Opinion ID: 8414571
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Hilliard’s Trial

Text: The parties stipulated at the start of trial that Hilliard’s criminal history included two prior convictions: (1) a 1997 conviction in Tennessee for delivery of cocaine, and (2) a 2002 conviction in Illinois for possession of a controlled substance. Three ATF agents testified at trial. ATF Special Agent Andy Kareeski had not been personally involved in Hilliard’s investigation or ease, and testified as an expert in drug trafficking on topics including: the typical quantities of heroin involved in personal use and distribution, the manner in which heroin is purchased and sold throughout the typical distribution chain, and drug dealers’ tactics to evade law-enforcement detection (e.g., using coded words and having legitimate day jobs). Agent Kareeski also explained that law-enforcement agents commonly use informants to secure introductions to wholesale drug traffickers, who otherwise would be leery about selling narcotics to new customers. He testified that law-enforcement officials monitor informants as closely as possible, often using recording devices or debriefs, but that it is not feasible to record or write reports on every conversation or interaction involving informants. During Agent Labno’s testimony about his work on the case, the government published the recordings made of Hilliard during the investigation, 3 and Labno explained his understanding of the conversations. For example, during the controlled purchase that took place on April 5, 2012, Hilliard had mentioned his customers: “[L]ast time I had some, some off-white shit ..., the tooters likin’ it but the shooters didn’t.” Agent Labno had understood Hilliard to be referring to his customers’ responses to a prior batch of heroin. On May 22, 2012, Agent Labno and Romano had met with Hilliard at a bar in Evanston to discuss the exchange of guns for heroin. During that meeting, Hilliard had explained how to run a drug business: Well, just gonna give you a little lesson in, since you, you know, you fuckin’ around. Only fuck with the people you fuck with cause when you go out, you fuck with other motha fuckers, you put yourself at risk, first of all.... Second of all, you never know the quality.... Agent Labno had understood Hilliard to be trying to teach Labno about dealing only with trusted suppliers because of the risks that could arise from shopping around. Hilliard had continued: Get caught up.... I learned the hard way, when my guys don’t have shit dude, I’ll sit.... I’ll wait.... Never let motha fuckers rush you, man.... That’s how you get ... fucked up, bro.... I mean, the guys I’m fuckin’ with dude, pretty, pretty nice, pretty, respectful loyal, mo-tha fuckers are business men [sic], you know what I’m sayin’.:.. [N]ot all money ain’t good money, man. Agent Labno explained that he had understood Hilliard to be saying that when his regular supplier was out of heroin, Hilliard would simply wait until his trusted supplier was ready rather than looking for another source. Hilliard had further explained to Agent Labno the importance of controlling addicted customers: [YJou’re playin’ with opium dude, you’re dealin’ with a different product then. When you’re dealin’ with highly, cause they need it, cause the[yYe] sick.... But that’s why you always gotta fuckin’, you gotta, you gotta know how to run your shit. Keep the number, change it on the[ir] motha fuckin ass, man.... [Y]ou in control, bro, but if you start lettin’ them motha fuckers control you, dog ... [yjou’re in fuckin’ trouble man.... Hilliard had also discussed interactions with law-enforcement officials: “Once they’re onto you dude, you gotta stop.... (unintelligible) [H]ey, anybody say someth-in’ ‘bout me and I hear, I see the police, nuh, I don’t sell shit.... That’s how I do it, cause they gonna watch you, you know what I’m sayin’.” Agent Labno had understood this to mean that Hilliard would stop selling drugs as soon as he believed he was on the radar of law-enforcement officers. Further, in a recording from the day of his arrest, Hilliard had referenced his pri- or conviction in Tennessee and the lessons he had learned from it: The only thing about Indiana, or talkin’ like -rural uh, states. You get caught, you, they gonna hide you.... You won’t see [daylight] .... You see what happened to me in Tennessee [referring to 1997 conviction] .... Yeah, you, you can ball, you can ball til you fall but if you get caught, that’s it.... You gotta remember in Tennessee though, informants get paid, erackheads get paid to snitch.... The only thing good about here is, you know what I’m sayin’, in other states, you know, they can’t do that entrapment shit here, you, you will beat that shit. But them other states, that entrapment shit is, they can do it all day. They can like actually set you up, you will still get fucked up. Here, you will beat that shit like a motha fucker. Agent Labno had understood Hilliard to be discussing (ironically enough) a mistaken impression that Illinois law-enforcement officers could not employ sting operations to arrest targets. On cross-examination, Hilliard’s defense counsel emphasized Hilliard’s and Romano’s long friendship and the fact that Agent Labno did not know what had been said between Hilliard and Romano in unrecorded conversations either outside Lab-no’s presence or prior to the start of the investigation. Agent Labno acknowledged that he was not aware of Hilliard’s having sold drugs between 2007 and 2011, even though Romano had been cooperating with the government since 2007. Defense counsel also asked Agent Labno about uncharged drug transactions — that is, whether there was evidence that Hilli-ard had sold, drugs to anyone other than Romano and Labno: Q: ... Do you have any evidence of any other drug deals from my client to anyone besides the government? A: I don’t — we were unable to, no. Q: There was no video or any surveillance of my client selling heroin to anybody else, true? A: That’s correct. Defense counsel later returned to the topic of uncharged drug dealing by Hilliard: Q: All right. In other words, there’s a possible, at least on May 31st of 2012 [the date of a controlled purchase of heroin by the informant and Agent Labno], that you were his only customer? A: That’s not my understanding, sir. Q: Oh, I know it’s not your understanding. I asked you whether it was possible. A: Again, anything is possible, but based — if you’re asking what I believe to be the case— Q: Don’t want your opinion. A: Everything is possible, sir, yes. Q: I’m not asking for your opinion. But as you sit here today, on May 31st, 2012, you have any facts, any evidence that Mr. Hilliard was selling to anybody but Mr. Romano? A: Yes, I do. Q: Tell me. A: Based on the conversations that he was having with me, the details he was explaining to me, the way he was teaching me to be what he considered a better businessman, a better drug dealer, he talked about selling to other people, he talked about the things he did, he talked about how he operated. Q: All right. Well, he could’ve been reaching back in his experience ■ from 2001 when he was dealing cocaine. It’s not that hard to talk with a drug dealer, someone who’s been in the business, is it? A: Well, that’s correct, but cocaine is different than heroin. Q: That’s all I’m asking, yes or no. But you conducted some surveillance during these 9 months. Every time you did a deal, you had cars conducting surveillance out there, true? A: Yes; that’s correct. Q: Did you follow him from his home to the meet and back to his home, true? A: That’s correct. Q: You never saw him drive anywhere else to make a delivery of heroin, did you? A: I believe we followed him on occasion where we did meet him and we believed he was doing a transaction but we weren’t able to identify anybody involved. Q: That’s a maybe because I never saw a report— [ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY]: Objection. COURT: The objection is sustained. Q: Well, could you indicate the report that you documented that? A: It wouldn’t be my report. I wouldn’t be out there because, as the undercover agent, I wouldn’t be expected or wanted to be covering surveillance deals because if Mr. Hilliard would see me, it would be— Q: So it’s not in a report? A: No, sir, it is-in the report. My understanding is, it’s just not in a report that I authored. It was in a report that another agent authored. I believe, in fact, it was listed as part of one of the stipulations as well. Defense counsel asked for a sidebar, which was not transcribed. 4 Following the sidebar, no testimony was stricken and no additional objections were noted. Defense counsel continued examining Agent Labno about his basis for believing that Hilliard had engaged in an uncharged drug transaction on a particular date (September 18, 2012): Q: You’re referring to stipulation number 15,1 believe, where it says: “... at approximately 6:30 p.m. defendant Timothy Hilliard was parked in a Buick in the area of 8025 Keat-ing Avenue, Skokie, Illinois and talking on his cell phone.” A: Yes, sir. Q: “[A] short time later he drove, his Buick was parked in a lot behind the building at 8025 Keating.” Right? A: Yes, sir. Q: And that’s where you’re basing that there; might’ve been another deal? A: Yes. As I said, we weren’t able to identify anything specific or any people involved. Q: I’m not asking for your opinion. I’m asking, did you see him get out of the car or they saw him get out of the car and deliver a package to anybody? .It’s not in— A: No, sir. During redirect, the government did not elicit any testimony from Agent Labno regarding drug dealing by Hilliard involving customers other than the informant. ATF Special Agent Rene Maraño also testified for the government. He had assisted with the execution of the search warrant at Hilliard’s home on the evening of Hilliard’s arrest. Agent Maraño testified that, in addition to the handgun and heroin that were recovered, he had also found a substantial amount of ammunition, a total of $1,940 in cash, a scale, several plastic baggies, gloves, and a mask at Hilliard’s home. At the conclusion of the government’s case-in-chief, Hilliard moved for a judgment of acquittal, which was denied. He also moved for a mistrial based on “various opinions” that Agent Labno had allegedly “volunteered from the witness stand,” including his “testimony regarding other drug deals.” The government responded that “some of counsel’s questions asked for those opinions,” and noted that defense counsel never moved to strike any Of Agent Labno’s answers. The district court denied the motion for mistrial without prejudice, stating: “I could not, with any degree of clarity, find grounds for a mistrial, but if there’s a defense, the context may make a difference which is why I’m denying it now to be raised later.” Hilliard testified at trial in his own defense. He spoke about his and Romano’s long friendship and admitted that they had sold cocaine together in the late 1990s. However, Hilliard testified that he had not been involved in selling heroin or guns at that time, and that he had later turned his life around, stopped selling drags, obtained a commercial driver’s license, and begun working as a truck driver at Tri-Air. Hilli-ard said that Romano had continued to deal ecstasy, cocaine, guns, and steroids, but they had remained friends and Romano had attended Hilliard’s wedding in 2007. Hilliard testified that from 2007 onward, he would occasionally run into Romano at the gym or elsewhere, and that each time, Romano would ask about the prospect of obtaining cocaine and Hilliard would respond that he was no longer dealing drugs. In 2010, Hilliard had gotten divorced and had moved back into his mother’s house, and he testified that his financial status had declined. Hilliard said that he felt increased financial pressure in 2012, when his eldest child had moved in with him. He testified that during this time, Romano had continued to ask about obtaining cocaine, had tried to pressure Hilliard to start selling drugs again, and had often commented on Hilliard’s worsening financial state. Hilliard explained that in January 2012, he had changed his mind about selling drugs, because he had needed money to support his mother and children. Hilliard said that at that point, he had told Romano that he knew only heroin suppliers, not cocaine suppliers. Although Romano first said he did not know anything about heroin, about two weeks later he expressed an interest. Hilliard had then arranged to obtain heroin from the mother of his son, who had become an addict. Hilliard explained that his early drug-related conversations with Romano had occurred prior to Romano’s first debriefing with ATF agents about Hilliard in March 2012, and that from March to December 2012, Hilliard and Romano had had a number of unrecorded conversations without Agent Labno at Hilliard’s house, the gym, or a bar. Hilliard testified that he never would have sold heroin but for Romano’s persistence, and that Hilliard had never sold to anyone besides Romano and undercover Agent Labno. Hilliard also said that the idea of trading guns for heroin had come from Romano. Hilliard claimed that the reason he had sounded so knowledgeable about drug trafficking and guns during recorded conversations was because Romano had instructed Hilliard to impress Labno, and that Hilliard had based what he had told Labno about drug dealing on Hilliard’s experience dealing cocaine years earlier. On cross-examination, Hilliard said that it was only due to his financial circumstances that he had caved into selling drugs again, but admitted that there was no discussion of his purportedly desperate financial status anywhere on the recordings. Hilliard also admitted that it was illegal for him, a felon, to possess a gun, but that he had ordered a handgun for himself from Romano, and that Hilliard had worn gloves during the guns-for-heroin trade to avoid leaving fingerprints behind. Hilliard again denied having any heroin customers other than Romano and Agent Labno. Hilliard said that when he would obtain more heroin than Romano and Labno had ordered, Hilliard would hold it for them until their next order, and that the heroin found at his home was going to be sold to Labno. Hilliard admitted that he had been firm in resisting .Agent Labno’s attempts to negotiate a lower price, telling Labno that a lower price would happen only if he placed larger orders consistently. Hilliard also admitted that he had lied to both Romano and Lab-no on multiple occasions during the investigation, but said he was being truthful while testifying. The defense also called two character witnesses: a former Tri-Air Vice President of operations who had worked with Hilli-ard, and Hilliard’s cousin. Both testified that they knew Hilliard well and understood his character for honesty and law-abidance to be excellent. On cross-examination, both also said that if Hilliard had asked for assistance with respect to his alleged financial difficulties, they would have helped him. On rebuttal, the government admitted into evidence records from Hilliard’s phone from September 2011 to June 2012, as well as a summary chart showing contacts between Hilliard’s phone and Romano’s phone. Special Agent Maraño testified that, from September to December of 2011, zero phone calls or text messages had been exchanged between the two phone numbers. In January 2012, only one phone call and one text had been exchanged. In February 2012, there had been incoming and outgoing contacts between both numbers, the majority of which had been listed by the phone company as having a duration of one minute. These could have represented calls that had lasted only seconds but had been rounded up in the phone company’s records. During closing arguments, the government made no reference to Agent Labno’s testimony about uncharged drug transactions, and defense counsel repeatedly emphasized that there was no evidence of uncharged drug dealing by Hilliard. Hilli-ard asserted a defense of entrapment as to Counts One through Nine, and the court gave a series of jury instructions on entrapment. Four of the government’s proposed entrapment instructions were given over defense counsel’s objections, and the court also refused three instructions proposed by the defense.