See supra p. 7-9. For example, the co-defendants' plea agreements state that Hankton sold them primarily crack cocaine-according to the government's calculation, 1156 grams total. A fact-finder must always draw inferences from veiled allusions and code words. 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. The court also considered the testimony of Detective Charles and the statements made by Witnesses A and B in determining that Hankton was indeed a leader of the criminal enterprise. They changed their name to Cobra Stones in the late 1960s. The area around the buildings, at 5326 S. State St., 5322 S. State St. and 5323 S. Federal St., is known as "The Hole. We disagree and believe this argument is misplaced. Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. 3E1.1, the government recommended that Hankton's requisite offense level should be 37 and that, due to the fact his criminal history category was at level III, the appropriate sentencing range was 262 to 327 months. 801, that evidence was corroborated by other evidence submitted at sentencing, and thus could reasonably be considered reliable by the sentencing judge. See id. 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. 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 her apartment in the Cabrini-Green public housing development. Sellers are allowed to have "a 60-sack on the line," meaning 60 small bags of cocaine in one pack, Guthrie said. 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. See id. As a result of information provided by Gatlin, Arthur Hurd 1781, 152 L.Ed.2d 860 (2002). See supra p. 13. Subtracting 3 points for Hankton's acceptance of responsibility, see U.S.S.G. See, e.g., United States v. Hardamon, 188 F.3d 843, 849 (7th Cir.1999). However, as noted above, the relevant inquiry is not whether the plea agreements submitted at sentencing constituted hearsay, see Smith, 3 F.3d at 1100, but whether the plea agreements included a sufficient indicia of reliability to support [their] probable accuracy, Taylor, 72 F.3d at 543, which we conclude that they did. 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. 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. Co., 434 U.S. 159, 161 n. 1, 98 S.Ct. Finally, over objection from defense counsel, the government introduced the plea agreements of seven of Hankton's co-defendants.19 In the plea agreements, which were signed and approved by each of the co-defendants and received into evidence at sentencing, the co-defendants describe receiving primarily crack cocaine from Hankton. The wiretaps also provided the FBI with further insight into Hankton and Davis' respective leadership roles in the MCs as well as more specific information on the hierarchal structure of the organization. Smith was best friends with defendant's brother. Thf 44 is also very deep and they also rep cobra heavily. One memo from "the chairman and the board of directors" and dated July 23, 1983, addresses an important gang edict: Don't talk to law enforcement interrogators. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005). We do however order a Limited Remand of both Hankton and Davis' sentences in accordance with the procedure set forth in United States v. Paladino. "If anyone break these laws or house rules more than three time, the penalty will increase," rule No. Primarily, the group known as Mickey Cobras controlled the sale of narcotics and the life of most residents up until the 2000s. 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. Another defendant was already incarcerated in Cook County Jail on unrelated charges. The gang has distributed narcotics since the late 1960s . "He's got the props. Nothing could be further from the truth. In other words, we may correct such an error only if it is intolerable, or results in a miscarriage of justice. See Paladino, 401 F.3d at 481. Mickey Cobras - Wikipedia It is consistent with what the court has heard as the various defendants have entered their pleas of guilty. We agree with this assessment. 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. In the last two decades, authorities said, they have confiscated typewritten gang bylaws and constitutions, rules for drug dealing, charts of gang hierarchy and a how-to guide for drive-by shootings. Brandon said the Mickey Cobras' rules "is just some attempt by the hierarchy to keep some sort of order. The district court's determination concerning a defendant's role in the offense is a finding of fact, subject to a clearly erroneous standard of review on appeal, United States v. Brown, 900 F.2d 1098, 1101 (7th Cir.1990), and this remains the case post-Booker. Latin Disciples are one of the original gangs in the Folk alliance, alongside the BGD's (Black Gangster Disciples), Simon City Royals, Spanish Cobras, Satan's Disciples, Ashland Vikings, Two-Six, and others. See id. Last summer, Hilbring recalled, officers seized an instruction list that a West Side gang was passing out to its drug customers. 14. During the investigation, the FBI temporarily used a member of the MCs to serve as a cooperating witness. In addition, Hankton was charged with four separate counts of distribution of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. As to the quantity of drugs Hankton should be held responsible for, it was the government's position that, pursuant to U.S.S.G. 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. 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. The rules state that one gang member on "security" patrols the front door of the building, while the other mans the back door. Also a member of the MCs, Olden recounted that the main source of revenue for the gang was the sale of illegal drugs. 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. 841(a)(1). Davis pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and admitted that on June 27, 2000, he obtained approximately 250 grams of powder cocaine from Hankton, with the intention of distributing it to others.22 Nonetheless, the government argued at sentencing that Davis was responsible for the possession of more than just the 250 grams of powder cocaine that he admitted to in the plea agreement. Officials said the Mickey Cobras include as many as 1,500 members and control the area around the Cabrini-Green public-housing complex. See United States v. Sutton, 406 F.3d 472, 474 (7th Cir.2005) (citing United States v. Benitez, 92 F.3d 528, 538 (7th Cir.1996)). In a superseding indictment dated May 15, 2002, Clarence Hankton, Greg Davis and six other co-conspirators were charged in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. Hankton next claims that it was clear error for the district court to determine that he was an organizer or leader of a criminal activity pursuant to 3B1.1(a) of the Guidelines. Hankton also claims that the district court erroneously double counted when imposing his sentencing enhancements because the court considered his leadership within the MCs street gang both to enhance his sentence for finding him responsible for distributing more than 500 grams of cocaine, under 2D1.1, and for being an organizer or leader of a criminal activity, under 3B1.1. ", 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.". 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005) and United States v. Paladino, 401 F.3d 471 (7th Cir.2005). "It's all geared for better business," Guthrie said. Davis also threatened violence when he learned that Olden's drug dealers had invaded his territory. This evidence unquestionably evinces a level of control sufficient to satisfy the manager or supervisor enhancement pursuant to 3B1.1(b). 14 for the Mickey Cobras is "There will be no more paying brothers and sisters to do your security. In fact, both Agent Darin and Jammah Olden testified that the gang's sole source of revenues was from the sale of illegal drugs. As this court has stated numerous times [t]he law is very clear that a sentencing judge may appropriately conduct an inquiry broad in scope, largely unlimited either as to the kind of information he may consider, or the source from which it may come. A corollary to this general principle is the rule that a sentencing judge may consider relevant information without regard to the rules of evidence provided that the information has [a] sufficient indicia of reliability to support its probable accuracy. United States v. Lemmons, 230 F.3d 263, 267 (7th Cir.2000) (quoting U.S.S.G. 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. 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. "The Horatio Alger of today is the gang leader," said Knox, referring to the 19th Century author made famous by his stories of rags-to-riches success. Indeed, the federal criminal code makes clear that: No limitation shall be placed on the information concerning the background, character, and conduct of a person convicted of an offense which a court of the United States may receive and consider for the purpose of imposing an appropriate sentence. 18 U.S.C. 7-8, when stating that Hankton exercised authority over persons, certainly well more than five or ten. However, Hankton claims that rather than directing its remarks to Mr. Hankton's conduct as it related to the actual offence, i.e., drug distribution, the court dwelled on Mr. Hankton's gang activities. This statement is nothing more than a self-serving red herring. We disagree. When determining the drug quantity attributable to Hankton pursuant to 2D1.1 the judge specifically found that, considering the admissions of the defendant in the plea agreement as well as the evidence concerning the intercepted phone conversations, Hankton was responsible for distributing well beyond 500 gram[s] of crack. In order to corroborate Agent Darin's testimony, the prosecution called one of Hankton's co-defendants, Jammah Olden. "It's a fallacy that they put on paper that you have to be 16 on the line. Further, even if we were to assume, arguendo, that the testimony given by Agent Darin as well as the co-defendants' plea agreements was unreliable, the live testimony of Jammah Olden, without more, supported-or at the least lent great credence to-the conclusion that Hankton distributed in excess of 500 grams of crack cocaine. 2D1.1(a)(4). Violations of the instructions in the memo "most certainly will not be tolerated," the chairman and his board write in the memo.
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