United States v. Young

Porter led a large Clarksville, Tennessee cocaine-trafficking organization; Vance distributed the cocaine to Parnell, Duncan, and others, using a stash house in the Summit Heights housing projects and a cookhouse nearby. Parnell and Duncan then sold the cocaine and crack cocaine. DEA agents obtained wiretap and search warrants, which provided enough evidence to arrest 26 individuals, including Young, Duncan, Parnell, and Vance. Porter was in the process of selling thousands of dollars in cocaine to Young when he was arrested. The next morning, agents executed search warrants and seized drugs, guns, cash, and drug paraphernalia from their homes; 33 of the 36 individuals charged pleaded guilty, including Vance, who was sentenced to a below-Guidelines term of 200-months’ imprisonment. Duncan, Young, and Parnell were each found guilty of multiple offenses and sentenced to mandatory terms of life imprisonment without parole. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. The affidavit underlying the wiretap application established probable cause; the court did not err in denying a Franks hearing because the record demonstrates that Duncan did not put forth a strong preliminary showing that the agent intended to mislead and exclude critical information. The court upheld the admission of co-conspirator statements; an agent’s testimony concerning background evidence about the investigation; cooperating witness testimony about their guilty pleas; evidence of gun crimes committed by co-conspirators; and evidence of other crimes committed in furtherance of the conspiracy. View "United States v. Young" on Justia Law