Opinion ID: 2995611
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Jerry Hallgren

Text: Jerry Hallgren opted to go to trial. The government called ten witnesses, three of whom provided direct testimony linking Hallgren to the conspiracy. Hallgren’s former live-in girlfriend, Brenda Johnson, testified that from 1992 to 1995 Hallgren made his living by selling methamphetamine obtained from William Crowley. Johnson testified that on one occasion she saw Hallgren in possession of a golf ball-size rock of methamphetamine, which he crushed and packaged into one-ounce plastic bags. Johnson further testified that following their break-up in 1998 she began providing information to the police about the Crowley’s drug ring. She stated that sometime the following year Hallgren threatened her with becoming another Daley case, referring to the unsolved murder of two Superior women. Another government witness, Michael Shopa, testified that he purchased 1/8- ounce quantities of methamphetamine from Hallgren once or twice a month during 1996 and 1997. Shopa testified that when purchasing drugs he observed Hallgren in possession of four or five other small plastic bags containing what he presumed to be methamphetamine. The final witness linking Hallgren to the conspiracy was Ken Cowen, who supplied methamphetamine to Crowley. Cowen testified that Hallgren was one of Crowley’s dealers, and that Hallgren frequently owed money to Crowley for methamphetamine purchases that had been fronted to him for resale. Cowen further testified that he had packaged methamphetamine in Hallgren’s attic while Hallgren was at home. The jury returned a guilty verdict. The probation officer recommended that Hallgren be held responsible for distrib uting 1,134 grams of methamphetamine, an amount derived from trial testimony and interview reports. The probation officer estimated that Hallgren received at least one ounce of methamphetamine per month from William Crowley during the conspiracy. The probation officer also recommended that Hallgren receive a two- level increase in his offense level for obstructing justice based on his threat to Brenda Johnson, which had been made after the government sent William Crowley a target letter informing him that he was under investigation. The district court accepted these recommendations and sentenced Hallgren to 151 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.