846 and 18 U.S.C. 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. 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. A and B's statements also unequivocally acknowledge that the order to beat or issue a violation to Williams-which resulted in her death-was issued by Hankton personally.13 They also related that the violation or beating was ordered because Williams had stolen some money from the gang. In the Illinois prison system, they are a part of the People Nation. 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. However, unlike Hankton, Davis does not claim that Agent Darin's testimony was unreliable. Nothing could be further from the truth. 45 warns, though it doesn't specify the punishment. 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. 12. 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. Robert Guthrie, a former gang-crimes investigator who now oversees the department's public housing unit. Report to work on time. In 2006, multiple people died from overdose when a strengthened variant of heroin made its way into the houses. (internal citations omitted); (citing United States v. Parolin, 239 F.3d 922, 929 (7th Cir.2001)). Take this excerpt from the Vice Lord constitution: "Every member of the Amalgamated Order of Lordism will at all times maintain him or herself within the Code of Conduct Chain of Command, and the principals of law in the highest manor.". Like many of Chicago street gangs, the Mickey Cobras have a long history. See id. Among the co-defendants were Woodrow Green, Jammah Olden, Rasuah Brunner, Ngaya Brunner, Timeka Murdock and Mekeba Gates, many of whom were also members of the MCs and all of whom also entered into plea agreements with the government. 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. Accordingly, consideration of any additional amounts attributable to him via his leadership role in the MCs was superfluous.30. 1781, 152 L.Ed.2d 860 (2002). Reported as permanently closed. On appeal, both men challenge the district court's application of the guidelines to their sentences and claim that they are entitled to be re-sentenced in accordance with the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 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. It is true that later in the same monologue the judge mentions the position Hankton occupied to illustrate the point that the actual amount attributable to him could reach even beyond 1.5 kilograms. It is clear from those statements, however, that without taking Hankton's leadership role in the offense into consideration, the judge determined that the sentencing enhancement should apply, making any other drug amounts attributable to Hankton via his leadership role superfluous.29 Said differently, the judge concluded that Hankton was personally responsible for distributing well beyond 500 gram[s] of crack cocaine, which justified the enhancement of his sentence under 2D1.1. 30 gang members would then be taken into custody. As part of the plea agreement, the government agreed to recommend that Davis be granted a 3 level reduction for acceptance of responsibility pursuant to U.S.S.G. 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. It was allot of Cobra Stones but once Mickey died some stayed Stones,some became Mickey Cobras and some were King Cobras. Imo..I think Maniac Cobras don't mess with other Mickey Cobra sets near them and I guess they don't go under the 5 (.. or they don't have structure and plus they only have love for their OWN set than any other sets.. like 051 for example. 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. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Clarence HANKTON and Gregory Davis,1 Defendants-Appellants. 14 for the Mickey Cobras is "There will be no more paying brothers and sisters to do your security. And no sitting down or horsing around while on duty. Specifically, Hankton and Davis claim that the district court erroneously calculated the quantity of drugs attributable to them and that evidence (e.g., wiretap evidence) concerning their respective leadership roles in the drug offenses was inadmissible and unreliable and should not have been considered by the sentencing judge. Indeed, the district court's imposition of a sentence in the middle of the range for Hankton, see supra p. 13, and at the lower-end of the range for Davis, see supra p. 16, may be an indication that, having been vested with greater discretion, the judge may well have imposed a sentence lighter than that required by the guidelines. 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 In one conversation with a MCs associate, for example, Hankton is asked whether he got that butter?. In addition, the judge agreed to maintain the two witnesses statements under seal on the similar grounds. The gang has distributed narcotics since the late 1960s . The record reflects that most of the large wholesale purchases involved powder, as opposed to crack, cocaine. 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. 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. 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. Also, although premising multiple enhancements on identical facts' constitutes impermissible double counting the presence of some overlap in the factual basis for two or more upward adjustments does not automatically qualify as double counting. Id. Although they very well could have been considered. 3B1.1(a). 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. Fraction began selling crack cocaine in Chicago at age 14 for the Gangster Disciples gang. 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. During the investigation, the FBI temporarily used a member of the MCs to serve as a cooperating witness. Juwan Gatlin was a member of a street gang known as the Mickey Cobras. Indeed, as we noted in United States v. Vega:Conversations regarding drug transactions are rarely clear. We review the district court's application of the Sentencing Guidelines de novo. See id. 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. 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. All rights reserved. . 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. However, a case was made, which was more than strong enough to convince the jury, that Vega used terms like chickens, roosters and it as code words for drugs. There, he said, teenage gang members are more interested in their own pocketbook than gang loyalty. Violations of the instructions in the memo "most certainly will not be tolerated," the chairman and his board write in the memo. Improper and impermissible double counting only occurs when a district court imposes two or more upward adjustments within the guideline range, when both are premised on the same conduct. U.S. v. Haines, 32 F.3d 290, 293 (7th Cir.1994) (emphasis in original). 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. 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)). I've caught them as young as 12 on the line.". Specifically, Hankton argues that: (a) statements made by government witnesses at sentencing constituted unreliable hearsay and should not have been considered; and Hankton and Davis argue that (b) the introduction of plea agreements signed by co-defendants in the case also qualified as unreliable hearsay evidence and likewise should not have been considered. 18. "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. 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. We disagree.
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