Opinion ID: 2709585
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Maurice Vaughn

Text: Beloit police began investigating Vaughn for drug trafficking in 2007. In June of that year, when Vaughn Nos. 12-1835 & 12-1947 3 was on federal supervised release for a cocaine distribution conviction, a confidential informant attempted to purchase two grams of heroin from Vaughn as part of a controlled buy. The informant wore a wire, got into Vaughn’s car, and handed over $250 for the arranged purchase. Before exchanging the drugs, however, Vaughn checked the informant for a wire. When he located the recording device on the informant’s body, Vaughn ripped it off, kicked the informant out of the car, and tossed the money out of his car window as he drove away. During the same period of time in 2007, Vaughn was also distributing heroin to Jesse Green. Green told investigators that from the beginning of 2007 to September 2007, he bought between three and five grams of heroin from Vaughn each day for his own use and for sale. In late 2007 or early 2008, Patrick Riley began using heroin he obtained from Vaughn, whom Riley had met when the two worked together for the same employer. Riley estimated that from 2008 through mid-2010, he received gram quantities of uncut heroin from Vaughn. Generally, Riley would purchase the heroin from Vaughn directly, but once Vaughn began using Carlos Ford as a distributor in 2010, Ford would make deliveries to Riley only after Riley had first contacted Vaughn to arrange a purchase.