United States v. Thompson

219 F. Supp. 3d 502 (2016)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

On February 11, 2016, a federal grand jury charged D with conspiring, along with eighteen other co-Defendants, to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, crack cocaine, and buprenorphine. Wiretap surveillance authorized by the Court captured D arranging drug deals with drug purchasers on one of the Target Telephones known to investigators. D was eventually arrested, together with several alleged co-conspirators, near a local motel that served as one of the conspiracy's bases of operation. At the time of D's arrest, law enforcement officers also recovered extensive drug paraphernalia, drug proceeds, and one of the mobile telephones. On September 7, 2016, D filed this motion to sever. The Indictment alleges that from August 2014 through the date it was returned, D and eighteen co-Defendants (three of whom have pled guilty at the time of this writing) engaged in a conspiracy to distribute drugs by way of an extensive network. D and his co-conspirators employed the following manner and means to effectuate their agreement to distribute heroin, which manner and means point to the presence of common links and confirm the propriety of joinder from the outset: 1. The conspirators traveled by rental cars and other vehicles from Philadelphia and its vicinity to the Williamsport, Pennsylvania area for the purpose of obtaining, transporting, and distributing heroin, and other controlled substances. 2. The conspirators distributed controlled substances, including heroin, crack cocaine, and buprenorphine, to a network of drug users and sellers along the Interstate 80 corridor between Bloomsburg and Williamsport. The conspirators rented hotel and motel rooms as well as in other locations for the purposes of storing, packaging, and selling heroin and cocaine and otherwise facilitating the distribution of controlled substances. 4. The conspirators used various residences to process, store, and keep controlled substances and to store and keep cash, materials for processing and re-packaging controlled substances for distribution and sale, and records and documents concerning drug trafficking activities. 5. The conspirators used multiple mobile telephones, along with social media, to communicate concerning heroin and crack cocaine transactions, to facilitate the distribution of those substances, to identify when they were prepared to supply drugs to their customers and to maintain contact and share information with members of the conspiracy. 6. The conspirators sent mass text messages via mobile phones to numerous drug customers concerning the availability of heroin and other controlled substances. 7. The conspirators traveled by rental cars and other vehicles to deliver heroin and other controlled substances to various individuals, at diverse locations. 8. The conspirators transported and transferred the cash proceeds from the distribution of heroin and other controlled substances using vehicles and ATM machines and also retained a portion of such proceeds on or about their persons. 9. The conspirators bought, sold, traded, and possessed firearms in exchange for cash and controlled substances and to facilitate the distribution of controlled substances. 10. The conspirators acquired firearms, vehicles, and residences with the proceeds from their drug trafficking activities.