Opinion ID: 2976344
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Jeracho Poole

Text: Lynn’s sister, Poole, also testified at Wheaton’s trial. Poole said that she first met Kev, whom she identified in the courtroom as Wheaton, in Los Angeles, California in either December of 2000 or January of 2001. On the other hand, Poole proceeded to describe a series of three trips between California and Youngstown that started sometime after her release from prison just before Thanksgiving of 2000 and ended with an automobile accident outside of Little Rock, Arkansas on December 13, 2000. Although Poole did not ascribe specific dates to these trips, her testimony helps to establish the timeline surrounding her first encounter with Kev. She testified that her first meeting with Kev was arranged by Lynn at a time when she was already in San Diego, California for a marijuana run. Poole explained that she took the train from San Diego to Los Angeles to meet Kev, got one kilogram of cocaine from him at that time, returned to San Diego to retrieve her car and the marijuana, and took the drugs back to Lynn in Ohio. She described this trip as a test run to see whether “the thing would work out.” Poole stated that she subsequently made another marijuana run to San Diego by car, during which she did not meet up with Kev. She further noted that this was the last trip she made to San Diego to pick up marijuana. Finally, Poole explained that she made a third trip to California by car, where she obtained four kilograms of cocaine from Kev in Los Angeles before driving back to Youngstown. This trip was memorable, she explained, because she was involved in a serious car accident outside of Little Rock, Arkansas on her way back to Ohio. The government introduced into evidence a state police report from the accident, which showed that the wreck took place on December 13, 2000. Poole further testified that she made “numerous” trips by air and car between Los Angeles and Youngstown in 2001, that she met with Kev to get cocaine (usually between four and six kilograms) every time, and that her method for contacting Kev via pager was always the same. The government introduced into evidence airline tickets showing that Poole had traveled between Ohio and Los Angeles in January of 2001. Poole was questioned about records from two of her cell phones, which showed that she had paged the entry for “Kev” on numerous occasions between January of 2001 and July of 2001. She also pointed to many instances when she received callbacks from Kev. In July of 2001, Poole was arrested in Kansas while driving from Los Angeles to Youngtown. A little more than eight kilograms of cocaine was found in her car, in addition to maps of California and a cell phone, the data from which showed an outgoing page to Kev dated a few days prior to her arrest. Poole pled guilty to a charge of possession of cocaine and served a five-year sentence of imprisonment. While incarcerated, she began to cooperate with federal authorities, but did not receive a reduced sentence in exchange for her cooperation. Poole acknowledged, however, that in exchange for her truthful testimony before the grand jury in the present case, the government promised to not further prosecute her and to inform the court handling her brother’s crack cocaine charges that she was cooperating with the government. No. 06-4080 United States v. Wheaton Page 4