1. The Superseding Indictment was brought against 18 defendants:

Sixteen entered guilty pleas, one remains a fugitive, and one is

now deceased.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

V. CRIM. NO. 05-123-1

ISAISA SANCHEZ

MEMORANDUM OPINION

RUFE, J. JULY 27, 2006

 Defendant Isaisa Sanchez (“Sanchez”) was sentenced to a term of

imprisonment of 300 months followed by five years of supervised release. Sanchez

pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute over one kilogram of heroin in

violation of 18 U.S.C. section 846.1 Sanchez has filed a counseled appeal in which

he claims that he should have received a lesser sentence. The Court herein sets forth

the rationale buttressing the discretionary sentence imposed in this case. The Court

Case 2:05-cr-00123-CMR Document 555 Filed 07/28/06 Page 1 of 8
2. 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A).

3. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual ch. 5, pt. A 

4. See id.

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submits that its sentence, imposed in accordance with the sentencing statute, is

reasonable. 

The charges against Sanchez are based on his involvement in the

operation of a large-scale, long-standing heroin ring with its hub of criminal activity

in the City of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Specifically, Sanchez was the founding

member and co-leader of the heroin ring. Sanchez recruited relatives and others to

work for him, procured the drugs, and supervised the daily operation of the drug ring.

During the thirty-eight months Sanchez ran the drug ring, the organization distributed

approximately one kilogram of heroin per month in Allentown, which totals

approximately 20,000 ten-dollar bags of heroin distributed per month. 

Under the federal sentencing statutes, Sanchez faced a minimum term

of imprisonment of ten years.2 It is undisputed that Sanchez’s total offense level under

the Sentencing Guidelines is thirty-nine and that he has a Category IV Criminal

History.3 Based on a total offense level of thirty-nine and a Category IV Criminal

History, the Guideline range for imprisonment on the conspiracy count is 360 months

to life imprisonment. 4 

Case 2:05-cr-00123-CMR Document 555 Filed 07/28/06 Page 2 of 8
5. 543 U.S. 220 (2005).

6. Id. at 264.

3

 However, United States v. Booker5 requires the Court to tailor the

sentence in light of other statutory concerns, particularly those set forth at 18 U.S.C.

section 3553(a).6 That section provides, in pertinent part:

(a) Factors to be considered in imposing a sentence.–The court shall impose a sentence sufficient, but not

greater than necessary, to comply with the purposes set

forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection. The court, in

determining the particular sentence to be imposed, shall

consider–

(1) the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the

offense and the history and characteristics of

the defendant;

 (2) the need for the sentence imposed–

(A) to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to

promote respect for the law, and to provide

punishment for the offense;

(B) to afford adequate deterrence to criminal

conduct;

(C) to protect the public from further crimes

 of the defendant; and

(D) to provide the defendant with needed

educational or vocational training, medical

Case 2:05-cr-00123-CMR Document 555 Filed 07/28/06 Page 3 of 8
7. 18 U.S.C.§ 3553(a).

8. See 19 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6).

9. Tr. of Sentencing at 40.

4

care, or other correctional treatment in the

most effective manner...

7

In sentencing the sixteen defendants in this indictment, the Court went

to great lengths to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among the defendants8

and to ensure that each defendant received a sentence that reflected his role in the

conspiracy, his criminal history, his level of cooperation with the government’s

investigation, his acceptance of responsibility for criminal conduct and his prospects

for rehabilitation. Of course, the Court was cognizant of the mandatory statutory

requirements and the advisory Sentencing Guidelines.

Sanchez received the longest sentence of any of the sixteen defendants

because he was the founder and co-leader of the large heroin ring that poisoned the

residential streets of Allentown for over three years with approximately one kilogram

of heroin per month. As the founder of the drug ring, it was Sanchez who created the

business plan used by the organization to distribute heroin. Furthermore, Sanchez

profited financially more than any of his co-defendants. Indeed, the members of the

drug ring referred to Sanchez as “Mayimbe,” a Native American tribal term meaning

“chief” .9

Case 2:05-cr-00123-CMR Document 555 Filed 07/28/06 Page 4 of 8
10. Tr. of Sentencing at 27.

5

 Sanchez and co-defendant Edgardo Colon (“Colon”) hand-picked

managers who oversaw runners who, in turn, provided heroin and cellular telephones

to make contact with heroin customers. The runners collected the drug proceeds and

provided them to the managers who then forwarded the proceeds to the organizational

leadership, initially both Sanchez and Colon and, starting in September 2004, to

Sanchez alone. A total of fourteen firearms were recovered which the members of the

ring used to protect their interests throughout the conspiracy. 

Upon indictment in this case, Sanchez remained a fugitive for five

months until his apprehension on August 12, 2005. Sanchez was arrested in a

Philadelphia hotel where he was staying under an assumed name. At the time of his

arrest, he was in possession of $9000 in cash and a false identification card from

Florida. Because Sanchez was a fugitive for five months, he was the last of the

defendants to be arrested and essentially lost any opportunity to provide meaningful

assistance to the Government. Indeed, the Government discontinued negotiations to

obtain Sanchez’s cooperation after he refused to take a lie detector test. 

Even at the sentencing hearing, the Court found Sanchez to be less than

forthcoming with the Court. At that hearing, Sanchez stated for the first time that it

was he and his brother, Dedmas, who founded the drug ring.10 In contrast, an agent

Case 2:05-cr-00123-CMR Document 555 Filed 07/28/06 Page 5 of 8
11. Id. at 56-57.

12. Unlike Isaisa, Dedmas was not the founder and leader of the

drug ring. Dedmas joined the ring several months after it was

founded by Isaisa and was a member for twenty-three months.

Further, unlike Isaisa, Dedmas was not a fugitive and was one of

the first three defendants to cooperate with the Government. 

 

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with the Federal Bureau of Investigation testified at sentencing that, at four different

proffers, Sanchez stated that it was he and co-defendant Colon who started the ring

and that Dedmas joined the conspiracy at a later time.11 Although Sanchez stated that

he had lied at the time of his proffers, as well as at his guilty plea proceeding before

this Court, the Court was concerned that Sanchez was more recently trying to align

himself with Dedmas because Dedmas received a 120-month sentence.12

The sentence imposed intends to protect the community and to promote

respect for the law. Sanchez has pleaded guilty to retail theft, disorderly conduct, and

some minor drug offenses. He also has violated his probation three times. He had no

legitimate work experience from 2001 to 2005 and has indicated that his sole source

of income was drug distribution. The 300 month sentence provides Sanchez the

opportunityto accessneeded treatment, educational and/or vocational training needed

to achieve his rehabilitation and return to the community as a productive law-abiding

citizen. 

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13. Specifically, the Court stated:

We need to deter others. We need to deter people in your

family that willingly joined you in this organization at your

request, and that is what I believe. We need to deter others in the

community who think they can make a quicker buck and a bigger buck

that way than working in a factory making the money the slow way,

but the legal way.

We need to deter children and young adults who may wish

to follow in the footsteps of someone they think has gained some

notoriety. That may be okay on television and in the movies, but it

is not here in the criminal justice system, and I hope it is not in

the City of Allentown.

The organization that you founded, regardless of who you

founded it with, was responsible for over 39 kilograms total. Not

all of that is attributed to you. But, you agreed that you were

less than that amount, but over 10 kilograms. That was for

sentencing guideline computation.

And that is significant alone when you consider how that

kilogram a month is broken down into bundles and then broken down

into individual packets sold to individuals, real people with real

drug problems who, when they can’t get their fix because they don’t

have money or can’t get to their supply, commit all kinds of felony

offenses and violent offenses.

Your attorney said that you weren’t violent, you didn’t

really have the guns in your personal possession. But I don’t know

what could produce more violence than serious drug abuse. And, in

a conspiracy like this where there is a hierarchy that has been

represented on that I know you saw, that I’ve seen more than one

(continued...)

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Further, Sanchez’s statutory mandatory minimum sentence was ten

years, far less than the statutory mandatory minimum sentence of several of the

organization’s low-level street dealers. The advisory Sentencing Guidelines range

was 360 months to life. The sentence of 300 months strikes a balance between the

range of the sentences given the other participants in the drug ring and the goals of

18 U.S.C. section 3553(a) of protecting the public, promoting respect for the law,

deterring others who may be considering entering the lucrative business of drug

dealing, recognizing the seriousness of the offenses and imposing just punishment.13

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13. (...continued)

time, that hierarchy promotes the violence downward. Even so, it

snuck up on you. So, we know that this is a criminal enterprise

that has violence attached to all parts of it...

The least is, set by Congress, 10 years mandatory

minimum. That doesn’t seem sufficient considering that, on the low

end of the totem pole there in your criminal enterprise, street

dealers are facing 20 years mandatory minimum because they’re

junkies. That’s not fair. You’re the one that made all the money...

What is important is that you’re still at the top. And,

for you to get anything less than anyone else would be a crime in

itself, would not uphold the sentencing statute and its goals. I’m

not worried about the mandatory minimum being met here. It’s more

than adequately met by the sentence I am going to impose...

Tr. of Sentencing at 75-78.

8

In addition, since Sanchez’s version of events was less than candid and demonstrated

a lack of remorse, a substantial period of incarceration was necessary for rehabilitation efforts to commence.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Cynthia M. Rufe, J.

 _______________________

 Cynthia M. Rufe, J.

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