Specifically, investigators learned that both Hankton and Davis held leadership roles in the MCs. In particular, Ngaya Brunner admits to purchasing approximately 10 and one-half grams of crack from Davis. See supra p. 19-20. In Gangs and Organized Crime, George W. Knox, Gregg W. Etter, and Carter F. Smith offer an informed and carefully investigated examination of gangs and organized crime groups, covering street gangs, prison gangs, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and organized crime groups from every continent. 28: "There will be no getting hi or drinking on the line. Armed with this information, the government obtained arrest warrants for 19 individuals connected with the MCs and, on January 2, 2001, Hankton and Davis were apprehended on allegations of conspiring to possess cocaine and crack with the intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 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. 8-9; see also U.S.S.G. 2. 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. The collective name of joined gangs under the five point star banner (V.L.,B.P.S.,L.K., M.C.,4.C.H.,). In October 1999, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began investigating the MCs, utilizing confidential informants,4 FBI surveillance and pen registers to gain information on the organization.5 Information gathered in the initial operational phase of the investigation allowed law enforcement officers to gain a preliminary understanding of the gang's structure. In addition, the government contended that Hankton's offense level should be increased by 4 levels because the defendant was an organizer and leader of criminal activity that involved five or more participants, pursuant to U.S.S.G. 2D1.1(a)(4). "The dope and the money-making is more important than the brotherhood," said Cmdr. See United States v. Puckett, 405 F.3d 589, 597 n. 8 (7th Cir.2005); United States v. Edwards, 397 F.3d 570, 574 (7th Cir.2005). See Barnes, 117 F.3d at 338. 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). Rather, the "House Rules" for the Mickey Cobras street gang are handwritten on five pages of plain paper and were found by police stuffed in the pockets of several members who accused of selling crack cocaine. According to metric-conversions.org, .375 ounces equates to approximately 10.63107 grams. 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 government next introduced evidence directed towards establishing that Hankton was responsible for distributing more than 500 grams of crack cocaine, as opposed to the 150 grams he admitted to distributing. 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 And no sitting down or horsing around while on duty. The National Law Review - National Law Forum LLC 3 Grant Square #141 Hinsdale, IL 60521 Telephone (708) 357-3317 or toll free (877) 357-3317. Also, information from the wiretaps demonstrated that Hankton used his position in the gang to facilitate his drug transactions, collect money for himself and protect the gang's drug dealing territory. 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. After all, a sentencing court in making its sentencing determination must draw inferences from a variety of data, including the defendant's demeanor and information in the [presentence report], in order to reach [its] conclusion. See United States v. Frazier, 213 F.3d 409, 417 (7th Cir.2000) (quoting United States v. Fones, 51 F.3d 663, 665 (7th Cir.1995)). In addition, the district judge specifically found Agent Darin to be a credible witness, a determination which bolstered the judge's decision that Darin's testimony concerning the wiretap conversations was reliable. 45 warns, though it doesn't specify the punishment. As such, the defendant must have exercised some degree of control over others involved in the commission of the offense or he must have been responsible for organizing others for the purpose of carrying out the crime. Id. Find something similiar nearby. 2D1.1. As Olden explained, Hankton would supply him with crack-essentially on credit-and then collect the proceeds from the sale of the crack from him at a later time. 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. Control means access to the profits from the drug trade. Made public recently by police sources, the sheets outline how gang members should behave while peddling drugs in the Robert Taylor Homes. 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. In other words, Davis must present this court with more than conclusory allegations that a government witness is unreliable; he must present evidence which would in some way rebut that testimony or demonstrate that it is inaccurate and should not have been relied upon by the sentencing judge. The co-defendants' plea agreements submitted at Davis' sentencing demonstrated that Davis was in the habit of distributing crack cocaine. 841(a)(1). Matt Brandon of the CHA tactical unit. Mickey Cobras - Wikipedia 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. For example, in her plea agreement, Ngaya Brunner admits purchasing three eight-balls of crack cocaine from Davis, which translates into approximately 10 and one-half grams.25 The prosecution concluded that, when the plea-agreements were considered in relation to Agent Darin's testimony that Davis was a seasoned cook of cocaine, the reasonable inference was that Davis was responsible for possessing with the intent to distribute 50 to 150 grams of cocaine. 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. 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. Hankton was subsequently sentenced to a term of 300 months in prison, while Davis was sentenced to 210 months. The list is a detailed explanation of how to act as "security" for drug sales and how to sell "packs" of crack in three buildings of the Robert Taylor Homes that are controlled by the gang. We simply cannot be sure. 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. They are members of the People Nation in Illinois prisons. 2D1.1 and 3B1.1 to his sentence constituted improper double counting. Yeah the cobras are deep in the low end. 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. This is a highly deferential standard of review and we refuse to second-guess the sentencing judge. United States v. Cleggett, 179 F.3d 1051, 1059 (7th Cir.1999) (citing United States v. Garcia, 66 F.3d 851, 856 (7th Cir.1995)). 21. "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. 27. on Febuary 25, 1977 Mickey Cogwell was killed, The Gunmen were never found. The founder of the Egyptian Cobras was James Cogwell. The rules state that one gang member on "security" patrols the front door of the building, while the other mans the back door. In order to honor Mickey, they changed their name to Mickey Cobras. The informant agreed to wear an undercover recording device while interacting with Hankton. Gatlin was murdered because he provided information to the police about the murder of Tony Dawson, a previously unsolved homicide in Minneapolis. Hankton responds that [i]t's guaranteed. Agent Darin testified that butter was a common code word for cocaine and that the two were actually discussing the future sale of either crack or powder cocaine. Indeed, as we noted in United States v. Vega:Conversations regarding drug transactions are rarely clear. The authors have spent decades investigating gangs as well as researching their history and activities, and . Mickey Cobras - Wikiwand 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. See supra pp. In 2006, multiple people died from overdose when a strengthened variant of heroin made its way into the houses. 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)). 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. R. Evid. Notes [ edit] Thus, [s]o long as the information which the sentencing judge considers has sufficient indicia of reliability to support its probable accuracy, the information may properly be taken into account in passing sentence. United States v. Robinson, 164 F.3d 1068, 1070 (7th Cir.1999) (quoting United States v. Taylor, 72 F.3d 533, 543 (7th Cir.1995)). He's got the Mercedes, and he's got a BMW too. To support the proposed guidelines enhancements, the government presented evidence detailing Hankton's role as a leader or organizer within the MCs organization. Based in Chicago an consistin lairgely o African-American memmership, the gang is considered vera mobile, wear the colour reid, an factions o the gang are bein established throughoot the Mid-wastren Unitit States. 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. The area around the buildings, at 5326 S. State St., 5322 S. State St. and 5323 S. Federal St., is known as "The Hole. U.s. Accuses 19 Gang Members of Narcotics Conspiracy While it may be true that the sentencing judge primarily focused on Hankton's gang activities, there was good reason for doing so. 11. 30. See United States v. Smith, 3 F.3d 1088, 1099. 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. 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. Hankton and Davis were also charged with the knowing and intentional use of a communication facility (i.e., a telephone) in the commission of a felony (distribution of a controlled substance), and four separate counts of knowing and intentional distribution of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 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.. Los Angeles, California Employment Laws Overview - The National Law Review 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. Through the use of the cooperating witness, the FBI was able to conduct a number of controlled purchases of crack cocaine. Maniac Latin Disciples - Wikipedia "But none of the kids abide by it," he said. Many of the 46 regulations read like a manual for fast-food employees or convenience-store clerks. Olden stated that Hankton regularly supplied him with crack (not powder cocaine) which he was instructed to sell to others.17 Specifically, Olden testified that beginning in June of 2000 (until approximately October of 2000) Hankton had personally supplied him with amounts of crack cocaine ranging from one-eighth ounce to one-half ounce every three or four days. After their leader, Mickey Cogwell, was gunned down in front of his South Side home in 1977, the gang adopted the name Mickey Cobras in honor of him. The memo notes that interrogations are inevitable because "not all business can be taken care of in a smooth way" and reminds gang members that police legally must inform them of their right to remain silent or have an attorney present before interviewing them. Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. 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. Last summer, Hilbring recalled, officers seized an instruction list that a West Side gang was passing out to its drug customers. And gang members are forbidden from selling crack on the ground level of the building. Days later in another conversation, Hankton asks Davis-who was apparently having problems cooking up some crack-whether he was cooking it on a stove or not, and Davis responds: No. Reported as permanently closed. David Kelley. Mickey Cobra History : r/Chiraqology - reddit 841(a)(1), and Davis was charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, also in violation of 21 U.S.C. . An FBI-led task force and Chicago police arrested Hankton and 12 of the other suspects Thursday. There, he said, teenage gang members are more interested in their own pocketbook than gang loyalty. Reversal will be warranted only if, after reviewing the entire evidence, we are left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. United States v. Sheikh, 367 F.3d 683, 687 (7th Cir.2004) (quoting United States v. Frazier, 213 F.3d 409, 417 (7th Cir.2000)). Instead, Davis claims only that the introduction of the co-defendants' plea agreements constituted clear error due to the fact that the agreements were inadmissible hearsay. 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. 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. They don't want the heat. 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. See United States v. Martinez, 289 F.3d 1023, 1028-29 (7th Cir.2002) (holding that reliability may be established by corroborating evidence). In order to corroborate Agent Darin's testimony, the prosecution called one of Hankton's co-defendants, Jammah Olden. United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 8,000 to 10,000 that lives in the United States of America. For example, Agent Darin testified that as the king, Hankton was in charge of all the activities undertaken by the MCs on the north-side of the city, including the distribution of illegal narcotics. See United States v. Paladino, 401 F.3d 471, 481 (7th Cir.2005). 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. 841(a)(1). ", Rule No. 30 gang members would then be taken into custody. . 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 Agent Darin's testimony, the government introduced Davis' plea agreement as well as the plea agreements of the other co-defendants. 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). 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. Torres-Ramirez, 213 F.3d at 980-81. 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.". Hankton's role as King was also supported through Agent Darin's description of physical evidence that was confiscated from Hankton's residence upon a search warrant-such as letters calling Hankton the King, statues of cobras wearing crowns and jewelry of crowns-all referring to Hankton's leadership position in the gang as the King of Kings.. Drug Charges Filed Against Alleged Gang Members 801, that evidence was corroborated by other evidence submitted at sentencing, and thus could reasonably be considered reliable by the sentencing judge. 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. Introduced were the plea agreements of Davis, Woodrow Green, Jammah Olden, Rasuah Brunner, Ngaya Brunner, Timeka Murdock and Mekeba Gates. Authorities said the charges marked the first time the gang has been targeted in a major federal prosecution. Not only are code words always used by drug conspirators when they realize, as they do in today's drug culture, that their telephone conversations are frequently intercepted, such term were obviously used by the conspirators in this case [W]e have frequently upheld conspiracy determinations made by judges and juries which have relied upon inferences that code words or obscure language were meant to refer to drugs.Harris, 271 F.3d at 702-03 (quoting United States v. Vega, 860 F.2d 779, 798 (7th Cir.1988), abrogated on other grounds by United States v. Durrive, 902 F.2d 1221 (7th Cir.1990)). We uphold the validity of both Hankton and Davis' sentence, but remand to the district court for further consideration as mandated by this court's decision in United States v. Paladino, 401 F.3d 471 (7th Cir.2005). 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. mickey cobras laws - MEBW metric-conversions.org/. Gangs and Organized Crime - Google Books They were originally known as the Cobrastones, and were formed in the Robert Taylor Homes in the early 1960s. I've caught them as young as 12 on the line.". . News from DEA, News Releases, 06/21/06 - DEA.gov 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. PDF No. In The Supreme Court of the United States Keith Henderson UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Clarence HANKTON and Gregory Davis,1 Defendants-Appellants. 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. If you would ike to contact us via email please click . "He's got the props. In the microwave, like I always do. Still a third drug conversation portrays Davis mentioning the purchase of approximately four and a half ounces of cocaine. Fraction began selling crack cocaine in Chicago at age 14 for the Gangster Disciples gang. 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. Juwan Gatlin was a member of a street gang known as the Mickey Cobras. The rationale for this is clear: The sentencing stage of a trial is one of the most important parts of the criminal process. A fact-finder must always draw inferences from veiled allusions and code words. 17. The rules, chock-full of mispellings and street slang, aren't contained in a tidy corporate packet or posted on a store bulletin board. 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. In fact, 2D1.1 and 3B1.1(a) are premised on entirely different conduct; for while an individual may be found to have distributed a certain quantity of drugs making him eligible for a sentence enhancement under 2D1.1, he need not be a leader or organizer of a criminal activity, as described by 3B1.1, to do so. 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. of crack cocaine every four days over a period of five months). 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 addition, the judge agreed to maintain the two witnesses statements under seal on the similar grounds. 841(a)(1). 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. What's more, Hankton's role as leader and organizer is rather persuasively illustrated by the fact that he had the power within the MCs organization to order the brutal beating and murder of one of the gang's members, Annette Williams. 2. 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)). 6A1.3); see also United States v. Hardamon, 188 F.3d 843, 849 (7th Cir.1999) (stating that during the sentencing phase of a criminal proceeding the rules of evidence do not apply and the sentencing judge is free to consider a wide range of evidence including hearsay.). 53rd and state was the most notorious MC set but of course they're long gone. 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. The district judge mandated that the names of the witnesses be kept confidential, due to the fact that they feared retribution from the gang for their statements. 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 email address cannot be subscribed. Id. 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. 4. During the investigation, the FBI temporarily used a member of the MCs to serve as a cooperating witness. 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.

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