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. 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 They are members of the People Nation in Illinois prisons. Nothing could be further from the truth. 2D1.1(a)(4). 5. "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. 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. Robert Guthrie, a former gang-crimes investigator who now oversees the department's public housing unit. Report to work on time. The BPSN and MCN nations later went to war after the cobras blamed jeff fort for the hit. "But none of the kids abide by it," he said. 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. ", Rule No. 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 MS-13 is well known for their violent Behaviors. metric-conversions.org/. The Mickey Cobras are a lairge street gang affiliatit wi the naitionwide gang affiliation kent as the People Nation. 1781, 152 L.Ed.2d 860 (2002). See Salinas, 62 F.3d at 859. 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. It is consistent with what the court has heard as the various defendants have entered their pleas of guilty. We agree with this assessment. Thus, because Hankton was a leader of the MCs, and because the gang was primarily concerned with dealing illegal drugs, it was entirely reasonable and logical for the sentencing judge to infer that Hankton's role as leader of the gang was related to his distribution of crack cocaine.28. 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. Only if a defendant shows that the information before the court was inaccurate, and that the court relied on it can the defendant successfully challenge his sentence. United States v. Smith, 3 F.3d 1088, 1099 (quoting United States v. Johnson, 997 F.2d 248, 254 (7th Cir. Subtracting 3 points for Hankton's acceptance of responsibility, see U.S.S.G. Accordingly, consideration of any additional amounts attributable to him via his leadership role in the MCs was superfluous.30. The authors have spent decades investigating gangs as well as researching their history and activities, and . 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. 8-9; see also U.S.S.G. 18. on Febuary 25, 1977 Mickey Cogwell was killed, The Gunmen were never found. In order to corroborate Agent Darin's testimony, the prosecution called one of Hankton's co-defendants, Jammah Olden. An extension was applied for and granted on July 20, 2000, and allowed continued surveillance through August 18, 2000. Nevertheless, as we have stated, the rules of evidence do not apply at sentencing, see Hardamon, 188 F.3d at 849, and the judge was entitled to consider any relevant evidence assuming that evidence included a sufficient indicia of reliability. See Robinson, 164 F.3d at 1070. In a separate indictment, Hankton was accused of passing on orders from gang higher-ups in April 1994 to have Williams killed over a narcotics dispute. . Nonetheless, testimony from Chicago Police Detective Charles, as well as Agent Darin and Jammah Olden illustrated the power over the drug trade and gang activities that the title afforded Hankton. Although they very well could have been considered. 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. 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. 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. Also a member of the MCs, Olden recounted that the main source of revenue for the gang was the sale of illegal drugs. The gang is considered very mobile, and its colors are green, black, and red. This increased the pressure on law enforcement to go after the gang. 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. They changed their name to Cobra Stones in the late 1960s. See id. 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. 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). Finally, the rules make clear that anyone who violates them will be dragged before the gang's "board" and punished. 19. The Mickey Cobras now have their written constitution and by-laws, which, like the modern-day BPSN, have a strong Islamic influence. 364, 54 L.Ed.2d 376 (1977). See United States v. Paladino, 401 F.3d 471, 481 (7th Cir.2005). 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. 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. Last summer, Hilbring recalled, officers seized an instruction list that a West Side gang was passing out to its drug customers. 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. Scott Lassar said the pursuit of street gangs remained a top priority because of their control of narcotics in Chicago and the resulting violence. 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. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. 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. "It's just like any other corporation," said Donald Hilbring, commander of the Chicago police gang unit. 22. 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). However, as stated above, the rules of evidence do not apply during sentencing proceedings and hearsay is not only an acceptable basis for a sentencing determination, United States v. Smith, 3 F.3d at 1100, it is often an integral part of the sentencing process. Badger, 983 F.2d at 1459. United States v. Giordano, 416 U.S. 505, 549 n. 1, 94 S.Ct. In fact, both Agent Darin and Jammah Olden testified that the gang's sole source of revenues was from the sale of illegal drugs. In addition, both defendants and the government agreed to reserve their respective right[s] to argue their [respective] position[s] during post-conviction proceedings concerning certain factual issues relating to the sentencing aspect of the proceedings. 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. David Kelley. 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. 53rd and state was the most notorious MC set but of course they're long gone. We disagree and believe this argument is misplaced. During the mid 1950s the Egyptian Cobras fought heavily with a gang called the 14th Street Clovers. 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. All customers entering the building must be searched. 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. See U.S.S.G. 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. 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. 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. 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. Matt Brandon of the CHA tactical unit. of crack cocaine every four days over a period of five months). 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. 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.