IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS, EASTERN DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, )

)

Plaintiff, )

 v. ) NO. 20 CR 309

LARRY JONES, )

) Judge Virginia M. Kendall

Defendant. )

DEFENDANT LARRY JONES’ SENTENCING MEMORANDUM 

 Larry Jones, by his attorney, Phillip A. Turner, respectfully submits the 

following as his sentencing memorandum in this matter so that an 

appropriate sentence considering Title 18 United States Code, Section 

3553(a) is imposed.

 Larry Jones has pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to 

distribute heroin and money laundering. In this case, Larry Jones is subject 

to five-year mandatory minimum sentence. Larry Jones was taken into 

federal custody after he pled guilty on January 19, 2023. He is in custody at 

the Jerome Combs Detention Center for Kankakee County. 

 As this Court is aware, in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), 

the United States Supreme Court held that the mandatory application of the 
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United States Sentencing Guidelines was unconstitutional and that the 

guidelines were advisory. The guidelines are only part of the analysis 

pursuant to Title 18 United States Code, Section 3553(a) which directs a 

sentencing court to impose a sentence which is “sufficient, but not greater 

than necessary.” In addition, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has 

remarked that the departure methodology is obsolete in light of Booker. 

See, United States v. Laufle, 433 F.3d 981, 986 (7th Cir. 2006). The 

Seventh Circuit has expanded upon the analysis which is to be undertaken in 

applying the Section 3553 factors. In United States v. Warner, 792 F.3d 

847 (7th Cir. 2015), the Seventh Circuit of Appeals reviewed the propriety of 

a sentence of probation for an extremely wealthy man who had by 

sophisticated and fraudulent means evaded $5.6 million in United States 

taxes by hiding approximately $107 million in taxable income in secret 

Swiss bank accounts. The existence of the Swiss bank accounts and the 

funds contained in those accounts were hidden from the United States 

Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service. In addition to hiding the 

money, defendant Warner instructed his Swiss bankers not to send him any 

correspondence and to destroy all the account records. When the United 

States government concluded an agreement with one of the Swiss banks 

which would have revealed defendant Warner’s secret Swiss account, he 
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transferred the funds to another Swiss bank and used a Liechtenstein shell 

entity to hide his ownership of the funds. Warner perpetrated this tax 

evasion scheme for approximately 12 years. When the United States 

Department of Justice began to investigate and prosecute this type of 

offshore tax evasion, a grand jury subpoena was served on Warner for the 

records of his offshore banking records. Warner resisted and fought the 

grand jury subpoena; however, he was ultimately ordered by the courts to 

comply. In re Special Feb. 2011-1 Grand Jury Subpoena Dates Sept. 12, 

2011, 691 F.3d 903, 909 (7th Cir. 2012), cert. denied, 133 S. Ct. 2338 

(2013). Obviously, defendant Warner was very wealthy and had a privileged 

life with no explanation for his criminal conduct other than insatiable greed. 

Despite Warner’s long term sophisticated, premeditated and egregious 

conduct, the government filed only a one-count felony information charging 

Warner with willful tax evasion in violation of 26 U.S.C. Section 7201. 

Defendant Warner had no prior convictions, and the resulting guidelines 

calculations yielded an advisory guideline range of 46 to 57 months 

imprisonment. At sentencing, the district court was appraised of the 

charitable causes to which defendant Warner had given money which of 

course, was easy for Warner to do. The district court sentenced defendant 

Warner to two years’ probation with community service and a fine of 
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$100,000.00. The government appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of 

Appeals arguing that the sentence was too lenient, and that defendant 

Warner should have been incarcerated. The Seventh Circuit Court of 

Appeals rejected the government’s arguments and affirmed the sentence of 

probation. In the course of affirming the sentence of probation, the Seventh 

Circuit Court of Appeals engaged in an analysis of the significance of the 

sentencing guidelines and the sentencing factors set forth in Title 18 United 

States Code Section 3553. The Seventh Circuit initially noted that the 

crimes to which the defendant pleaded guilty did not expressly require the 

district court to send the defendant to prison. The Court of Appeals went on 

to state that in reviewing the Section 3553 factors “[a]fter United States v. 

Booker, however, the guidelines are merely advisory. 543 U.S. 220, 245 

(2005).” The appellate court citing Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338, 

351 (2007) and Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 338, 351 (2007) indicated 

that the guidelines are to be considered, but not to be given much weight. 

“The open-endedness of the section 3553(a) factors leaves ample room for 

the court’s discretion.” Thus, the district court’s imposition of a sentence of 

probation in the case of defendant Warner when all factors pointed to a 

sentence of incarceration was a proper exercise of the district court’s 

discretion. In addition, Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 48 (2007) 
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recognized that probation represents a substantial restriction on an 

individual’s liberty. The Supreme Court recounted that a probationer cannot 

move, change jobs, associate freely and generally has restricted freedom. 

 It is respectfully requested that the advisory guidelines be applied to Larry 

Jones with same thoughtfulness as they were applied to defendant Warner.

Larry Jones acknowledges that he has been involved in selling illegal drugs. 

He acknowledged in the plea agreement that he, Jamar Spencer, and Marsha 

Fountain had other narcotics activity besides what is charged in this 

indictment. It is not to the extent that Jarmar Spencer is alleging. Counsel 

has requested from the government any books and records to corroborate 

Jamar Spencer’s assertions. There are no records. In summary, this is a 

matter where three individuals, Larry Jones, Jamar Spencer, and Marsha

Fountain agreed together, and worked together, to sell drugs. All three 

defendants were of equal stature in the matter doing what they needed to do 

to try to make money from the sale of heroin. Larry Jones knew a person he 

could call to get heroin. Marsha Fountain and Jamar Spencer knew how to 

mix drugs and had methods of distribution. Attached is the government’s 

sentencing memorandum regarding defendant Marsha Fountain for 

comparison purposes. They did not make much money. Larry Jones is not 
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trying to depreciate the seriousness of his offense or conduct, but he wants 

the court to know the truth. 

 Counsel has spent many hours speaking with Larry Jones so that counsel 

could convey to the court what Larry Jones wants said to the court even 

though he is unable to articulate the thoughts for himself. 

 Larry Jones acknowledges that he has a very serious prior record. As the 

court can discern from reviewing his history that he had no structure in his 

life as a child. His parents were involved in drugs and abandoned him when 

he was a child. The only constant adult in his life was his great 

grandmother. He grew up in an environment of drugs, violence, and 

poverty. The attempt murder case which Larry Jones had when he was 16 

years old is an example of the early stages of his life. The case arose from an 

after-school confrontation between Larry Jones and his friends and another 

group of boys. Larry Jones and a boy in the rival group were fighting and 

struggling over a gun. The gun discharged in the struggle hitting the boy 

with who he was fighting and another boy. Another example is the brawl in 

which Larry Jones was involved which resulted in blindness in his left eye. 

This brawl occurred in 2003 when he was 23 years old. Again, Larry Jones 

was fighting with some other young men. One of the individuals came from 

behind him and hit him on the left side of his face near his left eye. Larry 
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Jones suffered nerve damage which caused him to become blind in his left 

eye. 

 Larry Jones has great difficulty reading and writing. Counsel has helped 

him read and understand the documents in this case. His son’s mother 

helped him compose the letter which will be submitted to this court. He has 

not completed high school. He left school after the ninth grade. His reading 

and comprehension skills are not at a ninth-grade level. He was not 

promoted to the ninth grade because he had achieved the appropriate 

proficiency. Counsel has tried to obtain Larry Jones earlier school records 

which counsel hoped would contain an Individual Assessment Plan, 

commonly called an “IAP.” Counsel was unable to obtain the elementary 

school records. While on home confinement, Larry Jones had a meaningful 

and legitimate job. He was proud of his work and himself. His son worked 

with him. It allowed him to give his son a positive example and spend time 

together doing something positive. However, while working, Larry Jones’s

lack of education hindered him in many ways. He had difficulty in 

communicating with people not from his community and with mathematical 

concepts. He has realized that he has many shortcomings. He is now very 

eager to finish high school and learn what he should have learned earlier. 

He would like to learn a trade so that he can support himself and be a 
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positive member of society. He understands that he has done wrong things in 

the past and he takes responsibility for what he has done. He desires to go 

forward and become a better person. Larry Jones agrees that he must be 

accountable for what he has done and that he must be punished. He intends 

to use his time in prison in a productive manner I am attaching a copy of 

the letter from his last employer which was previously submitted to the 

court. This case has had a great impact on Larry Jones. He has achieved

some meaningful maturity. As the court is aware, since his arrest for this 

matter on June 25, 2020, he has been on home detention. When he had his 

job, he was allowed to go to work and to go to church on Sunday. His 

grandmother allowed him to stay at her house although she did not want him 

in her house. He did not have any violations while on the home 

confinement. He thought about his life. He thought about what he has done 

and all that he has not done. He thought about the impact of his conduct on 

his family and his community.

OBJECTIONS TO PRESENTENCE REPORT

 Defendant objects to the reference in paragraph 10, to the Black P. Stone 

street gang and the statement by Special Agent Paul Daou that Larry Jones is 

a “‘high ranking and respected member’” of the Black P. Stone street gang. 

Larry Jones knows people in his neighborhood who are allegedly members 
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of the Black P. Stone gang. Larry Jones has never undergone the initiation 

procedure to become a member of that gang. Counsel for Larry Jones has 

requested from the government all documents which support this assertion 

of membership along with the assertion that Larry Jones is “high ranking” 

and a “respected” member. Counsel has not received anything from the 

government. Larry Jones requests that all references to Black P. Stones be 

removed from the pre-sentence report. The entire second sentence in 

paragraph 10 should be removed. This sort of allegation in the report will be 

viewed in a very negative light by the United States Bureau of Prisons 

(BOP) and could cause Larry Jones to serve his sentence in a much more 

restrictive BOP facility and result in Larry Jones being ineligible for various 

programs in the BOP. This comment and the resulting punitive actions by 

the BOP constitute a violation of due process.

 Defendant objects to paragraph 11. Larry Jones agrees that he and the 

other individuals distributed 174 grams of heroin and that he had other 

transactions with the co-defendants. There are no records. Defendant 

Spencer had other sources of heroin as well as other drugs such as ecstasy, 

fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana. Larry Jones is not trying to depreciate the 

seriousness of his offense. The amounts of drugs as relative conduct are 

overstated. In addition, defendants Spencer and Fountain brought some 
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amounts fentanyl. They were knowledgeable as to how to mix the fentanyl 

with heroin. Larry Jones had a source of heroin and obtained the heroin for 

the transactions in the indictment. 

 Defendant objects to the reference to his proffer in 17. The government 

agreed that the proffer information would not be used in aggravation. Agent 

Daou is violating the proffer agreement by characterizing Larry Jones’s 

proffer in a negative manner to aggravate Larry Jones’s sentence. Larry 

Jones had no intention of telling anyone that he engaged in a proffer since 

the government informed him that his proffer was inadequate. This 

reference to his proffer may jeopardize Larry Jones’s life and the lives of 

family members while providing no benefit to Larry Jones. Larry Jones 

respectfully requests removal of paragraph 17 from the report.

OFFENSE LEVEL COMPUTATION

 As indicated earlier, Larry Jones is not denying that he had other 

narcotics transactions. The amounts attributed are overstated. There are no 

records. Larry Jones would suggest that the court use the amount of the 

drugs in the indictment which according to the government is 178 grams of 

heroin. In addition, pursuant to paragraphs e and f on pages 12-13 of the plea 

agreement, Larry Jones would suggest that all the defendants were equally 

capable. No one was in charge, the boss or a leader. This was a situation of 
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three people working together to sell heroin. This designation of “leader” or 

“supervisor” will make Larry Jones ineligible for BOP programs he needs 

for rehabilitation. 

 It is respectfully requested that this Court impose the following sentence 

in this matter in light of the Section 3553 factors and the totality of the 

circumstances of this case: 

 A term of imprisonment of 5 years followed by 4 years of supervised 

release. This is more than twice the prison term of co-defendant Marsha 

Fountain who received a prison term of 20 months followed by 1 year of 

supervised release. This term will allow for significant punishment, 

deterrence for Larry Jones as well as general deterrence. It will provide 

Larry Jones with the structure and opportunity to pursue his educational 

goals. He must learn to read and write. Larry Jones has been on home 

incarceration since June 25, 2020 without any violations. A five-year 

imprisonment sentence gives him credit for the home incarceration. In 

addition, since his guilty plea on January 19, 2023, Larry Jones has been in 

custody at the Jerome Combs Detention Center of Kankakee County. There 

are no educational programs available to him there and very limited 

recreation. Generally, there are no outdoor activities. Also, we would 

respectfully request that the court recommend that Larry Jones be allowed to
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participate in the BOP Residential Drug Abuse Program to address his 

alcohol and drug use issues. Finally, it is respectfully requested that the 

court recommend that the BOP designate Larry Jones to a facility where he 

can have access to educational programs and training in a trade. 

Respectfully submitted,

Phillip A. Turner_________

Phillip A. Turner

Attorney for defendant

20 North Clark Street

Suite 3300

Chicago, Illinois 60602

312-899-0009

 pturner98@sbcglobal.net
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

 The undersigned attorney hereby certifies that in accordance with 

Fed.R.Civ.P.5, LR 5.5 and the General Order on Electronic Case Filing 

(ECF), the following document:

LARRY JONES’S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM 

was served pursuant to the district court’s ECF system as to ECF filers.

 

 Respectfully submitted,

Phillip A. Turner_________

Phillip A. Turner

Attorney for defendant

20 North Clark Street

Suite 3300

Chicago, Illinois 60602

312-899-0009

 pturner98@sbcglobal.net