IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : CRIMINAL ACTION

:

 v. :

: No. 05-216

JELANI LEE :

and :

TOMMY SPURILL :

and :

JAMES KOLLORE :

Stengel, J. February 28, 2006 

 

Memorandum Regarding Jelani Lee’s Pretrial Motions

In this drug trafficking case, Jelani Lee is charged with possession with intent to

distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine, possession with intent to distribute more

than 5 grams of crack cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute more than 5 grams

of crack cocaine in a school zone. He is charged along with Tommy Spurill and James

Kollore. The defendants were arrested by Lancaster City Police on January 7, 2005, after

a traffic stop. An indictment was returned on April 14, 2005, and a superseding

indictment was filed on August 4, 2005. 

The defendants together filed twenty-three (23) pretrial motions and the

government has filed its response to those motions. A hearing was held on January 12,

2006 on the motions to suppress certain physical evidence, identification evidence, and

certain statements. The remainder of the motions are capable of resolution based upon 

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2

the legal arguments raised in the memos filed by the parties. This memorandum

addresses seven (7) of the motions filed by Jelani Lee.

I. Factual Background

On January 7, 2005, Officer Marguerita Wagner was interviewing a complainant

on the first block of South Mary Street in the City of Lancaster at approximately 7:42

p.m. As she was discussing a parking issue with this complainant, Officer Wagner heard

a vehicle come from Manor Street onto Mary Street and noticed that the vehicle was

traveling at a high rate of speed for the neighborhood and the conditions, that is,

approximately 40 to 45 miles per hour. She noted that the car came within three feet of

her, that the driver side window started to go up as it passed her, and that the windows of

the car were dark tinted. Officer Wagner described the car as a silver or gray Dodge

Magnum; she could not see inside the car, nor could she get a registration from the

vehicle. She recalls that the vehicle was very dirty, but that the back window was

partially cleaned. Officer Wagner further saw the Dodge Magnum go north on South

Mary Street and perform a “rolling stop” at the intersection of South Mary and West King

Streets. Officer Wagner got in her patrol car and tried to catch up with the Dodge

Magnum. She was unsuccessful with this. She then called Sgt. Gary McCrady, her patrol

supervisor, and told him to watch for the Dodge Magnum which she described as “driving

recklessly through the city.” 

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After receiving the initial call from Officer Wagner, Sgt. McCrady met briefly

with Officer Wagner in the Water Street Rescue Mission parking lot near Prince and

Conestoga Streets in Lancaster. She described the silver/gray Dodge Magnum going

through the stop sign. Sgt. McCrady recalled an incident at the Manor Tavern, an

establishment in the vicinity of South Mary and Manor Streets, involving a shooting and

suspected drug dealers from New York. Officer McCrady recalled that there was a

Dodge Magnum involved, and he recalled that the car was of a “lighter color.” The

Lancaster City Police produced a line-up memorandum regarding the car which had been

provided to Sgt. McCrady and other officers at a roll call in October, 2004. 

After meeting with Officer Wagner, Sgt. McCrady proceeded north on Queen

Street and observed the Dodge Magnum. At that point, he pulled the car over on the 600

block of North Queen street. The vehicle had a New York registration plate. At the time

Sgt. McCrady stopped the Dodge Magnum, he also recalled information about a Taquan

Isaac, who had been arrested by Lancaster City Police and who had threatened the police. 

Isaac was known to Sgt. McCrady as a suspect in at least one shooting in New York City,

and was suspected of involvement with drug dealing in Lancaster. Isaac had been using a

like colored Dodge Magnum, and it was Isaac’s Dodge Magnum that was described in the

line-up memorandum. At the time of Isaac’s arrest at the Manor Tavern, the Dodge

Magnum went missing. 

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Sgt. McCrady testified that he spotted the Dodge Magnum approximately ten

minutes after meeting with Officer Wagner, that it was proceeding north on Queen Street,

and that it was going well over 35 miles per hour in an area with a posted speed limit of

25 miles per hour. He recalls the windows as being dark tinted and felt that this might be

the car Officer Wagner saw on South Mary Street. Officer McCrady stopped the vehicle

at approximately 7:57 p.m. He approached the vehicle from the passenger side and noted

the vehicle was occupied by an African-American male driver, with an African-American

male in the front passenger seat, an African-American male in the right rear passenger

seat, and a white female in the left rear passenger seat. Sgt. McCrady noticed a lot of

movement among the occupants of the vehicle while he was approaching. With

knowledge of the contents of the “line-up memorandum” and upon viewing these

movements in the vehicle, Sgt. McCrady radioed for back-up assistance from other

officers. Sgt. McCrady then went to the passenger side of the car and spoke with the

front passenger and the driver through the open passenger window. The driver provided

him with a New York driver’s license identifying him as Jelani Lee. Lee also produced a

registration card showing that the vehicle was leased from Enterprise Rentals in New

York. The front seat passenger identified himself as “John Terry” and Sgt. McCrady

noted that the rental agreement was in John Terry’s name and was dated November 26,

2004. McCrady further noted that the vehicle should have been returned to Enterprise 

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Rentals before November 29, 2004. Officer McCrady ran Jelani Lee’s driver’s license

and found that it was suspended in both Pennsylvania and New York. 

Officer McCrady testified at the hearing he had some experience with rental

vehicles with expired rental agreements. He testified that he had encountered a number

of these expired rental agreements in the recent past. He recalled that the rental

companies generally preferred the police contact them so that they could take custody of

the vehicle. 

After being radioed by Sgt. McCrady, Officer Wagner drove to the 600 block of

North Queen Street in the City of Lancaster and identified the stopped vehicle as the same

vehicle she had seen on South Mary Street. At the hearing she testified that she was

“immediately sure it was the same car.”

Sgt. McCrady decided to have the occupants step out of the Dodge Magnum. The

police removed each occupant from the vehicle, one at a time, and performed a pat-down

search on each of them. Officer Wagner conducted the pat-down of the female

passenger, identified as Lindsay Boyer. During the pat-down, Officer Wagner felt hard

objects, that she testified felt like rocks, inside both cups of Lindsay Boyer’s bra, and

asked her what they were. Boyer whispered to Officer Wagner “its crack, but it’s not

mine, and don’t tell them I told you.” Officer Wagner informed Boyer that she was under

arrest. Boyer noted that the drugs were not her’s and stated that she was not going to take

the fall for something that wasn’t her’s. Boyer further told Officer Wagner that Jelani

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Lee had given her the first bag, and that the rear passenger (James Kollore) had given her

the smaller bag. Boyer told Officer Wagner that the men had picked her up earlier in the

evening, and had told her to hide the drugs when Sgt. McCrady activated his lights and

pulled the Dodge Magnum over on North Queen Street. A subsequent field test on the

substance of each bag was performed for cocaine. 

All four occupants of the car were placed under arrest. The police searched Jelani

Lee and recovered $977.00 in cash, as well as a motel room key. The police found

$562.00 on the person of James Kollore. This cash was wrapped in one hundred dollar

increments. All four were then taken to the Lancaster City Police Department.

II. Jelani Lee’s Motion to Suppress Physical Evidence

Jelani Lee seeks to suppress physical evidence found on his person and at the Red

Carpet Inn. He alleges that the traffic stop on North Queen Street was invalid, that there

was no reasonable suspicion to detain him, and that there was no probable cause for his

arrest. 

Sgt. McCrady was justified in stopping Jelani Lee’s car on North Queen Street. 

Sgt. McCrady had observed the car moving from lane to lane in traffic at a speed in

excess of the posted limit of 25 miles per hour. In addition, Sgt. McCrady had

information that the car was speeding on South Mary Street and that the car failed to stop

at a stop sign at South Mary and West King Streets. Failing to stop at a stop sign is a

violation of the Motor Vehicle Code. 75 Pa CSA §3323(b). Changing lanes without the

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proper signal is a traffic violation. 75 Pa CSA §3309; 3334. Careless driving, 75 Pa CSA

§3714, and reckless driving, 75 Pa CSA §3736, are both traffic violations. A police

officer is justified in stopping a car where that officer observes a violation of a state

traffic regulation. U.S. v. Moorefield, 111 F.3d 10, 12 (3d Cir. 1997) (citing

Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 US 106 (1977).

Sgt. McCrady and the other officers acted in a reasonable way during the traffic

stop. They took reasonable steps for their own safety when they encountered the Dodge

Magnum. See Ohio v. Robinette, 519 U.S. 33, 39 (1996) (court found the touchstone of

the 4th Amendment is reasonableness which in turn is measured in objective terms by

examining the totality of the circumstances). Our courts have recognized that traffic stops

are dangerous encounters and investigative detentions are fraught with danger to police

officers. Moorefield, 111 F.3d at 13; Mimms, 434 US at 110. The actions of Sgt.

McCrady and the other Lancaster City police officers meet the test of objective

reasonableness. Lee ran a stop sign, he was speeding and he was driving recklessly. 

Upon approaching the vehicle, Sgt. McCrady learned that Lee had a suspended driver’s

license and that there was no current, valid registration for the vehicle. Finally, Sgt.

McCrady was aware of the possible involvement of this vehicle (i.e., a light colored

Dodge Magnum) in a shooting at the Manor Tavern involving drug dealers from New

York. 

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Based upon all the circumstances, I find Sgt. McCrady had a reasonable suspicion

to justify the continued detention of Lee and to pat Lee down. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1,

27 (1968); Moorefield, 111 F.3d at 13-14.

There was certainly probable cause to arrest Lee. He was driving under

suspension in a car without a valid registration. An occupant of the vehicle he was

driving was in possession of crack cocaine which she informed the police was given to

her by the male occupants of the car. See Maryland v. Pringle, 540 U.S. 366, 371-72

(2003) (police had probable cause to arrest defendant based on drugs found in the vehicle

in which defendant was a passenger).

Finally, Jelani Lee has no expectation of privacy in the crack cocaine in question. 

According to the statement Lindsey Boyer made to Officer Wagner, the men in the car

gave her the cocaine to hide. She specifically identified the drivers, Jelani Lee, as one of

the men who gave her the cocaine. By turning the crack cocaine over to Lindsey Boyer,

Jelani Lee gave up any expectation of privacy he had with respect to the cocaine. To the

extent Jelani Lee objects to the pat down of Lindsey Boyer, he has no standing. See

Rawlings v. Kentucky, 448 U.S. 98, 105-06 (1980); United States v. Salvucci, 448 U.S.

83, 85 (1980). 

III. Motion to Suppress Evidence Attained at the Red Carpet Inn

Jelani Lee contends that the search warrant issued for Room 42 of the Red Carpet

Inn was improper and that the evidence obtained therein should be suppressed. 

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Specifically, Lee seeks to suppress the illegal drugs, $2,000 in cash, a digital scale, and

two boxes of sandwich bags inside Room 42 of the Red Carpet Inn, all of which the

police found in the room.

The affidavit supporting the search warrant establishes probable cause to search

Room 42 at the Red Carpet Inn for drugs and related items. A careful examination of the

affidavit itself shows that it contains specific information regarding the motor vehicle

stop on North Queen Street earlier in the evening, and the subsequent recovery of crack

cocaine from Lindsey Boyer, one of the passengers in the car driven by Jelani Lee. The

affidavit further relates that Jelani Lee was interviewed at the police station, and that he

told police he was staying at the home of Betty Morales at 402 South Queen Street in

Lancaster. Two motel room keys had been recovered from Jelani Lee’s person and this

important fact is in the affidavit. Kalpana Patel, a clerk at the Red Carpet Inn, confirmed

to the police that one of the room keys in Lee’s possession was for Room 42 at the motel,

and also that a man fitting Lee’s description had been the person who rented the room

under the name “Omar Martin.” The affidavit relates information provided to the police

by Lindsey Boyer which directly links Lee and his two co-defendants to the crack

cocaine. The police also checked Lee’s criminal record which showed that he had prior

drug felony convictions from New York. The investigation conducted by the police

established that Lee was involved in drug trafficking and that he had taken steps to

conceal his name when renting Room 42 of the Red Carpet Inn. 

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Certainly the police had probable cause to believe that Jelani Lee was using the

motel room to store drugs or other items associated with his drug trade. Drug dealers are

likely to secrete drugs and other tools of their trade where they live. U.S. v. Whitner, 219

F.3d 289 (3d Cir. 2000). The magistrate judge examined the affidavit of probable cause

and was more than justified in issuing the warrant. A district court should give deference

to the magistrate judge’s probable cause determination. U.S. v. Loy, 191 F.3d 360 (3d

Cir. 1999); U.S. v. Conley, 4 F.3d 1200 (3d Cir. 1993). We need not determine whether

probable cause actually existed, but only whether there was a substantial basis for finding

probable cause. U.S. v. Jones, 994 F.2d 1051 (3d Cir. 1993). There is no question that

the affidavit of probable cause set forth a substantial basis for finding probable cause to

search the motel room. 

Even if I were to find that the affidavit did not establish probable cause, the

warrant was facially valid and the police relied on the warrant in good faith. This, alone,

would be sufficient to justify the search of Room 42 at the Red Carpet Inn and the seizure

of the evidence in the room. See U.S. v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897 (1984). 

IV. Jelani Lee’s Motion to Preclude Introduction of Evidence of Prior

Convictions in the Event Lee Testifies at Trial

Jelani Lee has three drug convictions in his life. On March 17, 1995, he was

convicted for a felony drug offense in the Court of Albany County, New York and was

sentenced to 20 months to 5 years imprisonment. On February 22, 1995, he was

convicted of a misdemeanor drug offense and sentenced to 60 days imprisonment in the

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Court of Albany County, New York. On January 25, 2001, he was convicted of a felony

drug offense in a school zone and was sentenced by the Court of Queens County, New

York to 18 months to 3 years imprisonment. Jelani Lee seeks an order preventing the

government from using these convictions at trial.

This issue is governed by Fed. Rule of Evidence 404(b) which states:

Evidence of other crimes, wrongs or acts is not admissible to

prove the character of a person in order to show action in

conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for

other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent,

preparation, plan, knowledge, identity or absence of mistake

or accident... .

Fed. R. Evid. 404(b).

The admission of 404(b) evidence is within the District Court’s discretion limited

only in circumstances which are clearly contrary to reason and not justified by the

evidence. U.S. v. Murray, 103 F.3d 310 (3d Cir. 1997). See also Becker v. ARCO

Chemical Company, 207 F.3d 176 (3d Cir. 2000). In the Third Circuit, the court is

required to place on the record a clear explanation of the basis for the admission of Rule

404(b) evidence. Murray, supra. The United States Supreme Court provides guidance for

evaluating and admitting 404(b) evidence: the evidence should be admitted (1) if it is

offered for a proper purpose, (2) if it is relevant, (3) if the evidence’s probative value is

not substantially outweighed by its unfair prejudice, and (4) if the court properly instructs

the jury that it should consider the evidence only for the proper purpose for which it was

admitted. See Huddleston v. United States, 485 U.S. 681, 691-92 (1988). So long as the

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District Court explains its reasons for admitting or excluding evidence pursuant to Rule

403, relevant evidence may be excluded if the probative value is substantially outweighed

by the danger of unfair prejudice. Unfair prejudice suggests a decision on an improper

basis. 

To begin with, Jelani Lee’s drug convictions are relevant to the current charges. 

Lee was engaged in illegal drug distribution earlier in his life and this is clear from the

three convictions from the State of New York. The government seeks to offer his prior

convictions for a proper purpose, that is, to refute any defense of lack of knowledge or

intent. We can expect Jelani Lee to claim lack of knowledge or intent at trial in that the

drugs were found on the person of Lindsey Boyer. The evidence of Lee’s prior

convictions is probative on the issue of his state of mind or his intent in this case. He is

charged with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. U.S. v. Givan, 320 F.3d

452 (3d Cir. 2003). (Admitting evidence of defendant’s prior conviction for distribution

of cocaine is relevant to issue of knowledge and intent.) See also U.S. v. Wright-Barker,

784 F.2d 161 (3d Cir. 1986). 

This court will give the jury an appropriate limiting instruction at the time the

evidence is admitted. Further, a limiting instruction will also be given during the court’s

final charge to the jury. The jury will be instructed that the evidence of prior convictions

is to be considered only as it relates to the element of state of mind or intent and should

not be used for any other purpose.

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V. Jelani Lee’s Motion to Suppress Identification Evidence

After the Lancaster City Police recovered the motel key for Room 42 at the Red

Carpet Inn from Jelani Lee, Detective Michael Neff of East Lampeter Township Police

Department joined the Lancaster City Police in the investigation. Neff assisted in the

execution of the search warrant at the Red Carpet Inn on January 8, 2005, along with

detectives from the Lancaster City Police, Lancaster County Drug Task Force and East

Lampeter Township. After the search warrant was executed, Detective Neff returned to

the Red Carpet Inn and spoke with the proprietress, Kalpana Patel. Detective Neff had

prepared a photo array containing a photograph of Jelani Lee. Detective Neff showed the

photo array to Kalpana Patel without any comment or suggestion as to whether Jelani Lee

was depicted on the array. Kalpana Patel pointed to photograph number 7 on the array

and identified him as the person who rented Room 42. Photo number 7 was a photograph

of Jelani Lee. Ms. Patel told Neff she was “absolutely certain” Jelani Lee, i.e. the man

depicted in Police photograph number 7, was the man to whom she rented Room 42. She

noted that he had come into the office and paid for the room and she made it clear that she

recognized him. Ms. Patel also recalled that the week before Christmas, 2004, Jelani Lee

came to the Red Carpet Inn and rented Room 34. 

An out-of-court identification, such as an identification performed by Kalpana

Patel on the photo array, is admissible so long as it does not violate due process. A denial

of due process occurs if the identification procedure is unnecessarily suggestive. If the

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14

police take steps to “suggest” that the defendant may be depicted on the array, there is a

substantial risk of misidentification. U.S. v. Emanuele, 51 F.3d 1123 (3d Cir. 1995).

The key to out-of-court identification by photo array is whether the identification is

reliable. The courts look at the totality of the circumstances including (1) the witness’

opportunity to observe the defendant at the time of the crime; (2) the witness’ degree of

attention at the time of the crime, (3) the accuracy of the witness’ initial description, (4)

the level of certainty demonstrated by the witness when viewing the defendant at the

identification procedure, and (5) the length of time between the crime and the

identification procedure. Neil v. Biggers, 409 U.S. 188 (1972).

There is no evidence in this record that the photo array shown to Kalpana Patel on

January 11, 2005 was in any way suggestive. There is no evidence that the police took

part in any activity which rendered the array suggestive. Ms. Patel was instructed to look

at the eight photographs to see whether she was able to identify anyone. The police did

not direct her to the photograph of the defendant Lee, nor did they do anything to

highlight his photograph or cause her attention to be focused on his photograph. Further,

Ms. Patel’s identification of Jelani Lee was reliable. She was able to provide detail as to

when he came to the motel, which room he rented, and her familiarity with him from an

earlier occasion when he rented Room 34. She had every opportunity to observe him at

close range. She made an initial description of the man who rented Room 42, and this

description was accurate with respect to the physical characteristics of Jelani Lee. Ms.

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Patel expressed certainty when she viewed the photo array and identified photograph

number 7 as that of Jelani Lee. She identified Lee’s photograph three days after he had

rented the motel room and her memory was fresh at that time. 

VI. Jelani Lee’s Motion for a Line-Up

Jelani Lee is requesting a court order to have the government’s witnesses identify

him in a line-up. The government argues that no useful purpose would be served by

ordering its witnesses to view Mr. Lee in a line-up. At issue here is the identification of

Jelani Lee by Ms. Patel, the motel employee. The request to have Ms. Patel identify

Jelani Lee in a line-up is made some seven months after the incident in this case. The

Court presumes that Ms. Patel has not seen Mr. Lee in seven months. Were Ms. Patel to

have some difficulty picking Lee out of a line-up, that fact would do little to cast doubt on

her identification of Lee at the time of the incident. She identified Jelani Lee within three

days of renting him a motel room. The identification procedures used by the police; i.e.

the photo array, were in no way unduly suggestive. There was uncontroverted and

credible testimony at the suppression hearing as to the steps taken by the police to present

the photo array to Ms. Patel. The photo array was proper and the identification by Ms.

Patel of Jelani Lee was clear and definite. There is nothing about her initial identification

of Jelani Lee, some seven months ago, that should give cause for this Court to order that a

line-up take place to “test” Ms. Patel’s ability to identify Lee. That line-up would test her 

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1

 At trial, counsel for the defendant will have a chance to cross examine Ms. Patel and the police

officers as to the circumstances of the identification of Jelani Lee from the photo array. Whether Ms. Patel’s

identification of Jelani Lee three days after renting a motel room to him is credible and entitled to weight, will be a

determination for the jury. 

16

ability to identify Lee today, not at the time of the identification that took place nearly

contemporaneous with his arrest. 1

VII. Motion to Sever Trials of the Three Defendants

Jelani Lee has been charged along with Tommy Spurill and James Kollore with

drug trafficking offenses. The United States has indicated its intention to try all three

defendants together. Jelani Lee has filed a motion to sever his trial. Fed. R. Crim. P. 14

permits severance of an otherwise properly joined defendant “if it appears that the

defendant... is prejudiced by a joinder of offenses or of defendants.” The law favors joint

trials of defendants indicted together. Zafiro v. United States, 506 U.S. 534 (1993). 

Zafiro instructs that in certain circumstances defenses which are mutually antagonistic or

irreconcilable may be so prejudicial that severance is mandated. The Supreme Court has

recognized that Rule 14 does not require severance when the defendants present mutually

antagonistic defenses. The Supreme Court has ruled that even if a defendant shows

prejudice as a result of mutually antagonistic defenses, severance is not required and “the

tailoring of the relief to be granted, if any, is left to the district court’s sound discretion.”

Zafiro at 539. A district court should grant a severance motion under Rule 14 only if

there is a serious risk that a joint trial would compromise a specific trial right of one of

the defendants or prevent the jury from making a reliable judgment about guilt or

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2

Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123 (1968).

17

innocence. Zafiro; United States v. Palma-Ruedas, 121 F.3d 841 (3d Cir. 1997); United

States v. Balter, 91 F.3d 427 (3d Cir. 1996). 

This case is not a complex case where the defendants have “markedly different

degrees of culpability.” See Zafiro, 506 U.S. at 539. Nor have the defendants established

that there is a “Bruton problem”

2

; i.e., where the admission of a statement against one

defendant necessarily inculpates another. As to levels of culpability, the indictment

contains more charges against Jelani Lee because he was charged exclusively with

possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine from the motel room. All three

defendants are charged with possession of the crack cocaine in the car. This crack

cocaine, which was recovered by the police from the person of Lindsey Boyer, exposes

each of the three defendants equally to culpability. From the arguments of counsel and

from the evidence presented at the suppression hearing, it appears that the majority of the

evidence in this case will be admitted against all three defendants.

This does not appear to be a case where the acquittal of one defendant necessarily

would require the conviction of another. This is the problem described by the Third

Circuit in United States v. Voight, 89 F.3d 1050 (3d Cir. 1996). The questions for the

jury will be who possessed the crack cocaine, and who had the intent to distribute the

crack cocaine. The jury will be capable of making separate decisions on these issues as to

each of the three defendants. The motion to sever will, for this reason then, be denied.

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VIII. Jelani Lee’s Motion to Dismiss the Indictment Based on Speedy Trial Act

Violations

Jelani Lee requests this Court to dismiss the indictment on speedy trial grounds. 

He contends that the indictment was not filed within thirty days of his arrest. 

On March 29, 2005, Jelani Lee was charged by complaint and warrant approved by

the Honorable Jacob P. Hart, United States Magistrate Judge. On April 14, 2005, a two

count indictment was returned against Lee, well within the thirty-day limit. 

Title 18 of the United States Code, §3161(b) (Speedy Trial Act) provides:

Any information or indictment charging an individual with

the commission of an offense shall be filed within thirty days

from the date on which such individual was arrested. . . in

connection with such charges.

18 U.S.C. § 3161(b) (2005).

Title 18 U.S. Code 3161(c)(1) provides:

The trial of a defendant charged in an indictment with the

commission of an offense shall commence within seventy

days from the filing of the indictment, or from the date the

defendant has appeared before a judicial officer of the court in

which such charge is pending, whichever date last occurs.

18 U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1) (2005).

A review of the docket entries establishes that Lee was charged within thirty days

of his arrest. There does not seem to be any real dispute about that. 

There is no basis to dismiss this case for the failure to begin trial within seventy

days of the filing of the indictment. On June 6, 2005, co-defendant, James Kollore, filed

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a motion for the continuance of the trial date, along with a motion for leave to extend the

time to file further motions.

This was well within the seventy-day period from the indictment. Defendants, Lee

and Spurill, filed pretrial motions which effectively tolled the speedy trial time. The

indictment was timely filed and the speedy trial clock was tolled by the filing of a motion

for a continuance by defendant Kollore. 

Trial in this case was scheduled again for January 30, 2006. Counsel for James

Kollore filed another motion for a continuance, and this tolls the speedy trial clock as to

Kollore and his co-defendants, Lee and Spurill. There is no merit to the speedy trial

motion and Jelani Lee’s Motion to Dismiss on that basis will be denied.

An appropriate Order denying Lee’s motions follows.

Case 2:05-cr-00216-LS Document 96 Filed 03/01/06 Page 19 of 21
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : CRIMINAL ACTION

:

 v. :

: No. 05-216

JELANI LEE :

and :

TOMMY SPURILL :

and :

JAMES KOLLORE :

 ORDER

AND NOW, this 28th day of February, 2006, upon careful consideration of the

defendant Lee’s motions, the government’s response, and oral argument held with the

parties, it is hereby ORDERED:

1) Defendant Lee’s Motion to Suppress Physical Evidence Found on the

Defendant (Docket # 58) is DENIED.

2) Defendant Lee’s Motion to Suppress Evidence Attained at the Red Carpet

Inn (Docket # 58) is DENIED.

3) Defendant Lee’s Motion to Preclude Introduction of Evidence of Prior

Convictions in the Event Lee Testifies at Trial (Docket # 58) is DENIED.

4) Defendant Lee’s Motion to Suppress Identification Evidence (Docket # 58)

is DENIED.

5) Defendant Lee’s Motion for a Line-Up (Docket # 58) is DENIED.

Case 2:05-cr-00216-LS Document 96 Filed 03/01/06 Page 20 of 21
6) Defendant Lee’s Motion to Sever Trials of the Three Defendants (Docket #

58) is DENIED.

7) Defendant Lee’s Motion to Dismiss the Indictment Based on Speedy Trial

Act Violations (Docket # 58) is DENIED.

BY THE COURT:

 /s/ Lawrence F. Stengel 

LAWRENCE F. STENGEL, J.

Case 2:05-cr-00216-LS Document 96 Filed 03/01/06 Page 21 of 21