Opinion ID: 6111649
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The “Polo” Operation

Text: Between 2012 and 2016, people in east Detroit could buy heroin and crack cocaine at all hours of the day and night by calling one of two different phone numbers and going to a set location where they would meet someone to buy drugs. Those who used this drug dealing system called it “Polo.” (See Jamie Dabish Trial Test., R. 705, Page ID #3943, #3959; Marko Tomic Trial Test., R. 721, Page ID #5662; David Grzywacz Trial Test., R. 722, Page ID #5855).1 The Warren City Police Department—in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”)—began investigating “Polo” in 2016. The investigation led to a large takedown operation. Law enforcement arrested thirteen “Polo” members, and the government charged them with multiple drug trafficking 1This appeal arises from two separate cases in the Eastern District of Michigan, Nos. 2:16-cr-20414 and 2:18-cr-20221. The cases were joined for trial. Unless otherwise noted, citations to the record refer to the consolidated docket for all Defendants in Case No. 2:16-cr-20414. There are a small number of citations to the record in the separate, but related, case against only Kenneth Sadler, Case No. 2:18-cr-20221. Citations to that record will provide the case number. Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 3 offenses. Most Defendants pleaded guilty. Only Tempo and Sadler proceeded to trial. The trial lasted nineteen days, and the witnesses included “Polo” customers, law enforcement officers, paramedics, acquaintances, medical and forensic experts, and one of the alleged co-conspirators (and co-Defendants). The government also introduced physical evidence from surveillance operations and property searches. This evidence tells the story of a sophisticated and wellorganized drug trafficking scheme called “Polo.” The government alleges that Tempo led this operation and that Sadler—Tempo’s half-brother—participated.
Ten “Polo” customers testified at Defendants’ trial. Each bought drugs from “Polo” many times—some hundreds of times, and often multiple times a day. They each described buying drugs from “Polo” in the same way. First, customers called one of two phone numbers: one ending in x3399, the other ending in x5598. Customers “could call th[ose] phone[s] . . . 24/7,” and they were “always available.” (Olivia Palazzola Trial Test., R. 715, Page ID #5369). Many customers said that the same person “[u]sually, but not always” answered the phone. (Jennifer Pointer Trial Test., R. 717, Page ID #5533; see also Dan Magda Trial Test., R. 722, Page ID #5898 (stating the same person answered “[m]ost of the time”); Hannah Fenn Trial Test., R. 715, Page ID #5275 (stating “it sounded like the same person” who answered, and that “maybe once or twice somebody else had answered”)). However, a few believed that different people answered the phones. Some customers called and asked for “Polo” or called the person who answered “Polo.” But the person answering did not identify himself, and customers never met anyone who introduced himself as “Polo.” Even so, customers understood “Polo” to mean “one person.” (Pointer Test., R. 717, Page ID #5530). On this first call, the person who answered the phone directed the customer to a meeting spot, usually one of five locations in east Detroit: Hamburg Street, Dresden Street, the intersection of Bradford Avenue and Bringard Drive, the intersection of Seven Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue, or the intersection of Eight Mile Road and Hoover Road. At the meeting spots, cars often “lined up” waiting to buy drugs. (Tomic Test., R. 721, Page ID #5665). Once the customer arrived, a “runner” would approach her. (Christina Yako Trial Test., R. 723, Page ID ##5990–91). Runners were people who “went around and sold the drugs for whoever was in Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 4 charge.” (Pointer Test., R. 721, Page ID #5603; see also Yako Test., R. 723, Page ID #5990 (describing a “runner” as the one who “comes out and gives the drugs real quick, and just . . . goes back in”)). Customers met different runners depending on when and where they bought drugs. Sometimes the runner had the drugs on him, but sometimes he went “around the corner of a [vacant] house . . . and then [he] would come ba[ck] with the drugs.” (Grzywacz Test., R. 722, Page ID #5860). Runners were usually alone and often on foot. Occasionally, however, the runner would be in a van or car when approaching the customer. If the runner was in a car, he was usually with two or three other people. After a runner approached the customer, the customer placed an order. If the customer wanted heroin, she asked for “boy,” and if she wanted crack cocaine, she asked for “girl.” (Palazzolo Test., R. 715, Page ID #5345; Dabish Test., R. 705, Page ID #3958). The drugs were packaged in small plastic bags about 0.5 to 1.5 inches in size, and each small bag cost $20. Sometimes the runner took the small bag of drugs out of a larger “sandwich bag that had . . . little bags in it.” (Pointer Test., R. 717, Page ID #5537). After serving a customer, the runner “would walk up to the next car or walk back where they came from.” (Palazzolo Test., R. 715, Page ID #5351). One runner, Amacio Alexander, testified at Defendants’ trial. In May or June 2016, a man known as “Mr. Howard” recruited Alexander to sell drugs. (Amacio Alexander Trial Test., R. 705, Page ID ##4032–35). Alexander’s job was to stand on Hamburg Street and “[s]ell a little product.” (Id. at Page ID #4040). On a typical day, he sold drugs to about 50 customers. Mr. Howard gave him the drugs to sell in a sandwich bag with about 50 small, prepackaged bags of drugs. Alexander usually sold three or four sandwich bags—roughly 150 to 200 small, individual bags—each day. He sold each bag for $20, and, when he ran out, Mr. Howard found him, took the money from earlier sales, left, and returned with a replenished bag of drugs.
As early as 2013, the FBI began investigating drug trafficking activity on the east side of Detroit in connection with the name “Polo.” As part of this investigation, the FBI set up two undercover purchases using a confidential informant. On January 29, 2013, the informant called Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 5 the x3399 phone number and was directed to Gratiot Avenue and Whittier Street. He bought three bags—0.175 grams—of heroin for $55. On November 1, 2013, the informant called the x3399 number again and was directed to a house on Hamburg Street. The informant bought two small bags—0.14 grams—of heroin for $40. Between April 19, 2016, and June 14, 2016, Officer David Villerot with the Warren City Police Department carried out eighteen more undercover purchases. He bought drugs from “Polo” in the same way as all the other “Polo” customers. Officer Villerot or his informant called the x3399 number; met runners at different places including Hamburg Street and the intersection of Bringard and Bradford; asked for certain drugs—for example, “two boy;” and paid $20 for each small plastic bag of drugs. (David Villerot Trial Test., R. 709, Page ID #4529, #4539, ##4545–46, #4572, #4582).
“Polo” sold both heroin and crack cocaine. In early 2016, customers started noticing a change in “Polo’s” heroin. Until then, the heroin was “brownish,” (Randy Odish Trial Test., R. 717, Page ID #5429), or “light gray,” (Tomic Test., R. 721, Page ID #5668). But in early 2016, the heroin changed color; it was lighter—“like a light beige . . . [or] an off-white color.” (Palazzola Test., R. 715, Page ID #5359). Customers also noticed that the texture changed; the heroin was now more “powder[y],” (Fenn Test., R. 715, Page ID #5279), or “crystally,” (Tomic Test., R. 721, Page ID #5677), when it previously came as a “chunk” and was more rock-like, (Grzywacz Test., R. 722, Page ID #5862; Haggart Test., R. 722, Page ID #5785). One customer was so confused by the sudden change in the heroin’s appearance that he called the x3399 “Polo” number back and said, “I wanted heroin, not crack,” to which the person answering said, “This is heroin.” (Odish Test., R. 717, Page ID ##5437–38, #5440). “Polo” customers and street-level dealers called this lighter drug “White China,” (Dabish Test., R. 705, Page ID #3969), “kill shit,” (Villerot Test., R. 709, Page ID #4554; Fenn Test., R. 715, Page ID #5279), or “Russian white,” (Yako Test., R. 723, Page ID #5978). This lighter, powdery heroin was more potent. Noticing the change in potency, customers were no longer “sure how much [they] could do or how much [they] would need for Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 6 the day.” (Palazzola Test., R. 715, Page ID #5353). One customer reacted differently to this heroin; she became ill and vomited after using it. Some suspected that this lighter heroin contained fentanyl. One “Polo” runner told a customer that this heroin was “good stuff” because it was cut with fentanyl. (Magda Test., R. 722, Page ID #5910). As part of the ongoing investigation, police ran several laboratory tests on “Polo” drugs. These tests showed that sometimes “Polo” sold pure heroin. In sixteen out of eighteen undercover purchases, Officer Villerot bought pure heroin from “Polo.” But sometimes “Polo’s” heroin was cut with fentanyl. On April 19, 2016, Officer Villerot bought 0.23 grams of a substance containing “detectable amounts of heroin and fentanyl,” (Villerot Test., R. 709, Page ID #4548), and on March 17, 2016, a customer bought drugs from “Polo” that contained “detectable amounts of fentanyl and heroin,” (Pointer Test., R. 721, Page ID #5583). Sometimes “Polo” sold pure fentanyl. On May 30, 2016, Officer Villerot bought 0.28 grams of pure fentanyl from “Polo.” On March 30, 2016, police seized 0.028 grams of pure fentanyl from a “Polo” customer. And on March 29, 2016, police seized 0.107 grams of pure fentanyl from a “Polo” customer.
Around the same time that customers noticed a difference in “Polo’s” heroin, law enforcement officers and paramedics noticed an uptick in opioid overdoses in Warren, Michigan. Many of the witnesses had overdosed—or saw friends overdose—on “Polo’s” drugs. Some overdosed on the lighter, more potent heroin. The charges against Tempo and Sadler involve five overdoses by four different victims. a) Christina Yako Christina Yako overdosed on February 20, 2016. Randy Odish testified that he was with Yako that night and that they called the x3399 number to buy heroin. Phone records confirmed that Odish called the x3399 number that night. The heroin they bought was lighter in color and “look[ed] different.” (Yako Test., R. 723, Page ID #5976; Odish Test., R. 717, Page ID #5438). They went back to Odish’s house and used the drugs. Yako did not mix her drugs with anything, but she had used Xanax earlier that day. Odish used the drugs first, and he warned Yako not to Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 7 do too much because they were very strong. Immediately after Yako injected the drugs, she “passed out;” she “could hardly breathe,” “[h]er lips [turned] bluish-purple,” and “she [began] bleeding from her mouth.” (Odish Test., R. 717, Page ID ##5443–44). Odish then called the police. When the paramedics arrived, they found Yako face-down in a pool of vomit. Her fingertips and lips were blue, and she was taking only four to six breaths per minute—a rate which is not life-sustaining. The paramedics administered Narcan2 intranasally, at which point Yako began breathing more rapidly, her vitals improved, and the paramedics transported her to the hospital. At the hospital, doctors administered a second dose of Narcan—this time intravenously—and Yako became fully alert. The hospital did not give her a urinalysis or blood toxicology test. The government’s expert witness, Dr. Mills, testified that Yako’s medical condition was consistent with an opioid overdose—either on heroin or fentanyl—and that, without medical attention, she would have died. b) David Grzywacz David Grzywacz overdosed on February 26, 2016. He said he bought the drugs from “Polo.” Phone records showed that he called the x5598 “Polo” number eight times that day. The only time Grzywacz noticed a difference in “Polo’s” heroin was on the day he overdosed when the drug appeared powdery and lighter. He used the heroin immediately after purchasing it, and the next thing he remembers is waking up in an ambulance. The paramedics found him in the passenger seat of a car at a gas station. When they arrived, they suspected an opioid overdose. At that time, Grzywacz was taking only four breaths per minute. The paramedics moved him into the ambulance and administered Narcan intravenously. Grzywacz responded well to the Narcan; his breathing returned to normal, and the paramedics transported him to the hospital. The hospital did not give him a urinalysis or blood toxicology test. Dr. Mills testified that Grzywacz’s medical condition was consistent with an opioid overdose and that he likely would have died without medical intervention. 2Narcan is like an anti-venom for opioids. It reverses the effects of opioid poisoning. The government’s expert witness, Dr. Kirk Mills, testified that a positive response to Narcan is “basically confirmation” that the patient had overdosed on an opioid. (Kirk Mills Trial Test., R. 703, Page ID #3865). Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 8 c) Jennifer Pointer Jennifer Pointer overdosed twice, first on March 17, 2016, and again on March 30, 2016. Before either of her own overdoses, Pointer saw her friend, Dawn Boose, overdose on heroin from “Polo.”3 On February 19, 2016, Pointer bought heroin from “Polo” for her boyfriend, Boose, and herself. The heroin she bought looked lighter than usual. After snorting an entire $20 bag of heroin, Boose’s lips began turning blue, and her skin turned a gray color. Police and paramedics arrived, revived Boose, seized the remaining heroin that the group had not used, and arrested Pointer. Lab tests showed that the drugs had a detectable amount of both heroin and fentanyl. On March 17, 2016—St. Patrick’s Day—Pointer called the x3399 number and bought heroin from “Polo.” The evidence did not contain Pointer’s phone records from that day, but she remembered buying drugs at the intersection of Bradford and Bringard. She said she did not buy drugs from any other dealer or use any other drugs that day. The heroin she bought was lighter than usual and “looked the same” as it did on February 19, 2016—when Boose overdosed. (Pointer Test., R. 721, Page ID #5588). She snorted an entire $20 bag of heroin with her boyfriend. She woke up “violently ill” with paramedics surrounding her. (Id. at Page ID #5590). When the paramedics arrived, she was unresponsive and barely breathing with paraphernalia around her. Paramedics administered two doses of Narcan—one intranasally and one intravenously. She became responsive after the second dose, walked to the ambulance herself, and was lucid when the paramedics transported her to the hospital. At the hospital, her doctors gave her a urine drug screen, which was positive for opiates and cocaine. But Dr. Mills testified that Narcan would have worked only if Pointer overdosed on opiates; it would not reverse a cocaine overdose. Dr. Mills concluded that this overdose was consistent with a heroin or fentanyl overdose and that, without medical treatment, it was “[m]ore likely than not [that] she would have died.” (Mills Test., R. 703, Page ID #3873). 3The charges against Defendants do not involve Boose’s overdose, but the facts of this incident provide useful background for Pointer’s later overdoses. Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 9 Pointer overdosed again on March 30, 2016. This time she used Boose’s phone to call the x3399 “Polo” number because she did not have a phone at that time. Boose’s phone records showed three calls to the x3399 number that day. The drugs she bought this time were “light, but not white” like they were when Boose overdosed. (Pointer Test., R. 721, Page ID #5594). She and Boose used the drugs in a parking lot before driving to a nearby pain center. Boose snorted an entire $20 bag, while Pointer snorted one-half of a $20 bag. While Pointer was driving, Boose began to moan, and her lips turned blue. Pointer turned into the pain center parking lot and called 9-1-1. When police arrived, they searched Pointer and found “the other half of [her] bag of heroin” that she bought that day. (Id. at Page ID #5597). Officer Steiber—one of the police officers who responded to the scene—testified that, when he searched Pointer, he found “a small fold paper, which is consistent with the packaging for heroin.” (Jeffrey Steiber Trial Test., R. 717, Page ID ##5504–06). Officer Steiber seized the substance, and test results concluded that it was 0.028 grams of pure fentanyl, which is “nine to ten times the lethal dose of fentanyl to your average adult.” (Mills Test., R. 703, Page ID #3877). Steiber handcuffed Pointer and put her in the back of the squad car. He walked away from the car momentarily, and, when he returned, he found Pointer unconscious with shallow breathing. The paramedics administered two doses of Narcan—one intranasally and one intravenously. After the second dose, “she became responsive almost immediately.” (Steiber Test., R. 717, Page ID ##5510–11). Pointer was taking Suboxone and Adderall at the time of both overdoses. At the hospital, Pointer’s urinalysis drug screen tested positive for amphetamines, cannabinoids, and cocaine— but not opiates. Even so, Dr. Mills said that Pointer’s responsiveness to Narcan indicated that she overdosed on opioids and that, unlike heroin, fentanyl “is not detected by that particular [urinalysis] drug screen.” (Mills Test., R. 703, Page ID ##3874–75, ##3877–78). He said that the cocaine and amphetamines (Adderall) “played no role” in her overdose. (Id. at Page ID #3878). Dr. Mills did not offer an opinion on whether Suboxone contributed to either overdose, but he did say that Suboxone would not appear on a urine drug test. Dr. Mills concluded that Pointer’s second overdose was “consistent with an opioid poisoning” and that, without medical attention, “she could have died.” (Id. at Page ID #3875, #3878). Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 10 d) Anoosh Baghdassarian Anoosh Baghdassarian died on March 30, 2016, at 19 years of age. Baghdassarian’s friend, Marko Tomic, said that he and Baghdassarian bought heroin from “Polo” the day before she died.4 Tomic testified that he drove to Baghdassarian’s house, she came outside and got into his car, they called “Polo,” and then they went to buy heroin near Six Mile Road in Detroit. They then returned to Baghdassarian’s house. Tomic used the drugs in his car outside Baghdassarian’s house, but Baghdassarian did not use her drugs immediately; rather, she took them inside with her. After Tomic used the drugs, he fell asleep in front of Baghdassarian’s house. When he awoke, he began driving home. The police stopped him and arrested him for possession of a controlled substance. They seized the drugs that Tomic bought earlier that day with Baghdassarian, and lab results showed that they were pure fentanyl. At trial, Baghdassarian’s mother, Yvonne Baghdassarian, remembered that day somewhat differently. She recalled Marko Tomic—whom she called “Markos”—coming to their home around 4:30 p.m. (Yvonne Baghdassarian Trial Test., R. 721, Page ID #5648). But she said that, when he pulled up, she and Baghdassarian were in their car about to leave to take Baghdassarian’s brother to work. When Tomic arrived, Baghdassarian asked her mother to “just give [her] a minute.” (Id.) Baghdassarian walked to Tomic’s car, got inside, and “la[id] down under his window talking to him.” (Id.) After a few minutes, she got back in the car with her mother. In an earlier statement to police, Yvonne said that Tomic arrived at their home around 3:30 p.m. and that Baghdassarian left with him for roughly one hour between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. 4The phone records do not show any calls to the x5598 or the x3399 number from either Baghdassarian’s or Tomic’s phone on March 29, 2016. Between March 31, 2015, and March 6, 2016, phone records revealed 903 contacts between Tomic’s number and the x5598 and x3399 numbers. But there were no contacts between Tomic and those numbers after March 6, 2016. Baghdassarian had two different phone numbers during the relevant period. Between September 8, 2015, and February 14, 2016, there were 259 contacts between her two phones and the two “Polo” phones. But neither of Baghdassarian’s phone numbers had any contacts with the “Polo” phones after February 14, 2016. But these “contacts” showed only phone calls and text messages, (Robert Witt Trial Test., R. 791, Page ID #8000), and one of Baghdassarian’s friends testified that Baghdassarian sometimes used an application on her phone to make phone calls. The phone data that investigators collected would not reflect any communication between Baghdassarian and the target phones that was conducted over a phone application—such as WhatsApp, GroupMe, or Facebook Messenger—rather than through a direct telephone call or text message. Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 11 However, at trial, Yvonne denied ever making that statement and said that Baghdassarian never left with Tomic. After Tomic left, Baghdassarian left with her mother. They dropped off her brother and picked up food from a McDonald’s restaurant before returning home around 9:00 p.m. Shortly thereafter, she told her mother that she was not feeling well and went to bed. Her mother stayed awake until 3:00 a.m. and twice saw Baghdassarian come out of her room to get water. Her mother left around 7:00 a.m. the next morning to pick up Baghdassarian’s brother from work. Around 9:00 a.m., Yvonne saw Baghdassarian in the kitchen eating leftover food from McDonald’s. But Baghdassarian subsequently went back to bed. When Yvonne went to check on Baghdassarian around 1:00 p.m., she found Baghdassarian face down on the floor and called 9-1-1. Between 9:00 p.m. on March 29 and 1:00 p.m. on March 30, Yvonne never saw Baghdassarian leave the house, never saw anyone come to the house, never saw Baghdassarian meeting anyone, and never saw anyone giving her anything. Officer Accivetti responded to the 9-1-1 call and found Baghdassarian in a cluttered bedroom and believed, upon seeing her, that she was already dead. He saw “a syringe near the deceased body on the floor, as well as a cigarette pack containing a bottle cap and some residue inside of it.” (Michael Accivetti Trial Test., R. 721, Page ID #5721). He said that these items are “commonly used to mix narcotics in, to inject inside the needle.” (Id. at Page ID #5722). These items were not taken into evidence or tested because Officer Accivetti did not collect them, believing that an evidence technician would do so. When paramedics arrived, they found Baghdassarian pulseless and breathless. They attempted to revive her with Narcan, but they were unsuccessful, and doctors declared her dead when she arrived at the hospital. The medical examiner’s blood toxicology report found 11 nanograms of fentanyl per milliliter of blood and 15 nanograms of alprazolam (Xanax) per milliliter of blood. Three nanograms of fentanyl per milliliter is considered a fatal dose. The medical examiner testified that Baghdassarian’s Xanax levels were “less than therapeutic”—or less than a safe prescription dosage—and concluded that she died of a fentanyl overdose. (Bernardine Pacris Trial Test., R. 723, Page ID #6047). Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 12
Tempo was widely known by the nickname “Polo.” It started as “Marco Polo” but became just “Polo” over the years. (William Dennis, Sr. Trial Test., R. 713, Page ID #5179). As early as 2009, William Dennis, Sr.—the father of Tempo’s half-brother—saw Tempo cut up heroin, place it in small plastic bags, bundle those small bags together, and package them “into a sandwich bag for sale.” (Id. at Page ID ##5134–35, ##5140–41). Dennis also saw Tempo selling crack cocaine as early as 2013. Indeed, Dennis used to cook crack cocaine with Tempo, which Tempo later sold. Amacio Alexander—a “Polo” runner—identified Tempo in open court as the man to whom his boss, Mr. Howard, answered. Alexander interacted with Tempo a few times while selling drugs on Hamburg Street. The first time, Tempo turned to Alexander and told him that selling drugs “is grown-men business.” (Alexander Test., R. 705, Page ID #4038). The second time, Alexander handed the money from his drug sales directly to Tempo. Finally, Tempo gave Alexander a phone to use while selling drugs, and Tempo called that phone to tell Alexander when customers were coming. Other witnesses saw Tempo when they bought drugs from “Polo.” During three undercover purchases in 2016, Officer Villerot saw Tempo driving the car as a passenger made the drug sales. Once, Officer Villerot saw the passenger hand Tempo the money from the sale. Phone tracking data put Tempo at the location of this deal at that time. Officer Villerot also identified Tempo’s voice in recorded calls from the FBI’s 2013 undercover purchases and his 2016 undercover purchases. As early as 2009, Tempo listed his personal phone number as the x5598 “Polo” number. Tempo often carried two phones in his hands, and geolocation data showed that the x5598 phone and the x3399 phone were always together. Using geolocation data, police officers located the phones and used that information to pull Tempo over as he was driving home from a trip to Chicago. When Tempo got back from Chicago, officers tracked the phones as they stopped at each suspected “Polo” stash house “like clockwork.” (Craig Bankowski Trial Test., R. 708, Page ID #4427). Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 13 Witnesses said Tempo’s phone was always ringing, with calls coming in every minute. After taking a call, he would “tell one of the other guys around to go meet somebody somewhere.” (Dennis Test., R. 713, Page ID #5158). Tempo occasionally entrusted the phones to “certain people,” but he was selective about who he trusted for this task. (Id. at Page ID #5163). When officers arrested Tempo on June 14, 2016, they found both the x3399 and the x5598 phones in the center console of his car. The phones “wouldn’t stop ringing” and “consistently rang” until an officer turned them off. (Villerot Test., R. 710, Page ID ##4683– 84). On June 14, 2016, officers searched various properties that had ties to “Polo” drug deals and to Tempo personally. 15431 Spring Garden. Tempo bought this property from William Dennis. The DEA searched it and found a digital scale with white residue, large and small plastic bags, razor blades with white residue, and “other drug packaging material.” (Kevin Dailey Trial Test., R. 711, Page ID ##4859–61). 19504 Strasburg. This house was seemingly vacant; no utilities ran to it, and it had a “for rent” sign out front. (Bankowski Test., R. 708, Page ID #4410). It is located within 1000 feet of a school. In 2014 and again in early 2016, Tempo paid Dennis to do some repairs on the property. While working, Dennis often saw Tempo in the house with other people. At times, Dennis saw large quantities of drugs and people packaging drugs into small plastic bags. Once, when Tempo was at the house, Dennis saw someone put a substance into his mouth, taste it, and then spit it out, saying: “That’s that fentanyl, I don’t want none of that shit.” (Dennis Test., R. 713, Page ID #5171). Tempo responded by saying: “That’s that strong[;] [t]hat’s what everybody want.” (Id.) Investigators said the house was a “Polo” “stash location” that operated “almost like a dispatch center.” (Bankowski Test., R. 708, Page ID #4352, #4357). Surveillance showed Tempo at the property “at least once a day.” (Id. at Page ID #4413). “Polo” members and runners—those involved in “hand-to-hand drug transactions,” (id. at Page ID #4363)—frequently came and went from the property. When officers searched it, they found: 16.7 grams of cocaine Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 14 in a nickel-sized plastic bag, 138.3 grams of crack cocaine on a plate, a digital scale, razor blades, and plastic bags with white powder residue. 24343 Flower. On May 23, 2016, during a traffic stop, Tempo told police that he resided at this home with a woman named Tachelle Harris. When officers searched the house on June 14, 2016, they found 379.8 grams of cocaine in a plastic bag with Tempo’s fingerprints on it. The bag was in a shoebox under the bed in the master bedroom. Officers also found two digital scales in a cabinet and court documents with Tempo’s name on them. 12634 Hamburg. “Polo” often sold drugs on Hamburg Street. A police informant bought drugs there as early as November 1, 2013, and Officer Villerot bought drugs there as late as May 30, 2016. When customers went to Hamburg, they were sometimes told to park in front of, or even go inside, a blue house to buy drugs. On one occasion, “one of the people in the [“Polo”] organization” told a “Polo” customer, who was experiencing withdrawal symptoms, that she could go inside the house to use the heroin she bought. (Palazzola Test., R. 715, Page ID #5357). That customer used drugs in the house many times between late 2015 and early 2016, and she said that the house was vacant. When officers searched the property on June 14, 2016, they found digital scales, drug packaging materials, clear plastic bags, multiple dishes with suspected drug residue, and razor blades.
Sadler’s involvement with the drug scene traces back to 2009, when William Dennis saw Sadler with Tempo as Tempo cut heroin. Between 2009 and 2010, and again in 2015, Sadler told Dennis that “he could give [Dennis] the good heroin.” (Dennis Test., R. 713, Page ID #5146). In 2012, an informant working with the Sterling Heights Police Department set up two undercover purchases and bought $120 worth of heroin from Sadler. Sadler met the informant in a Meijer parking lot in Sterling Heights. He showed up in a car driven by a woman with children in the back seat. The police arrested Sadler for these sales. The Sterling Heights investigation was a “short term investigation;” it was not a part of a larger “Polo” investigation, and the officer did not know what phone number had been called to set up the deal. (Jason Modrzejewski Trial Test., R. 706, Page ID ##4279–81). Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 15 Alexander never saw Sadler involved with “Polo” deals or with Alexander’s drug sales on Hamburg Street. When Dennis saw Tempo send runners to meet customers, Tempo never sent Sadler. Sometime in 2009 or 2010, Dennis saw Sadler arguing with Tempo for control of the “Polo” phones and customer base. Dennis also saw Sadler get angry when Tempo entrusted other people, but not Sadler, with more responsibility within “Polo” operations. On June 14, 2016, police arrested Tempo and found both phones. But one day later, the police received an “updated GPS ping” on the x3399 phone, showing that the phone tied to that number was no longer in the police station but was now at 15652 Eastburn. (Villerot Test., R. 711, Page ID ##4932–34). Officer Villerot called the x3399 number, trying to set up another undercover purchase. A person answered the phone and directed him to a location. But when Officer Villerot called the x3399 number after he arrived, the person directed him to a different location. After repeating this process two or three times, Officer Villerot abandoned the operation. While Officer Villerot was trying to set up a purchase, other officers were surveilling the 15652 Eastburn house. They saw a man leave the house and get into a black Escalade. Police stopped that vehicle and found Sadler driving. Geolocation data put the x3399 number at the same location during the traffic stop. Officer Villerot called the x3399 number and saw the phone in the center console of the car ringing with Officer Villerot’s phone number displayed as the caller. The same process identified the x5598 phone in the center console. Officers then arrested Sadler. Earlier surveillance of “Polo” operations saw the same black Escalade—identified by its VIN and license plate number—near various “Polo” drug deals. When police searched the 15652 Eastburn house, they found a digital scale—which is “commonly used for the weighing or separating of narcotics for prepackaged sales,” (Nicholas Lienemann Trial Test., R. 713, Page ID #5088)—a large bag with drug residue, sandwich bags, Noscapine—which is a popular heroin cutting agent—and a firearm and ammunition. Forensic testing found Sadler’s DNA on the firearm. Sadler’s children lived in this house with their mother, and officers found documents and other evidence indicating that Sadler resided there. Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 16