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Post by donbrodka on Apr 1, 2015 20:48:29 GMT
It must not be that well organized of an operation, I'd think someone higher up would have an attorney for him to protect their own interest.
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 1, 2015 20:50:32 GMT
It must not be that well organized of an operation, I'd think someone higher up would have an attorney for him to protect their own interest. That's army guard/drug kingpin wannabes for you. |
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pesci
Junior Member
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Post by pesci on Apr 1, 2015 21:08:40 GMT
make sure your friend wears a life jacket at all times. you wouldn't want him to mysteriously drown.
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 1, 2015 21:40:29 GMT
15k bail, truck seized by the DEA.
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Post by donbrodka on Apr 1, 2015 21:43:33 GMT
15k bail, truck seized by the DEA. I loathe the federal seizure laws. |
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 1, 2015 21:49:01 GMT
15k bail, truck seized by the DEA. I loathe the federal seizure laws. The gun he had on him was my best friend's 1911. Told my best friend good luck getting that back. |
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timo
New Member
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Post by timo on Apr 1, 2015 21:49:26 GMT
Your buddy needs to start getting himself in shape, lifting weights, etc. and otherwise getting his life together (saying his goodbyes and whatnot) because he's about to do a decent stretch in a Federal prison. That gun is going to fuck him.
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Post by donbrodka on Apr 1, 2015 21:54:55 GMT
I loathe the federal seizure laws. The gun he had on him was my best friend's 1911. Told my best friend good luck getting that back. I wouldn't even bother trying. |
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 1, 2015 22:02:59 GMT
Your buddy needs to start getting himself in shape, lifting weights, etc. and otherwise getting his life together (saying his goodbyes and whatnot) because he's about to do a decent stretch in a Federal prison. That gun is going to fuck him. Do the feds have mandatory addons for firearms like some states do? |
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timo
New Member
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Post by timo on Apr 1, 2015 22:06:18 GMT
Your buddy needs to start getting himself in shape, lifting weights, etc. and otherwise getting his life together (saying his goodbyes and whatnot) because he's about to do a decent stretch in a Federal prison. That gun is going to fuck him. Do the feds have mandatory addons for firearms like some states do? According to this? Yes. famm.org/projects/federal/us-congress/gun-mandatory-minimum-sentences/
The Problem: Federal law requires lengthy 5-, 7-, 10-, and 30-year mandatory minimum sentences for possessing, brandishing, or discharging a gun in the course of a drug trafficking crime or a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. § 924(c)). There are also mandatory minimum sentences of 25 years for each subsequent conviction. The law requires that these mandatory prison terms be served back-to-back (i.e., consecutively, not concurrently) with each other and with any other punishment the person receives for the underlying offense. This is known as “stacking,” and it can result in absurdly lengthy sentences (see the story of Weldon Angelos below, a nonviolent, small-time pot seller serving a 55-year mandatory minimum sentence). The § 924(c) law is also often applied to nonviolent gun owners who do not actually harm or injure anyone. Additionally, the law applies even to legally purchased and registered guns and rifles found in the person’s home, even if the guns were not present or used during the actual offense. All too often, a nonviolent or addicted drug offender selling drugs in their home can find themselves serving an extra five years in prison just because they also had a gun in the home — even if the gun was never used during a drug sale. |
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 1, 2015 22:32:23 GMT
Damn so he's probably looking at 5 years minimum.
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timo
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Post by timo on Apr 2, 2015 0:27:27 GMT
Damn so he's probably looking at 5 years minimum. Yeah, idk, I'm not a lawyer or some sort of expert on Federal mandatory minimums or drug law, but it doesn't look good, does it? Trafficking, prior, gun, no lawyer, West Texas. But... it's the gun. I'd rather take my chances with the Mexican gang that he probably got the marijuana from (and who probably set him up once they got the money from the buy) than have a gun with me while I transported 25 pounds through Texas. What are you going to do with a gun anyway? Shoot someone trying to steal your haul from you? Shit, you probably get the death penalty for that in Texas. |
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bwi2
New Member
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Post by bwi2 on Apr 2, 2015 13:28:22 GMT
Federal public defenders are generally speaking pretty competent. Very different from your municipal court PD, and I would much rather have a federal pd than someone off the appointment list.
But yeah your buddy is fucked.
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Post by buydontlease on Apr 2, 2015 13:54:25 GMT
Federal public defenders are generally speaking pretty competent. Very different from your municipal court PD, and I would much rather have a federal pd than someone off the appointment list. But yeah your buddy is fucked. One of my friends left his position at the firm he and I worked at to take a FPD job. The position is currently only research and writing for him, but he does a 50/50 split of appellate and trial work. He's a damn good lawyer, and I'm sure he's going to move into the courtroom as soon as a spot opens up. To your point about OP's buddy being fucked, the cases these guys get are much like OP's buddy, where the question is: 1) can we get you off on a technicality because the police didn't dot their I's and cross their T's, and if not 2) what kind of a deal is the prosecutor willing to accept (and the defendant willing to make)? I'm not well-versed in the the federal sentencing guidelines, but on the trafficking charge he's probably looking at up to 5 years for that (relatively small) amount of pot. The gun charge I believe stacks and runs consecutively (and not concurrently), which could tack on another 5 years, or more. |
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 2, 2015 15:13:21 GMT
Waiting to hear back on when his next court date is. If it's less than a month he's going to stay right where he is.
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Post by canesfan3234 on Apr 2, 2015 15:22:26 GMT
Federal public defenders are very competent.
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 2, 2015 17:43:56 GMT
Looks like he is sitting in jail. My buddy didn't know he needed to show more than 15k in liquid assets to bond him out. My buddy lives in a house on his parents land so he can't put that down, he's not going to sell his cars or anything to do it. Chad is just going to have to sit in jail.
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Post by borkycucek on Apr 2, 2015 17:57:17 GMT
Looks like he is sitting in jail. My buddy didn't know he needed to show more than 15k in liquid assets to bond him out. My buddy lives in a house on his parents land so he can't put that down, he's not going to sell his cars or anything to do it. Chad is just going to have to sit in jail. What good is your car going to do for you while sitting jail/prison? |
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 2, 2015 18:05:38 GMT
Looks like he is sitting in jail. My buddy didn't know he needed to show more than 15k in liquid assets to bond him out. My buddy lives in a house on his parents land so he can't put that down, he's not going to sell his cars or anything to do it. Chad is just going to have to sit in jail. What good is your car going to do for you while sitting jail/prison? No my friend that was going to bail him out isn't going to sell his own car or anything like that. The guy who got arrested, his truck was seized by the DEA when he got arrested. |
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Post by borkycucek on Apr 2, 2015 18:15:14 GMT
What good is your car going to do for you while sitting jail/prison? No my friend that was going to bail him out isn't going to sell his own car or anything like that. The guy who got arrested, his truck was seized by the DEA when he got arrested. Got ya, I guess I misread it. |
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 3, 2015 14:28:47 GMT
Apparently his lawyer thinks he can get him out next week on probation. If true, he had to have cut a deal and flipped on someone right?
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Post by donbrodka on Apr 3, 2015 14:31:01 GMT
Apparently his lawyer thinks he can get him out next week on probation. If true, he had to have cut a deal and flipped on someone right? Most likely. It also could have been an extremely questionable stop by the police and they want to save some face. |
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 3, 2015 14:31:57 GMT
Apparently his lawyer thinks he can get him out next week on probation. If true, he had to have cut a deal and flipped on someone right? Most likely. It also could have been an extremely questionable stop by the police and they want to save some face. Guess we will find out next week. I thought the feds were who stopped him as that's who seized his truck. |
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Post by donbrodka on Apr 3, 2015 14:34:17 GMT
Most likely. It also could have been an extremely questionable stop by the police and they want to save some face. Guess we will find out next week. I thought the feds were who stopped him as that's who seized his truck. I was using police as a catch-all term. |
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Post by PatDyesWholeBody on Apr 3, 2015 15:12:45 GMT
Apparently his lawyer thinks he can get him out next week on probation. If true, he had to have cut a deal and flipped on someone right? Most likely. It also could have been an extremely questionable stop by the police and they want to save some face. If the plea deal seems too good to be true, it may be because the feds think the case sucks. Maybe the stop wasn't legitimate. Maybe they fucked up somewhere and made some of the evidence inadmissible. That is just my non-lawyer opinion. |
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 3, 2015 15:53:20 GMT
The whole thing is weird. The lawyer apparently feels good about probation, but then the guy in jail just called my best friend and said they are still pressing the gun charge on him. Is it possible to get probation on the trafficking but still get sentenced for having the gun on him?
I have a feeling we set just in the dark until next week.
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 3, 2015 21:18:21 GMT
Alright lawyers. I registered for a PACER account. Tell me how to use it to find his case and information on it.
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 3, 2015 21:21:43 GMT
This is all I've been able to really make heads or tails of so far (actually don't understand pretty much any of it)..
Date Filed # Docket Text
03/29/2015 Arrest of Kenneth Chadwick Gover (cv) (Entered: 03/30/2015)
03/30/2015 1 COMPLAINT Signed by Judge B. Dwight Goains as to Kenneth Chadwick Gover. (sk) (Entered: 03/30/2015)
03/30/2015 2 Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge B. Dwight Goains:Initial Appearance as to Kenneth Chadwick Gover held on 3/30/2015 (Minute entry documents are not available electronically.) Detention Hearing set for 4/1/2015 09:30 AM before Judge B. Dwight Goains, Preliminary Hearing set for 4/1/2015 09:30 AM before Judge B. Dwight Goains, (Court Reporter FTR-GOLD/ALPINE.) (sk) (Entered: 03/30/2015)
03/30/2015 3 ORDER APPOINTING FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER as to Kenneth Chadwick Gover Duty Pub. Defender-Pecos for Kenneth Chadwick Gover appointed.. Signed by Judge B. Dwight Goains. (sk) (Entered: 03/30/2015)
03/30/2015 4 MOTION to Detain Defendant without Bond by USA as to Kenneth Chadwick Gover. (sk) (Entered: 03/30/2015)
03/30/2015 5 ORDER as to Kenneth Chadwick Gover, ( Detention Hearing set for 4/1/2015 09:45 AM in Default hearing location for Alpine before Judge B. Dwight Goains,, Preliminary Hearing set for 4/1/2015 09:45 AM in Default hearing location for Alpine before Judge B. Dwight Goains,). Signed by Judge B. Dwight Goains. (sk) (Entered: 03/30/2015)
04/01/2015 6 Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge B. Dwight Goains:Detention Hearing as to Kenneth Chadwick Gover held on 4/1/2015 (Minute entry documents are not available electronically.) (Court Reporter FTR-ALPINE.) (sk) (Entered: 04/01/2015)
04/01/2015 7 WAIVER of Preliminary Hearing and Detention Hearing by Kenneth Chadwick Gover (sk) (Entered: 04/01/2015)
04/01/2015 8 ORDER Setting Conditions of Release as to Kenneth Chadwick Gover (1) $15,000/10%, 1 surety. Motions terminated: 4 MOTION to Detain Defendant without Bond filed by USA.. Signed by Judge B. Dwight Goains. (jw) (Entered: 04/01/2015)
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Post by herbburdette on Apr 4, 2015 13:43:01 GMT
It looks like the prosecutor moved to detain him without any bail/bond but the judge allowed the 15,000 bail you mentioned. You need to download the complaint to see what they charged.
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Post by jaxteller007 on Apr 4, 2015 13:53:29 GMT
So from reading about his case, it's even dumber than we thought. He got stopped at apparently the most infamous interior border checkpoint in the US, the Sierra Blanca checkpoint. From what I understand, that place busts thousands of people with as little as two joints on them a year. And this idiot tried to get through with almost 25 pounds.
Yea he needs to stay locked up for a bit to try and smarten up.
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