woodrow Green, Jammah Olden, Rasuah Brunner, Ngaya Brunner, Timeka Murdock and Mekeba Gates. According to metric-conversions.org, .375 ounces equates to approximately 10.63107 grams. While it may be true that the sentencing judge primarily focused on Hankton's gang activities, there was good reason for doing so. The statements did suggest that the original order to issue Williams a beating may have emanated from, or been approved by, a higher authority in the gang; however, A and B agree that the order to beat Williams came to them directly from Hankton. It was allot of Cobra Stones but once Mickey died some stayed Stones,some became Mickey Cobras and some were King Cobras. Violations of the instructions in the memo "most certainly will not be tolerated," the chairman and his board write in the memo. A pen register is a mechanical device that records the numbers dialed on a telephone by monitoring the electrical impulses caused when the dial on the phone is released. United States v. New York Tel. Cocaine base, better known as crack cocaine, is produced by cooking or mixing powder cocaine (cocaine hydrochloride) with sodium bicarbonate and boiling the mixture until left with a rocklike formation of pure crack cocaine (cocaine minus the hydrochloride). 3E1.1. Not only do they give a vivid glimpse into the world of gangs but also, law enforcement authorities say, underline how central the drug business has become in some Chicago gangs. However, because we have held that the court's consideration of the co-defendant's plea agreements at sentencing did not constitute clear error under any circumstances, we need not separately discuss Davis' challenge to the enhancements to his sentence under 3B1.1(b).Nonetheless, even if we were to hold that the plea agreements were unreliable and should not have been considered, the enhancement was still supported by the record. As recounted above, Olden testified that for a period of five months (between June and October of 2000) Hankton personally supplied him with individual distribution amounts of crack cocaine-ranging in quantity from one eighth of an ounce to one ounce-every three to four days. As part of the plea agreement, Hankton admitted that on three separate occasions in Cook County, Illinois, between February and April 2000, he distributed a total of approximately 156 grams of crack to an individual who, unbeknownst to him, was a confidential informant recruited by the FBI. Cuisine: American Neighborhood: Los Feliz Website: www.shuttersonthebeach.com "The dope and the money-making is more important than the brotherhood," said Cmdr. I've caught them as young as 12 on the line.". See, e.g., United States v. Morales, 994 F.2d 386, 388 (7th Cir.1993) (holding that [i]t is enough that more than one person was involved in the criminal activity and that the defendant played a leadership as distinct from a followership role) (citing United States v. Herrera, 878 F.2d 997 (7th Cir.1989)). 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. The rationale for this is clear: The sentencing stage of a trial is one of the most important parts of the criminal process. You must be 16 years old to work "on the line." 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. They changed their name to Cobra Stones in the late 1960s. The members of the gang used phrases such as a 16th or a teenager to refer to 1/16th of an ounce of crack cocaine, eight-ball, ball or Michael Jordan to refer to 1/8 of an ounce of crack cocaine, quarter, quaker or quake to refer to 1/4 of an ounce of crack cocaine and onion, zone or piece to refer to a whole ounce of crack cocaine. Davis also challenges the enhancement of his sentence under 3B1.1(b) for being a manager or supervisor (but not an organizer or leader) in the criminal activity on identical grounds.

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