Ron's possible plea deal?

[Cowdaddy]

I am going to have to get my blood pressure meds increased and attend anger management classes if he gets only 15 years as a part of a deal if he doesn't give it up on where Haleigh is.

If he gets only 15 years for a few minor dope deals? Like the Sheriff here told me one day--when I asked him if he had many people locked up, he says to me, "I'm packing em in there like sardines. I believe in that jailhouse."

I believe in the jailhouse myself. But 15 years is a lot of time for a few minor dope deals that no law enforcement in Putnam county would have had much interest in were it not for Haleigh. And Haleigh being their main interest, I don't think they're going to make any deal with Ron regarding anything except information about Haleigh. I don't think they're interested in any small time dealers that Ron might know of--they can get that in other ways--they don't need Ron for that. I don't believe they'd make a deal with Ron even if Ron could give up Scarface.

But as far as a deal for a guilty plea goes--prosecutors have to look at what could go wrong. Ron could land some lawyer who might work for free and go in there and grandstand about what a victim Ron is, how LE has picked on him, and so on, and you never know for sure what a jury might do. A prosecutor might think the thing to do is to go for a sure thing on 15 years. And if it weren't for Haleigh, most everybody would probably think 15 years was way too much for the petty drug deals he got charged with, though, clearly, it is time the guy did some time.

 

[bessie]

Well, I think that Ronald is now realizing just how much trouble he really is in. He is in general population around people who are 'short' in relation to getting out of jail. Wonder how that makes him feel? Serious is when 'only 15 years' is a deal!

I am going to have to get my blood pressure meds increased and attend anger management classes if he gets only 15 years as a part of a deal if he doesn't give it up on where Haleigh is.

I hear ya, LA, but just think how PO'd we'd all be if he went to trial and was acquitted.

 

[Dr.Fessel]

If he gets only 15 years for a few minor dope deals? Like the Sheriff here told me one day--when I asked him if he had many people locked up, he says to me, "I'm packing em in there like sardines. I believe in that jailhouse."

I believe in the jailhouse myself. But 15 years is a lot of time for a few minor dope deals that no law enforcement in Putnam county would have had much interest in were it not for Haleigh. And Haleigh being their main interest, I don't think they're going to make any deal with Ron regarding anything except information about Haleigh. I don't think they're interested in any small time dealers that Ron might know of--they can get that in other ways--they don't need Ron for that. I don't believe they'd make a deal with Ron even if Ron could give up Scarface.

But as far as a deal for a guilty plea goes--prosecutors have to look at what could go wrong. Ron could land some lawyer who might work for free and go in there and grandstand about what a victim Ron is, how LE has picked on him, and so on, and you never know for sure what a jury might do. A prosecutor might think the thing to do is to go for a sure thing on 15 years. And if it weren't for Haleigh, most everybody would probably think 15 years was way too much for the petty drug deals he got charged with, though, clearly, it is time the guy did some time.

I don't see how a defense lawyer could claim any victimizing of Ron. The minute they say anything about a grieving father or Haleighs name the door is open for the prosecutors to hammer home the reason his daughter is missing and his drug abuse and about people he surrounded himself with.

I don't think the jury would ever know either what the possible sentence was for a guilty verdict. They only get that knowledge after the trial.

 

[cluciano63]

I don't see how a defense lawyer could claim any victimizing of Ron. The minute they say anything about a grieving father or Haleighs name the door is open for the prosecutors to hammer home the reason his daughter is missing and his drug abuse and about people he surrounded himself with.

that's a good point...plus grieving father returning to drug life without missing a beat, apparently, while little girl missing and possibly kidnapped or dead. To me, it still boils down to all of his actions, post 2/9, that point to his having at minimum guilty knowledge. for instance not looking for her, getting married, etc...I think the rumor about a plea deal is just that, a rumor. I think perhaps LP was told by LE that they did not want him bailed out...I might believe that much of what LP said...but nothing that comes from the Cummings or Crosleys...

I don't see how he does less than the 18 years Hope got...

 

[impatientredhead]

I really don't think Ron is offering any info on druglords or any info that has to do with Haleigh. Ron isn't on released jailhouse tapes because Ron knows not to talk to the cops, his cellmate, or on camera. He has slipped a ton of charges because he knows how the system works, not because he is a criminal mastermind or snitch, IMO.

It is of a huge value to an overburdened and underfunded system to take a guilty plea on a drug trafficking charge when you consider it is the difference between a fifteen year minimum guaranteed or the cost of a trial/possible aquittal for a twenty five year minimum.

At the end of the day even if he goes to trial he is not likely to get consecutive sentences or more than the minimum. Everyone may know he has been slinging drugs, using drugs, abusing his girlfriends, sleeping with underage girls, and running around with guns... but he has not served anytime. The judge cannot hold anything against him other than prior convictions and as we all know teflon-ron doesn't have anything serious in that column.

Everyone was absolutely positive that Casey Anthony was dead to rights on the check charges and would be sentenced to the maximum with consecutive sentences. At the end of the day we all know she is a thief and a child murderer, she didn't get a deal, and with an admission of guilt got time served which amounted to a year a couple of months.

I personally think everyone that is bent about this can relax because I don't think Ron will take a deal that only saves him ten years. If they are only offering to bump down one level on the trafficking he is still looking at doing a full 100% served 15 years. I think he will roll the dice on a trial and appeal if that is all he gets in exchange for a guilty plea. A deal on the table does not mean anyone is talking or that the client is even semi-interested. It may only mean that his defense attorney is doing his job and finding out what the options are.

 

[impatientredhead]

I don't see how a defense lawyer could claim any victimizing of Ron. The minute they say anything about a grieving father or Haleighs name the door is open for the prosecutors to hammer home the reason his daughter is missing and his drug abuse and about people he surrounded himself with.

I don't think the jury would ever know either what the possible sentence was for a guilty verdict. They only get that knowledge after the trial.

The prosecutor cannot say Ron is the reason his daughter is missing, that he was a drug abuser, or that people around him are the cause for his daughter being missing. It is an unsolved case and none of the facts are in evidence. Being a grieving father could be suggested as a mitigating factor but with a minimum mandatory it is an irrelevant point for the defense as well. They either need to prove Ron was not trafficking (if they go to trial), not that he was trafficking but it was because <insert excuse here>.

 

[epiphany]

Sorry, and I respectfully disagree with you epiphany, RC does not know any drug-pins (I think, perhaps, you meant drug kings (anyway), he is a small time dealer and operator.

Yes, agree he is small time dealer. Drug-pin (lol)! Yes, Drug king or King-pin. What can he give LE to secure such a plea deal if supposed deal exists? If he doesn't have solid info on the others involving H, there isn't any deal.

 

[impatientredhead]

that's a good point...plus grieving father returning to drug life without missing a beat, apparently, while little girl missing and possibly kidnapped or dead. To me, it still boils down to all of his actions, post 2/9, that point to his having at minimum guilty knowledge. for instance not looking for her, getting married, etc...I think the rumor about a plea deal is just that, a rumor. I think perhaps LP was told by LE that they did not want him bailed out...I might believe that much of what LP said...but nothing that comes from the Cummings or Crosleys...

I don't see how he does less than the 18 years Hope got...

Better attorney, more street smarts, luck roll of the dice with a jury.....

 

[bessie]

I don't see how a defense lawyer could claim any victimizing of Ron. The minute they say anything about a grieving father or Haleighs name the door is open for the prosecutors to hammer home the reason his daughter is missing and his drug abuse and about people he surrounded himself with.

I don't think the jury would ever know either what the possible sentence was for a guilty verdict. They only get that knowledge after the trial.

His lawyer wouldn't have to say a word about Haleigh. It's about public perception. Haleigh's case is high profile. His lawyer has done a good PR job. For example, remember the article in the St. Pete paper last August? The Sunday piece that featured a photo of Ron in a suit with Jr. on his knee? And then there's his pal NG. Not to mention the fact that LE has never cast suspicion his way, at least not publicly.

As for the sentence, any Floridian who follows the local news will know what kind of time he's facing.

 

[Dr.Fessel]

His lawyer wouldn't have to say a word about Haleigh. It's about public perception. Haleigh's case is high profile. His lawyer has done a good PR job. For example, remember the article in the St. Pete paper last August? The Sunday piece that featured a photo of Ron in a suit with Jr. on his knee? And then there's his pal NG. Not to mention the fact that LE has never cast suspicion his way, at least not publicly.

As for the sentence, any Floridian who follows the local news will know what kind of time he's facing.

You know you ladies may be right but it just burns me up about his media fan club.

When Ron was in the van with hope he told her they offered him 25 years. Now just 3 weeks later it has gone to 15. I find that hard to believe since in the middle of those 2 Hope got 15 years for 1/5th the charges he faces.


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[dodie20]

If he gets only 15 years for a few minor dope deals? Like the Sheriff here told me one day--when I asked him if he had many people locked up, he says to me, "I'm packing em in there like sardines. I believe in that jailhouse."

I believe in the jailhouse myself. But 15 years is a lot of time for a few minor dope deals that no law enforcement in Putnam county would have had much interest in were it not for Haleigh. And Haleigh being their main interest, I don't think they're going to make any deal with Ron regarding anything except information about Haleigh. I don't think they're interested in any small time dealers that Ron might know of--they can get that in other ways--they don't need Ron for that. I don't believe they'd make a deal with Ron even if Ron could give up Scarface.

But as far as a deal for a guilty plea goes--prosecutors have to look at what could go wrong. Ron could land some lawyer who might work for free and go in there and grandstand about what a victim Ron is, how LE has picked on him, and so on, and you never know for sure what a jury might do. A prosecutor might think the thing to do is to go for a sure thing on 15 years. And if it weren't for Haleigh, most everybody would probably think 15 years was way too much for the petty drug deals he got charged with, though, clearly, it is time the guy did some time.

I'm pretty ignorant about the law, but honestly, I think a good lawyer could convince a jury of entrapment. I still haven't seen or read a thing that convinces me that they would've been trafficking without the undercover's prompting. If I was on a jury & this drug case was presented, I wouldn't find any of them guilty of trafficking. Now, if LE has some tapes that we don't know about, then that's a different story. But from the way things look, I'd say take their chances with a not guilty plea-unless they're scared of a trial opening up a can of worms regarding Haleigh. or worried that a jury would be biassed because of Haleigh. then I'd say, take the plea.

 

[bessie]

Burns me up, too Doc, but it is what it is.

 

[Dr.Fessel]

I'm pretty ignorant about the law, but honestly, I think a good lawyer could convince a jury of entrapment. I still haven't seen or read a thing that convinces me that they would've been trafficking without the undercover's prompting. If I was on a jury & this drug case was presented, I wouldn't find any of them guilty of trafficking. Now, if LE has some tapes that we don't know about, then that's a different story. But from the way things look, I'd say take their chances with a not guilty plea-unless they're scared of a trial opening up a can of worms regarding Haleigh. or worried that a jury would be biassed because of Haleigh. then I'd say, take the plea.

LE said they had information they were selling pills in the area. They might have to call those people that told them that. Then you have Misty's drug buying, and Ron saying he would just eat those he bought and work for the money and Tommy saying he went along with it for the high. All those things point to using and the likely hood to sell to pay for their habit.

 

[impatientredhead]

From the link below, this January, leader of a large drug trafficking gang, two year investigation, multiple felonies including trafficking, violent arrest that involved shooting the defendant (oh yeah, and a firearms aggravating factor to the trafficking charges), he got 10.33 years. That was the heaviest sentence of the 17 people that were charged. The original indictment docs are linked at the bottom.



http://www.usfra.org/group/prisonblock/forum/topics/member-of-opalocka-drug-gang

Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, Hugo Barrera, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division, James K. Loftus, Interim Director, Miami-Dade Police Department, and Rodney Ballentine, Chief, City of Opa-Locka Police Department, announced the sentencing of the final defendant in Operation Cold Turkey. On January 5, 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks sentenced defendant Erick Hinds to 248 months in prison, following his October 2009 trial on gun and drug charges in connection with a drug trafficking gang that operated in the City of Opa-Locka. Hinds was arrested on December 17, 2008, after he violently resisted arrest, and was himself shot and wounded by Miami Dade Police Officers executing a search warrant.

This sentencing effectively concludes Operation Cold Turkey, a two-year investigation that resulted in charges against 17 defendants in connection with drug trafficking. The investigation and prosecution resulted in the seizure of approximately 40 firearms, including assault weapons and machine guns, and a ballistics vest. Others charged and convicted were:

Vashawn I. Young: 135 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release;

Delvin Robinson: 135 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release;

Audrei Butler: 4 years&#8217; probation, with 18 months&#8217; home detention;

Luther Boykin: 96 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release;

Anthony Smith: 120 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release;

Quinton McGhee: 120 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release;

Marcus Carroll: 180 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release;

Vance Williams: 120 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release;

Tavaris Hall: 72 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release;

Montcello Cooper, Jr.: 126 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release;

Hollis K. Oliver: 84 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release;

Pernell D. Scott: 120 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release;

Jonathan Daniels: 120 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release;

Shane Ricardo Brown: 180 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release;

Maurice Williams: 84 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release; and

Patrick McKinnon: 92 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.

According to statements made in court in the Hinds trial and in various guilty pleas, it is estimated that this gang trafficked in approximately 8,200 grams of marijuana, 560 grams of crack cocaine, 700 grams of powder cocaine, and 500 MDMA in just a one month period.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/fls/PressReleases/Attachments/081217-01.Indictment-B.pdf

 

[dodie20]

Burns me up, too Doc, but it is what it is.

If this plea rumor is making Misty as mad as it's making me, oh Boy, Ron better look out. If Hope knows a thing, now is the time to blab.

 

[atherella]

I don't see how he does less than the 18 years Hope got...

(Snipped)

Hope got 15 years.

 

[impatientredhead]

This guy got thirty years just a month ago, but if you compare the amounts and the number of charges he was facing he got just over the 25 year minimum Ron is facing.

Orange County jury: Brevard man guilty on drug charge


March 10, 2010|By Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel


An Orange County jury today found a Brevard man guilty of conspiracy to traffic 400 or more grams of cocaine, according to the state Attorney General's office.
Alphonso Williams, 51, was found guilty of the first-degree felony and sentenced to 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was prosecuted by the AG's Office of Statewide Prosecution.
Investigators say Williams was "a cocaine distributor sourced by a highly organized drug trafficking organization out of Puerto Rico," according to a statement announcing the guilty finding.

The Palm Bay man was stopped on June 23 with more than 500 grams of cocaine in his vehicle.
The drug trafficking operation involved in this case was shipping kilograms of cocaine from Puerto Rico to Central Florida addresses in Orange, Osceola and Polk counties, officials said.
Investigators estimate more than 60 kilograms of the drug with a retail value of $1.8 million were shipped into Central Florida by this organization.
The investigation led to the prosecution of Williams and 13 other co-defendants. Agencies involved in the case include the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, Orange County based Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Orlando Police Department.
Several co-defendants will be sentenced March 19, following pleas entered in their cases.

 

[Dr.Fessel]

Marcus Carroll: 180 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release;


Shane Ricardo Brown: 180 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release;

Both 15 years.

I get your point and that is nuts.

 

[impatientredhead]

Marcus Carroll: 180 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release;


Shane Ricardo Brown: 180 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release;

Both 15 years.

I get your point and that is nuts.

Yep, same sentence Hope got for slingin a couple of pills in the backseat of a set up drug sale. I still think she is responsible for her actions but boy that no contest plea with a minimum mandatory was stupid. But I was most looking at recent sentencing standards for similar or more serious charges. The court cannot hand down a sentence that is just totally out of whack with what others are receiving (ie Casey Anthony was not going to do seventy years for writing bad checks when others with her record would have gotten probation).

I expected the examples to be bad, but these were worse than I was expecting in all honesty. Although it makes me even more convinced Ron is not going to say he is guilty and do fifteen years. He will go to trial or hold out for a better deal.

 

[Dr.Fessel]

This guy got thirty years just a month ago, but if you compare the amounts and the number of charges he was facing he got just over the 25 year minimum Ron is facing.

Orange County jury: Brevard man guilty on drug charge


March 10, 2010|By Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel


An Orange County jury today found a Brevard man guilty of conspiracy to traffic 400 or more grams of cocaine, according to the state Attorney General's office.
Alphonso Williams, 51, was found guilty of the first-degree felony and sentenced to 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was prosecuted by the AG's Office of Statewide Prosecution.
Investigators say Williams was "a cocaine distributor sourced by a highly organized drug trafficking organization out of Puerto Rico," according to a statement announcing the guilty finding.

The Palm Bay man was stopped on June 23 with more than 500 grams of cocaine in his vehicle.
The drug trafficking operation involved in this case was shipping kilograms of cocaine from Puerto Rico to Central Florida addresses in Orange, Osceola and Polk counties, officials said.
Investigators estimate more than 60 kilograms of the drug with a retail value of $1.8 million were shipped into Central Florida by this organization.
The investigation led to the prosecution of Williams and 13 other co-defendants. Agencies involved in the case include the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, Orange County based Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Orlando Police Department.
Several co-defendants will be sentenced March 19, following pleas entered in their cases.

Why do you say Ron is facing a 25 year Minimum? He has 5 charges and each of them have a minimum/maximum mandatory.