Opinion ID: 722394
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: King's Continuing Drug Operations and Arrest

Text: 22 On November 25, 1991, Willis Gragg returned from prison and again began making arrangements to buy cocaine from Garcia, which made obtaining cocaine for King more difficult. Since Dorothy Gragg acted as Willis' runner in making the Chicago trips for Garcia, King on one occasion met her in Chicago and gave her $18,500 to buy an additional kilogram for him without Willis knowing. Michael Harris accompanied Dorothy on that trip. On December 4, 1991, King fronted Stephenson a kilogram of cocaine and said he wanted $36,000 from the proceeds; Stephenson promptly quit his restaurant job. King also distributed cocaine to two other dealers, Terry King and Andre Rye. 23 In December 1991, prior to Rogers' release, King told Marvin Brown that he was trying to raise money to get Rogers out of jail because he was afraid he would implicate him in the murder. King also asked Brown to kill Rogers when he got out. After Rogers' release, King again asked Brown about murdering Rogers and offered to pay him $5,000 up front and $15,000 more upon execution. Brown never agreed to the plan and was jailed for a firearms charge in February 1992. 24 On December 7, 1991, King, Hill, and Stephenson saw Michael Harris at Willis Gragg's house with a duffel bag. After leaving, King told the others that Harris had drugs in the bag. Two days later, Tate, Stephenson, and Hill broke into Harris' house and attempted to steal the drugs. They were later arrested and King paid their bond. As a result of the attempted robbery, Harris' brother, Michael Harris, threatened to retaliate against King. Thus King, along with Stephenson, Hill (armed with a 9 mm.), Tate, Robert Wallace (armed with a .45 caliber pistol), and Tony Horton, found Marcus Harris at John Brown's house. When Brown came out to confront them, Wallace fired a round into the ground; both Stephenson and King explained to Brown that they needed to nurture their reputation for retaliation since they were high rollers now. The group left, but were confronted by police at King's house. King fought with police and was arrested, only to post bond the following day. 25 By January 1992, Dorothy Gragg began to make Chicago runs solely for King and Wallace, as she had done when Willis Gragg was in prison. She testified that all of King's money came from drug trafficking during the time she knew him and that he never held a job during that period. In March and April 1992, Lynard Joiner also sold cocaine for King, for which Stephenson helped King collect the proceeds. In April 1992, an undercover government informant bought crack from Michael Tate; the informant then saw King and Hill drive up and saw Tate give the money to King. Also in early 1992, King's house was robbed and he later saw Isaiah Cutler wearing some of his clothes. King offered to pay Hill to beat Cutler up or to assist King in shooting him. The matter was dropped, but not before King discussed killing Cutler with Rogers. 26 On April 22, 1992, Robert Howell, now acting on behalf of the DEA, arranged a sham sale of three kilograms of cocaine to King through a series of recorded conversations. When King and Dorothy Gragg showed up for the transaction, DEA agents seized over $68,000 from their car, but released the two so the investigation could continue. Dorothy testified that the seized money consisted of equal amounts from King, Robert Wallace, and one of Wallace's uncles. King told Dorothy that he believed Howell had set them up. King offered to pay Hill to shoot Howell; Hill first agreed but later declined. King then told Stephenson that if Howell showed up at a particular dance club that night, they would kill him. King planned to do the killing, but later showed up with someone named Deke and said Deke would help Stephenson kill Howell. Stephenson went to the club to look for Howell, but he did not appear and nothing came of the plan. 27 On April 25, 1992, King sent Dorothy and her sister, Clara Taylor, to Chicago to buy cocaine from Garcia; he agreed to pay Taylor $2,000 for making the trip. The money they took to Chicago included equal amounts from King, Robert Wallace, and Kent Wallace. After checking into a motel, Dorothy paid one of Garcia's runners about $54,000, but the runner never returned with the goods. Dorothy called King in Springfield to break the bad news, and King told her to return with the remaining money, about $25,000. Shortly after that, King and Wallace again lost money on a drug deal in St. Louis. On May 14, 1992, King and Dorothy were arrested together in her bedroom.D. Procedural History 28 Defendant Rogers was charged with one count of murder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise (CCE) in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 848(e)(1)(A), and one count of murder in aid of racketeering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959. On February 1, 1994, the day the trial was to start, Rogers entered a contingent guilty plea on the charge of murder in aid of racketeering, reserving his right to appeal his motion to dismiss that charge. The motion to dismiss was based on the alleged failure of the government to establish a RICO enterprise and had been denied by the district court. Rogers was sentenced to 360 months in prison. 29 Defendant King was charged with one count of engaging in a CCE (21 U.S.C. § 848(a)), one count of murder in furtherance of a CCE (21 U.S.C. § 848(e)(1)(A)), one count of murder in aid of racketeering (18 U.S.C. § 1959), two counts of maintaining a drug house (21 U.S.C. § 856(a)(1)), one count of distributing drugs within 1,000 feet of a school (21 U.S.C. § 860(a)), two counts of employing a juvenile to commit a drug offense (21 U.S.C. § 861(a)(1)), four counts of distributing drugs to a minor (21 U.S.C. § 859(a)), four counts of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)), and one count of distributing cocaine base (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)). The trial began on February 1, 1994. The government moved to dismiss one of the counts involving employment of a juvenile at the close of its case, and the jury returned guilty verdicts on the remaining counts. King was sentenced to life imprisonment.