The defense lawyer for the leader of the North Carolina Latin Kings dropped one potential witness after the US government raised concerns that her testimony would be tainted by conversations with the defendant, and a federal judge ordered another witness’ testimony stricken after recordings revealed that she had been in close contact with the defendant but gave the impression under cross-examination that she didn’t remember the conversations.
Michael Patrick, a court-appointed lawyer, said he does not plan to call Alana Cornell to testify after the government played a recording of a phone call from the Forsyth County Detention Center from Latin Kings leader Jorge Cornell to his ex-wife. The recording showed that the two discussed previous testimony by a witness for the government on a matter that Alana Cornell’s own testimony would likely reference.
US District Court Judge James A. Beaty denied a motion by the government to sanction Jorge Cornell by barring testimony from the Rev. Nelson Johnson after Patrick told the judge that the witness’ testimony would not cover matters discussed in phone conversations between Cornell and Johnson about previous testimony.
Cornell is on trial in Winston-Salem on federal racketeering charges, along with Russell Kilfoil, Randolph Kilfoil, Samuel Velasquez, Irvin Vasquez and Ernesto Wilson.
The hearing on whether Alana Cornell and the Rev. Johnson should be allowed to testify was held throughout Wednesday morning outside of the presence of members of the jury. But the courtroom drama surrounding the testimony of Saralee Gallien, which the judged deemed to be lacking in credibility, overshadowed four other witnesses. Testimony from Guilford County School Board member Deena Hayes, YES! Weekly reporter Eric Ginsburg, NC A&T University professor Brian Sims and Guilford College professor Sherry Giles tended to present a flattering portrayal of Cornell, despite the prosecution’s efforts in some cases to make the witnesses look naïve.
Luis Rosa, a former Latin King member and defendant who is cooperating with the government, had testified on the second day of the trial that he and others had burglarized Cornerstone Insurance after Cornell told them he knew someone who worked there and knew where they would be able to find some money. The next day, business owner Richard Needham testified that he had employed Alana Cornell at one time.
In one conversation recorded during the trial and played by the government on Wednesday morning, Alana Cornell can be heard saying, “Listen, they’re gonna try to do conspiracy to burglary.”
Jorge Cornell, in turn, tries to reassure his ex-wife.
“He said you were a great worker,” he says. “Left on good terms. Started your own business under him. He said nothing but good things about you. He said good things about me.”
“That’s so stupid,” Alana Cornell laments, apparently disputing the time period that Needham testified she left his employment. “I left that office in October ’06.”
“There you go,” Jorge Cornell responds. “We can impeach his testimony.”
Patrick cited the discussion of the Cornerstone burglary it's likely relevance in her testimony as part of his reason for opting to not call Alana Cornell to take the stand.
Much of the conversation recorded between Jorge Cornell and Alana Cornell focuses on their annoyance with the government publishing Alana Cornell’s photograph and asking former Latin Kings to identify her.
“I feel like that’s dangerous, putting you out there with the kids,” Cornell says. “It ties you up with me and everybody else that’s in jeopardy.”
Before the hearing on the government’s motion got underway, prosecutor Leshia Lee-Dixon pointed out Daniel Stainkamp in the gallery, and the judge asked him to leave. Stainkamp has periodically attended the trial and taken notes on behalf of a support committee for the defendants.
Later, a young man who Lee-Dixon at first mistakenly identified as “D” entered the courtroom, and the judge ordered him to leave.
The first recording reveals that as the trial began, Cornell was outraged that Patricia Caffey, a Greensboro Police Department employee had been dropped from the witness list after she stated that AJ Blake, formerly a police officer, had told her that he shot Cornell. Cornell also expressed displeasure at his lawyer for not being able to compel Caffey to testify, at one point pledging to fire him.
“They took this lady off the witness list so they don’t have to investigate,” Cornell fumes. “This is the way I got fucked.”
Daniel Carson, a member of the support committee, tells Cornell that supporters are trying to figure out “how we can legally bring that person back into question.”
Judge Beaty repeatedly question Lee-Dixon on the relevancy of the recordings, but gave her time to work with investigation task force officers to find particular segments.
In another conversation, Johnson tells Cornell that he and other supporters had to leave the trial on the first day because of “the sequestration thing.” The recording was presented as evidence that Johnson talked to Cornell about testimony while fully aware that the judge had ordered potential witnesses to stay out of the courtroom.
Then Cornell discusses testimony by former Latin King Anthony Vasquez.
“The one good thing is the lawyers said there’s so many inconsistencies it’s clear he’s lying,” Cornell says.
Johnson ends the conversation by telling Cornell he would share some information about the Greensboro Police Department with him and his lawyer the next morning.
In the next phone call, Johnson tells Cornell that he has talked with “D,” whose full name is Daniel Carson.
“He was really excited that their story was falling apart,” Johnson says. “It’s good to hear that things are going good. It’s bad that this had to happen, but it may reveal to people what the Greensboro Police Department is doing, and what the fed is doing to aid and abet all of this. I just hope the jury is tracking this so they can see through the lies.”
Cornell indicates that at that time he was impressed by Patrick’s cross-examination of the witnesses.
“Two of the witnesses impeached themselves and made the other two look like liars,” Cornell says. “When are they going to decide enough is enough? We’re just going to show that they’re liars.”
Johnson mentions a forthcoming community event and then references a Greensboro Police Department e-mail discovered by the support committee that includes a narrative describing a roadside encounter with an intoxicated Latin King with Chicago connections who says he was sent to “get close to” Cornell and that he was about to be “taken out.”
“You were a target,” Johnson tells Cornell. “They knew it. They had a person. There are two levels on which this is happening. One is the press conference. One is a motion for them to give up everything.”
Greensboro Assistant Police Chief Dwight Crotts was present in the courtroom as a spectator on Wednesday morning and Tuesday afternoon. A spokesperson has said the police department is prohibited under a gag order by the US Attorney’s Office from addressing any queries from the public that have to do with the Latin Kings.
Six days into the trial, Patrick filed a motion requesting a court order to the government to turn over all documents related to the investigative leads on assassination attempts against Cornell.
In another conversation with Johnson, Cornell says, “They’re trying to tie me into this Maplewood shooting.”
He cites trial testimony by former Latin King Jose Argomaniz, also known as King Munchy, that after the shooting Cornell was among a group of kings who met at Hooters, while noting that Argomaniz testified to the grand jury, in contrast, that Cornell had not been there.
“[The defense lawyers] said, ‘Who did you lie to — this jury or the grand jury?’” Cornell tells Johnson. “He was caught up in all these lies. It’s looking bad for these prosecutors.”
As part of the hearing, Patrick provided a summary of the testimony he expects from Johnson to reassure the court that none of it would address ground covered in the conversations with Cornell about previous testimony by government witnesses.
Patrick said Johnson would testify about a gang treat summit, a call the pastor received from Cornell in the hospital, a statement of forgiveness Cornell asked Johnson to convey after the shooting, and “continued efforts on the community organizing front.”
Judge Beaty said he would allow Johnson’s testimony, but told prosecutors they could object if he discussed anything beyond the parameters outlined by Patrick.
Lee-Dixon asked Beaty for additional sanctions against Cornell, arguing that there was “clearly a breach of the trial’s integrity."
“I did not order as part of the sequestration order anything other than to not be in court,” Beaty said, adding that he agreed that any attempt to subvert the court order was troubling.
Beaty asked federal marshals to located Daniel Carson and Daniel Stainkamp and notify them that they would be excluded from the courtroom for the remainder of the trial. Lee-Dixon informed the judge that she had been mistaken about the identity of the unnamed young man who had previously been thrown out. “He’ll be excluded, too,” Beaty said, “whatever his name is.”
The judge went to say that anyone caught taking notes for defendants will be removed from the courtroom.
Saralee Gallien testified for the defense that Latin King Charles Moore stayed with her in August 2011 when he needed emergency housing to avoid ending up homeless. She said he had been hospitalized recently with cuts and burns, and that he was also struggling with alcohol abuse. Gallien testified that Moore told her that he had been beaten up after a group of people broke into a friend’s apartment and demanded that he show them where some drugs were stashed, and that he ended up being hospitalized as a result.
Patrick asked Gallien if Moore told her about taking any further action.
“He mentioned that he had been able to meet with the people who had beaten him, and they were able to resolve it,” Gallien testified, adding that Moore described the resolution as amicable.
Moore and Richard Robinson, another Latin King, have previously testified for the government that after members of the Bloods beat Moore, Cornell directed a group of Latin Kings to shoot into the apartment.
Under cross-examination, Gallien gave vague answers about whether, when and how often she has had contact with Cornell since he has been jailed on the racketeering charges, often stating that she did not remember conversations that took place in the past three weeks.
After a testy cross-examination, the government played extensive audio recordings of conversations between Cornell and Gallien.
In one of the conversations, Gallien shared details with Cornell of a community meeting and plans for a press conference, which eventually occurred on Oct. 8. Gallien shared her perception of media coverage of the trial and discussed the need for the support committee to provide its own account.
“Jordan at YES! Weekly is not reliable,” Gallien says. “We feel like Jordan will not always be paying attention. We want to have somebody there to take notes. We’re doing a better job than they are and showing details that they’re overlooking.”
Judge Beaty told the jury that Gallien’s entire testimony would be stricken, and instructed members to particularly ignore what she had said about an incident with Moore and how it was resolved.
“We find this witness’ testimony not to be credible,” he said.
Deena Hayes, a Guilford County School Board member, took the stand when court resumed at 2:30 p.m. She was one of a string of witnesses who testified about Cornell’s community activities as part of the defense’s effort to counter the government portrayal of the Latin Kings as a criminal enterprise.
Hayes testified that the superintendent established a school safety committee at her request in response to news headlines in 2006 about gangs in schools, and she ended up chairing the committee. She said she became aware of Cornell’s work with a number of pastors in 2008.
Hayes testified that she attended a community forum to learn more, and asked him to join the school safety committee. She said Cornell actively participated on the committee.
“He had given me some information about some of our students who were posting online that they were members of his organization — and they were not,” Hayes testified, adding that the school administration took action by contacting the student’s parents.
“He was running for office and he sat on panels as a candidate,” Hayes said, testifying to other community activities undertaken by Cornell. “I saw him at community events and block parties. He started Community United Staffing, and I was invited to be part of the advisory board. It was conceived as a staffing agency that would pay living wages to people who were chronically unemployed or faced employment barriers.”
Cornell, Hayes testified, had been the nascent staffing agency’s executive director.
Under cross-examination, Hayes said she invited Cornell to come over to her house four or five times to work on his city council campaign. On one occasion, Cornell came with Eric Ginsburg, his co-campaign manager at the time, and on others he came with King Bam and King Spanky. Bam is Wesley Williams, a defendant who has struck a plea deal. Spanky is Carlos Coleman, another defendant, whose charges were dismissed on Tuesday.
Ginsburg testified about interviewing Cornell for an article in 2008, working on his city council campaign, attending the US Social Forum in Detroit in the summer of 2010 and a party he threw that was attended by Latin Kings.
Ginsburg has worked as a reporter for YES! Weekly since January 2011, including an eight-month unpaid internship.
“You are not a Latin King,” Patrick began.
“No, sir,” Ginsburg replied.
Ginsburg said he met Cornell in the summer of 2008 at a community meeting at the Beloved Community Center, and “approached him to say I would be interested in interviewing him for an article.”
The judge sustained an objection by the government to a statement by Ginsburg that one of the topics of discussion at the community meeting had been police harassment, striking it from the record.
Ginsburg gave detailed testimony about an August 2009 incident in which Cornell was arrested by members of the Greensboro Police Department at an outdoor concert near Natty Greene’s Pub & Brewing Co. on South Elm Street. He said he arrived before anyone else to the event, in which he planned to meet Cornell and others to pass out campaign literature.
“Did you see anyone you thought were associated with gangs?” Patrick asked.
“No, sir,” Ginsburg responded.
Ginsburg said he spotted Samuel Velasquez and Wesley Williams, along with Cornell’s two daughters. He said he waved at them, and they waved back. Under questioning from Patrick, Ginsburg testified that he did not use the Latin Kings hand sign, and neither did the two Latin Kings members.
Then he testified that he saw police Officer Roman Watkins, who was wearing clothing with the words “gang unit” on it.
“After I waved at them, the police started walking towards them,” Ginsburg testified. “I had a camera with a video. My friend had a cell phone that could take video. We both filmed the incident and walked toward where Wesley Williams and Samuel Velasquez were with Cornell. Mr. Cornell got there before me.
“One of the officers was getting out his Taser,” Ginsburg continued. “I heard Jorge telling Watkins to get out of his face…. Cornell was expressing concern for his daughters and the situation generally. I observed Mr. Cornell get arrested.”
Ginsburg testified that he maintained a friendly relationship with Cornell after the city council campaign, which ended when the candidate failed to clear the primary in October.
He described traveling with 50 to 60 people from Greensboro, including about six Latin Kings, to attend the US Social Forum in Detroit, which overall drew abut 40,000 people.
“There were several marches that I participated in with the Latin Kings that had to do with foreclosure and farm-worker rights,” Ginsburg testified. He said Cornell was asked to speak on a panel, and that Cornell suffered a heart attack and remained in the hospital for much of the event.
Assistant US Attorney Robert AJ Lang attempted to make Ginsburg look credulous in cross-examination. He asked Ginsburg if he knew that Peaceful — defendant Russell Kilfoil — was the first crown. Ginsburg said he hadn’t been aware of that.
“You have all this interest in the Latin Kings and weren’t aware of their crown structure?” Lang said.
“I’ve been reading updates from my coworker, Jordan Green,” Ginsburg responded.
Lang asked Ginsburg about a party at his house in which Moore and Robinson have testified that Latin Kings were involved in a fight. The prosecutor struggled to establish the setting to orient the witness, at first asking if he recalled an “incident that happened at Guilford College” involving Latin Kings. Ginsburg responded that he invited Latin Kings on campus on several occasions.
Then Lang asked about a party while Ginsburg was a student.
“There were several parties while I was a student,” Ginsburg testified.
Eventually, the witness explained to the prosecutor that the party took place at his house, which was off campus, on the night of his graduation. Ginsburg testified that one of the neighbors called the police to complain about noise.
“You told the police the Latin Kings were not involved?” Lang asked.
“No,” Ginsburg testified.
The prosecutor followed up by asking whether Ginsburg saw a Latin King punch anyone.
“I don’t recall seeing anybody punched,” Ginsburg testified. He added that by the time the police arrived, there was no problem and he assured the officers he would resolve any issues. He did so by asking most of the guests to leave.
Brian Sims, a psychology professor at NC A&T University, testified that he spoke with Cornell on a panel on black-brown unity at Guilford College in 2008. Cornell’s comments impressed Sims as being relevant to a class he was teaching called “Psychological Perspectives in Hip Hop.” Sims testified that Cornell showed up with 12 to 15 “kings and queens,” and spoke for 25 minutes about “the relationship between social justice organizations and how they’re portrayed, and contemporary hip hop.”
Sims said he was also asked to serve on the advisory board of Community United Staffing. He testified that Greensboro City Councilman Jim Kee was called in from time to time for consultation, although he was not a particularly active member of the advisory board. Sims said he filled out grant applications, while other members of the advisory board contributed in other specific ways.
“It was his vision, but he got other people to do the work for him,” Lang prodded in cross-examination.
“Mr. Cornell was the ultimate decision-maker,” Sims concurred.
Sherry Giles, a professor at Guilford College, testified that she met Cornell and several other Latin Kings members at the Beloved Community Center in 2008, and that she helped with the planning of the “black-brown unity conference.” Giles said Cornell and other Latin Kings, both male and female, spoke to one of her classes in the spring of 2009 about the peace effort and something called the “paradigm shift initiative.”
The government, with Judge’s Beaty’s cooperation, has sought to block testimony that might come across to the jury as criticism of the Greensboro Police Department. They successfully did so with a reference by Giles to Cornell speaking on the topic of “police accountability” in the course of about seven different presentations to her classes, and a reference to Cornell participating in a panel discussion about “community-police relations.”
In another development, Lee-Dixon told Judge Beaty on Wednesday morning that during the testimony of Guilford County Sheriff’s Office Detective John Lowes “one of the defendants made a gesture toward him in a threatening manner.”
The judge has ordered the US Marshal’s Service to release video of the courtroom during Lowes’ testimony so that the US Attorney’s Office can review it.
Showing posts with label Nelson Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nelson Johnson. Show all posts
Day 15: North Carolina Latin Kings on trial (expanded)
The US government rested its case in the racketeering trial of seven North Carolina Latin Kings in federal court in Winston-Salem today, and a judge dismissed charges against one of the defendants.
US District Court Judge James A. Beaty Jr. dismissed charges against Carlos Coleman, also known as King Spanky, finding that the government had failed to produce evidence that he participated in two racketeering acts.
Chuck White, Coleman’s court-appointed lawyer, acknowledged there was passing mention of Coleman administering a “physical,” meaning a beating to another member for disciplinary purposes, but argued that the government condoned participation in the activity by its own paid informant.
The government has also presented evidence in the form of surveillance video and testimony that Coleman was part of a group that beat a former member to the ground outside the Guilford County Courthouse.
“There was a spontaneous fight that occurred at the courthouse,” White said. “That was not a racketeering act. It was a misdemeanor at best that resulted in two scraped elbows.”
The judge took up the defendant’s cause as Assistant US Attorney Robert AJ Lang raised objections to dropping him from the case.
“The evidence is that when he was subjected to a physical, he ran away and never came back,” Beaty said. “What overt act are you talking about?”
Lang responded, “We don’t have any overt acts for him. It’s his membership in the conspiracy and his knowledge that racketeering acts were going to be committed.”
Beaty denied the motion to dismiss charges against defendants Jorge Cornell, Russell Kilfoil, Randolph Kilfoil, Samuel Velasquez, Irvin Vasquez and Ernesto Wilson, ruling that a jury should decide whether they are guilty of racketeering activities.
In a day of transition, the government called its final witness, a New York Police Department detective; the judge took testimony with the jury out of the room on a federal civil rights complaint filed on behalf of the Latin Kings; the defense called its first witness to testify about a peace effort led by Cornell; and the judge warned that the lead defendant might face sanctions for communicating with defense witnesses.
In arguing for denial of the defendants’ motion for dismissal, Lang focused on what has come to be known as the “Maplewood shooting,” in which Latin King member Marcelo Ysrael Perez admitted to shooting Rogelio Lopez, a construction worker who was mistaken for a rival gang member. Lang argued that a meeting at Latin King Jason Yates' apartment in which other members were called from Durham and guns were requested established that the organization comprised a criminal racketeering enterprise.
He described a “conspiracy to commit murder,” and said three people had been armed, with one committing an assault. Testimony about a “black rose,” an order that Latin Kings were not to speak about the crime, was further evidence of racketeering, he said. That the assault was committed in retaliation for a concussion received by Anthony Vasquez, “the heir apparent,” was evidence that the assault was committed in furtherance of the organization rather than merely for personal reasons.
Lang said Cornell aided and abetted the assault at Maplewood Apartments, and that he encouraged bank fraud and shared in the proceeds from other members. He tied Cornell to the burglary of Cornerstone Insurance, where his ex-wife was a former employee, calling it an “inside job” in which the Latin Kings leader provided information to the members that carried it out.
Lang said that Russell Kilfoil facilitated and participated in bank fraud and ordered weapons after Cornell was shot. He cited testimony from Robert Vasquez, a former Latin Kings member, that he believed Kilfoil shot at his house.
Randolph Kilfoil, Lang said, had been involved in a robbery at Wal-Mart in 2006. He noted that brothers Anthony Vasquez and Robert Vasquez testified that Kilfoil assisted them in drug sales at bars. Although Randolph Kilfoil has been serving a federal prison sentence since 2010, Lang connected him to the enterprise by citing testimony by Richard Robinson that Kilfoil had called from prison.
Lang argued that Velasquez was a racketeering participant because he had provided machetes to other members in 2007, had been involved in a conspiracy to assault former member Sylvia Lugo and had taken part in an attempted murder at Smith Homes in 2011 in retaliation for the beating of another member.
Irvin Vasquez should remain charged because he had gone to Charlotte to recruit new members, had carried a gun in the back seat of his car and had held the position of third crown at one time, Lang said.
About Wilson, an individual who never joined the Latin Kings and was implicated in a string of robberies for a one-month period in 2007, Lang said, “He’s an associate in fact. He lived with the Latin Kings on Keeler Street. He shared the money.”
Michael Patrick, Cornell’s court-appointed lawyer, argued that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the shooting at Maplewood Apartments was done for the purpose of furthering the Latin Kings enterprise. He added, “There is no evidence that my client was present or provided the weapon.”
Christopher Shella, Randolph Kilfoil’s court-appointed lawyer, argued that the charges against his client should be dismissed because he was in prison for much of the time that the alleged racketeering acts were committed.
Helen Parsonage, the court-appointed lawyer for Irvin Vasquez, argued that the government had not met the requirement to show that her client had participated in two racketeering acts. As to the Maplewood shooting, in which Perez testified that Vasquez accompanied him armed with a gun, Parsonage said, “The evidence indicates this was retaliation on a personal level.”
She added, “The only evidence of my client’s involvement was from the testimony of the shooter, who had clear motivation” as a cooperating witness to help the government obtain convictions and lessen his time.
Curtis Holmes, Wilson’s court-appointed lawyer, cited testimony from Luis Rosa and Allan Jordan that his client “was down here to make some money.”
He said he wouldn’t have had much to say in response if Wilson had been charged with armed robbery, but racketeering didn’t fit because his client never had any interest in joining the Latin Kings.
“There’s not one tattoo; there’s not one piece of clothing,” Holmes said. “The lack of evidence that he was a Latin King weighs strongly for dismissal.
“This work that he did was for his personal, mercenary benefit, and not to advance the enterprise,” Holmes added.
The government’s final witness, New York Police Department Detective David Milani, testified about Latin Kings structure, symbolism, customs, conflict dynamics and criminal activities. As an expert witness, he testified that the North Carolina organization was “modeled directly after the Latin Kings in New York.”
After the lunch break, Patrick called Anita Earls, executive director of the Durham-based Southern Coalition for Social Justice, to testify about a civil rights complaint her organization prepared on behalf of the Latin Kings. The hearing was held while members of the jury were out of the courtroom. Patrick declined to comment on the purpose of the hearing during an afternoon break.
Earls testified that she filed the complaint in person with the civil rights division of the US Justice Department in Washington.
“I did not receive any notification of any action whatsoever in connection with that complaint,” Earls testified.
Later, after a delegation of concerned citizens from Greensboro made a follow-up visit to the Justice Department in Washington to press for action on a number of complaints against the police department, Earls said she received a phone call from Julie Fernandez at the department.
“It was her view that this was a gang,” Earls testified, “and because of that they were not going to investigate.”
Lang asked Earls if she ever interviewed alleged victims of the Latin Kings’ crimes or police officers in Greensboro and Charlotte. Earls said she had not. Lang asked her if she had been aware that Latin Kings had been charged in the shooting of Rogelio Lopez at Maplewood Apartments. Earls answered that her staff generally tried to look at charges and their ultimate disposition, but didn't specifically remember the shooting charge.
Patrick introduced into evidence an August 2008 press release stating that Cornell had expressed forgiveness to whomever shot him. Judge Beaty did not allow the jury to hear testimony on the press release after hearing concern from prosecutor Leshia Lee-Dixon that it would essentially amount to “giving testimony from the mouth of Mr. Cornell through a witness.”
After a bench hearing, the judge did allow testimony on a peace agreement among gangs.
“This evidence would be to rebut the government’s general evidence about racketeering practices,” Patrick said, explaining the relevancy of the document.
The Rev. Greg Headen, the first witness called by the defense, testified about the agreement, which he said was forged in the basement of Genesis Baptist Church, where he is the pastor. As noted in the first paragraph of the agreement, Headen testified that the meeting included representatives of the Latin Kings, the Black Peace Stone Nation, the Crips, the Five Percenters, the Piru Bloods and the Nation of Islam.
“I think it was the idea of Jorge Cornell,” testified Headen, whose demeanor suggested humility and timidity before the prosecution. The pastor also said Cornell was shot shortly after the agreement was reached.
Headen testified that he worked with Cornell right up to the time “he was taken from us” in December 2011.
“We were working together on many things,” Headen said. “There was a black-brown conference that was hosted at my church. Latin King brothers and sisters came to us and requested that we counsel them. They poured out their hearts to us. They sponsored a picnic behind Rev. [Nelson] Johnson’s church. There were members of other street organizations there.”
Under cross-examination by Lang, Headen testified that he did not attend “universals,” or meetings, at the Latin Kings house on Terrell Street, and was not invited to do so.
In a tone much softer than his examination of former gang members, law enforcement officers and other government witnesses, Lang asked Headen about conflict between Cornell’s group and other Latin Kings.
“We talked some because of his commitment to peace,” Headen testified. “There were some people who were not living up the rules. And they were put out of the group. He told me about that.”
The second witness called by Cornell was Guilford County Sheriff’s Office Detective John Lowes, a co-case manager in the racketeering investigation and the primary handler of informant Jose Lugo. Lowes authenticated an audio recording played for the jury, and confirmed that it documented a July 2010 traffic stop near the end of the period that Lugo wore a wire for the government.
Lugo can be heard in the recording referencing Lowes’ name to a law enforcement officer and admonishing the officer: “I can’t tell you my business, but you should know.”
The conversation then turns friendly, and the officer says, “I’m not going to write somebody your age or our age a ticket because you have a baby.”
Later, as the car starts moving again, Lugo can be heard exulting to a female companion: “I can move all these kilos of cocaine…. Over here, I’m the motherfucking man…. I don’t have any problems…. I don’t ever have to go to court…. You come over here I will get away with more shit than I will in Charlotte. I should have moved over here a long time ago.”
The day opened with discussion about a motion to sanction Cornell that was filed by the government. Lee-Dixon said Cornell has had communication with Rev. Johnson and Alana Cornell, the defendant’s ex-wife and the mother of his two daughters.
Lee-Dixon said recordings of phone calls obtained by the government indicate that Cornell has had extensive conversations with the two about different aspects of the trial, including grand jury testimony. She said she believes the conversations violate Judge Beaty’s sequestration order at the beginning of the trial, which prohibits witnesses from being present in court prior to their testimony.
“Our concern is if these witnesses come to the stand, their testimony could be tainted,” the prosecutor said.
Lee-Dixon also expressed concern that a person identified only by the initial D has been observing the trial and providing notes to Johnson, and that during a press conference (see story) last week Johnson mentioned the name of a potential defense witness who had been identified by one of the government’s potential witnesses as someone who had stated that he shot Cornell.
Judge Beaty, who was visibly angry, admonished from the bench that “any witness who speaks to another witness about what is heard in court may be subject to contempt of court.”
The government notes in its motion that “sequestration of trial witnesses serves the important purpose of preventing the possibility of one witness shaping his testimony to serve a specific purpose based on what other witnesses have provided.”
The government's motion alleges that on the first day of the trial, Cornell made phone calls to Johnson and “D,” and discussed trial testimony and the judge’s sequestration order.
“Just as the defendant has a right to a fair trial by jury, the government also holds this right, which will be completely undermined if the defense is allowed to call two witnesses whose testimony has been so tainted and influenced by defendant Cornell and the information he has provided them concerning the specifics of so many of the government’s substantive witnesses,” the motion argues. “To allow these two witnesses to testify in the face of defendant’s intentional, repeated violation of this court’s sequestration order would be to permit willful, obstructionist conduct to pass without serious consequence. The government therefore respectfully requests that this court prohibit Reverend Johnson and Alana Cornell from testifying and thus preserve the integrity and fundamental fairness of this trial.”
The judge is expected to determine whether sanctions should be applied tomorrow morning. He told members of the jury they should be prepared to return to court at 2 p.m.
US District Court Judge James A. Beaty Jr. dismissed charges against Carlos Coleman, also known as King Spanky, finding that the government had failed to produce evidence that he participated in two racketeering acts.
Chuck White, Coleman’s court-appointed lawyer, acknowledged there was passing mention of Coleman administering a “physical,” meaning a beating to another member for disciplinary purposes, but argued that the government condoned participation in the activity by its own paid informant.
The government has also presented evidence in the form of surveillance video and testimony that Coleman was part of a group that beat a former member to the ground outside the Guilford County Courthouse.
“There was a spontaneous fight that occurred at the courthouse,” White said. “That was not a racketeering act. It was a misdemeanor at best that resulted in two scraped elbows.”
The judge took up the defendant’s cause as Assistant US Attorney Robert AJ Lang raised objections to dropping him from the case.
“The evidence is that when he was subjected to a physical, he ran away and never came back,” Beaty said. “What overt act are you talking about?”
Lang responded, “We don’t have any overt acts for him. It’s his membership in the conspiracy and his knowledge that racketeering acts were going to be committed.”
Beaty denied the motion to dismiss charges against defendants Jorge Cornell, Russell Kilfoil, Randolph Kilfoil, Samuel Velasquez, Irvin Vasquez and Ernesto Wilson, ruling that a jury should decide whether they are guilty of racketeering activities.
In a day of transition, the government called its final witness, a New York Police Department detective; the judge took testimony with the jury out of the room on a federal civil rights complaint filed on behalf of the Latin Kings; the defense called its first witness to testify about a peace effort led by Cornell; and the judge warned that the lead defendant might face sanctions for communicating with defense witnesses.
In arguing for denial of the defendants’ motion for dismissal, Lang focused on what has come to be known as the “Maplewood shooting,” in which Latin King member Marcelo Ysrael Perez admitted to shooting Rogelio Lopez, a construction worker who was mistaken for a rival gang member. Lang argued that a meeting at Latin King Jason Yates' apartment in which other members were called from Durham and guns were requested established that the organization comprised a criminal racketeering enterprise.
He described a “conspiracy to commit murder,” and said three people had been armed, with one committing an assault. Testimony about a “black rose,” an order that Latin Kings were not to speak about the crime, was further evidence of racketeering, he said. That the assault was committed in retaliation for a concussion received by Anthony Vasquez, “the heir apparent,” was evidence that the assault was committed in furtherance of the organization rather than merely for personal reasons.
Lang said Cornell aided and abetted the assault at Maplewood Apartments, and that he encouraged bank fraud and shared in the proceeds from other members. He tied Cornell to the burglary of Cornerstone Insurance, where his ex-wife was a former employee, calling it an “inside job” in which the Latin Kings leader provided information to the members that carried it out.
Lang said that Russell Kilfoil facilitated and participated in bank fraud and ordered weapons after Cornell was shot. He cited testimony from Robert Vasquez, a former Latin Kings member, that he believed Kilfoil shot at his house.
Randolph Kilfoil, Lang said, had been involved in a robbery at Wal-Mart in 2006. He noted that brothers Anthony Vasquez and Robert Vasquez testified that Kilfoil assisted them in drug sales at bars. Although Randolph Kilfoil has been serving a federal prison sentence since 2010, Lang connected him to the enterprise by citing testimony by Richard Robinson that Kilfoil had called from prison.
Lang argued that Velasquez was a racketeering participant because he had provided machetes to other members in 2007, had been involved in a conspiracy to assault former member Sylvia Lugo and had taken part in an attempted murder at Smith Homes in 2011 in retaliation for the beating of another member.
Irvin Vasquez should remain charged because he had gone to Charlotte to recruit new members, had carried a gun in the back seat of his car and had held the position of third crown at one time, Lang said.
About Wilson, an individual who never joined the Latin Kings and was implicated in a string of robberies for a one-month period in 2007, Lang said, “He’s an associate in fact. He lived with the Latin Kings on Keeler Street. He shared the money.”
Michael Patrick, Cornell’s court-appointed lawyer, argued that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the shooting at Maplewood Apartments was done for the purpose of furthering the Latin Kings enterprise. He added, “There is no evidence that my client was present or provided the weapon.”
Christopher Shella, Randolph Kilfoil’s court-appointed lawyer, argued that the charges against his client should be dismissed because he was in prison for much of the time that the alleged racketeering acts were committed.
Helen Parsonage, the court-appointed lawyer for Irvin Vasquez, argued that the government had not met the requirement to show that her client had participated in two racketeering acts. As to the Maplewood shooting, in which Perez testified that Vasquez accompanied him armed with a gun, Parsonage said, “The evidence indicates this was retaliation on a personal level.”
She added, “The only evidence of my client’s involvement was from the testimony of the shooter, who had clear motivation” as a cooperating witness to help the government obtain convictions and lessen his time.
Curtis Holmes, Wilson’s court-appointed lawyer, cited testimony from Luis Rosa and Allan Jordan that his client “was down here to make some money.”
He said he wouldn’t have had much to say in response if Wilson had been charged with armed robbery, but racketeering didn’t fit because his client never had any interest in joining the Latin Kings.
“There’s not one tattoo; there’s not one piece of clothing,” Holmes said. “The lack of evidence that he was a Latin King weighs strongly for dismissal.
“This work that he did was for his personal, mercenary benefit, and not to advance the enterprise,” Holmes added.
The government’s final witness, New York Police Department Detective David Milani, testified about Latin Kings structure, symbolism, customs, conflict dynamics and criminal activities. As an expert witness, he testified that the North Carolina organization was “modeled directly after the Latin Kings in New York.”
After the lunch break, Patrick called Anita Earls, executive director of the Durham-based Southern Coalition for Social Justice, to testify about a civil rights complaint her organization prepared on behalf of the Latin Kings. The hearing was held while members of the jury were out of the courtroom. Patrick declined to comment on the purpose of the hearing during an afternoon break.
Earls testified that she filed the complaint in person with the civil rights division of the US Justice Department in Washington.
“I did not receive any notification of any action whatsoever in connection with that complaint,” Earls testified.
Later, after a delegation of concerned citizens from Greensboro made a follow-up visit to the Justice Department in Washington to press for action on a number of complaints against the police department, Earls said she received a phone call from Julie Fernandez at the department.
“It was her view that this was a gang,” Earls testified, “and because of that they were not going to investigate.”
Lang asked Earls if she ever interviewed alleged victims of the Latin Kings’ crimes or police officers in Greensboro and Charlotte. Earls said she had not. Lang asked her if she had been aware that Latin Kings had been charged in the shooting of Rogelio Lopez at Maplewood Apartments. Earls answered that her staff generally tried to look at charges and their ultimate disposition, but didn't specifically remember the shooting charge.
Patrick introduced into evidence an August 2008 press release stating that Cornell had expressed forgiveness to whomever shot him. Judge Beaty did not allow the jury to hear testimony on the press release after hearing concern from prosecutor Leshia Lee-Dixon that it would essentially amount to “giving testimony from the mouth of Mr. Cornell through a witness.”
After a bench hearing, the judge did allow testimony on a peace agreement among gangs.
“This evidence would be to rebut the government’s general evidence about racketeering practices,” Patrick said, explaining the relevancy of the document.
The Rev. Greg Headen, the first witness called by the defense, testified about the agreement, which he said was forged in the basement of Genesis Baptist Church, where he is the pastor. As noted in the first paragraph of the agreement, Headen testified that the meeting included representatives of the Latin Kings, the Black Peace Stone Nation, the Crips, the Five Percenters, the Piru Bloods and the Nation of Islam.
“I think it was the idea of Jorge Cornell,” testified Headen, whose demeanor suggested humility and timidity before the prosecution. The pastor also said Cornell was shot shortly after the agreement was reached.
Headen testified that he worked with Cornell right up to the time “he was taken from us” in December 2011.
“We were working together on many things,” Headen said. “There was a black-brown conference that was hosted at my church. Latin King brothers and sisters came to us and requested that we counsel them. They poured out their hearts to us. They sponsored a picnic behind Rev. [Nelson] Johnson’s church. There were members of other street organizations there.”
Under cross-examination by Lang, Headen testified that he did not attend “universals,” or meetings, at the Latin Kings house on Terrell Street, and was not invited to do so.
In a tone much softer than his examination of former gang members, law enforcement officers and other government witnesses, Lang asked Headen about conflict between Cornell’s group and other Latin Kings.
“We talked some because of his commitment to peace,” Headen testified. “There were some people who were not living up the rules. And they were put out of the group. He told me about that.”
The second witness called by Cornell was Guilford County Sheriff’s Office Detective John Lowes, a co-case manager in the racketeering investigation and the primary handler of informant Jose Lugo. Lowes authenticated an audio recording played for the jury, and confirmed that it documented a July 2010 traffic stop near the end of the period that Lugo wore a wire for the government.
Lugo can be heard in the recording referencing Lowes’ name to a law enforcement officer and admonishing the officer: “I can’t tell you my business, but you should know.”
The conversation then turns friendly, and the officer says, “I’m not going to write somebody your age or our age a ticket because you have a baby.”
Later, as the car starts moving again, Lugo can be heard exulting to a female companion: “I can move all these kilos of cocaine…. Over here, I’m the motherfucking man…. I don’t have any problems…. I don’t ever have to go to court…. You come over here I will get away with more shit than I will in Charlotte. I should have moved over here a long time ago.”
The day opened with discussion about a motion to sanction Cornell that was filed by the government. Lee-Dixon said Cornell has had communication with Rev. Johnson and Alana Cornell, the defendant’s ex-wife and the mother of his two daughters.
Lee-Dixon said recordings of phone calls obtained by the government indicate that Cornell has had extensive conversations with the two about different aspects of the trial, including grand jury testimony. She said she believes the conversations violate Judge Beaty’s sequestration order at the beginning of the trial, which prohibits witnesses from being present in court prior to their testimony.
“Our concern is if these witnesses come to the stand, their testimony could be tainted,” the prosecutor said.
Lee-Dixon also expressed concern that a person identified only by the initial D has been observing the trial and providing notes to Johnson, and that during a press conference (see story) last week Johnson mentioned the name of a potential defense witness who had been identified by one of the government’s potential witnesses as someone who had stated that he shot Cornell.
Judge Beaty, who was visibly angry, admonished from the bench that “any witness who speaks to another witness about what is heard in court may be subject to contempt of court.”
The government notes in its motion that “sequestration of trial witnesses serves the important purpose of preventing the possibility of one witness shaping his testimony to serve a specific purpose based on what other witnesses have provided.”
The government's motion alleges that on the first day of the trial, Cornell made phone calls to Johnson and “D,” and discussed trial testimony and the judge’s sequestration order.
“Just as the defendant has a right to a fair trial by jury, the government also holds this right, which will be completely undermined if the defense is allowed to call two witnesses whose testimony has been so tainted and influenced by defendant Cornell and the information he has provided them concerning the specifics of so many of the government’s substantive witnesses,” the motion argues. “To allow these two witnesses to testify in the face of defendant’s intentional, repeated violation of this court’s sequestration order would be to permit willful, obstructionist conduct to pass without serious consequence. The government therefore respectfully requests that this court prohibit Reverend Johnson and Alana Cornell from testifying and thus preserve the integrity and fundamental fairness of this trial.”
The judge is expected to determine whether sanctions should be applied tomorrow morning. He told members of the jury they should be prepared to return to court at 2 p.m.
Day 15: North Carolina Latin Kings on trial
The US government rested its case around noon today in the federal racketeering trial of seven North Carolina Latin Kings in Winston-Salem amidst concerns that defendant Jorge Cornell has been communicating with potential witnesses for the defense.
Prosecutor Leshia Lee-Dixon said Cornell, the leader of the organization, has had communication with the Rev. Nelson Johnson and Alana Cornell. Johnson is a pastor who has acted as a spiritual counselor and advisor to the Latin Kings leader since 2008. Alana Cornell is the defendant’s ex-wife and the mother of his two daughters.
Lee-Dixon said recordings of phone calls obtained by the government indicate that Cornell has had extensive conversations with the two about different aspects of the trial, including grand jury testimony. She said she believes the conversations violate Judge James A. Beaty’s sequestration order at the beginning of the trial, which prohibits witnesses from being present in court prior to their testimony.
“Our concern is if these witnesses come to the stand, their testimony could be tainted,” the prosecutor said.
Beaty said he will hold a hearing to determine whether sanctions should be applied when court resumes after lunch today at 1:30 p.m.
Lee-Dixon also expressed concern that a person identified only by the initial D has been observing the trial and providing notes to Johnson, and that during a press conference last week Johnson mentioned the name of a potential defense witness who was identified by one of the government’s potential witnesses as someone who had stated that he shot Cornell.
Judge Beaty, who was visibly angry, admonished from the bench that “any witness who speaks to another witness about what is heard in court may be subject to contempt of court.”
UPDATE: Judge Beaty dismissed all charges against defendant Carlos Coleman today. Anita Earls, executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice gave testimony about a civil rights complaint filed on behalf of the Latin Kings while the jury was out of the courtroom. The court appointed lawyer for defendant Jorge Cornell began calling witnesses, starting with the Rev. Greg Headen. Full coverage of the day's events later this evening.
UPDATE 2: The hearing on the government's motion for sanctions was not heard this afternoon. Considering that Judge Beaty told members of the jury that they would not be needed until 2 p.m. tomorrow, but that court will resume at 9:30 a.m., it seems likely that the motion will be heard tomorrow morning.
The government notes in its argument that "sequestration of trial witnesses serves the important purpose of preventing the possibility of one witness shaping his testimony to serve a specific purpose based on what other witnesses have provided."
The government's motion alleges that on the first day of the trial, Cornell made phone calls to Johnson and "D," and discussed trial testimony and the judge's sequestration order.
From the motion:
Prosecutor Leshia Lee-Dixon said Cornell, the leader of the organization, has had communication with the Rev. Nelson Johnson and Alana Cornell. Johnson is a pastor who has acted as a spiritual counselor and advisor to the Latin Kings leader since 2008. Alana Cornell is the defendant’s ex-wife and the mother of his two daughters.
Lee-Dixon said recordings of phone calls obtained by the government indicate that Cornell has had extensive conversations with the two about different aspects of the trial, including grand jury testimony. She said she believes the conversations violate Judge James A. Beaty’s sequestration order at the beginning of the trial, which prohibits witnesses from being present in court prior to their testimony.
“Our concern is if these witnesses come to the stand, their testimony could be tainted,” the prosecutor said.
Beaty said he will hold a hearing to determine whether sanctions should be applied when court resumes after lunch today at 1:30 p.m.
Lee-Dixon also expressed concern that a person identified only by the initial D has been observing the trial and providing notes to Johnson, and that during a press conference last week Johnson mentioned the name of a potential defense witness who was identified by one of the government’s potential witnesses as someone who had stated that he shot Cornell.
Judge Beaty, who was visibly angry, admonished from the bench that “any witness who speaks to another witness about what is heard in court may be subject to contempt of court.”
UPDATE: Judge Beaty dismissed all charges against defendant Carlos Coleman today. Anita Earls, executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice gave testimony about a civil rights complaint filed on behalf of the Latin Kings while the jury was out of the courtroom. The court appointed lawyer for defendant Jorge Cornell began calling witnesses, starting with the Rev. Greg Headen. Full coverage of the day's events later this evening.
UPDATE 2: The hearing on the government's motion for sanctions was not heard this afternoon. Considering that Judge Beaty told members of the jury that they would not be needed until 2 p.m. tomorrow, but that court will resume at 9:30 a.m., it seems likely that the motion will be heard tomorrow morning.
The government notes in its argument that "sequestration of trial witnesses serves the important purpose of preventing the possibility of one witness shaping his testimony to serve a specific purpose based on what other witnesses have provided."
The government's motion alleges that on the first day of the trial, Cornell made phone calls to Johnson and "D," and discussed trial testimony and the judge's sequestration order.
From the motion:
Just as the defendant has a right to a fair trial by jury, the government also holds this right, which will be completely undermined if the defense is allowed to call two witnesses whose testimony has been so tainted and influenced by defendant Cornell and the information he has provided them concerning the specifics of so many of the government's substantive witnesses. To allow these two witnesses to testify in the face of defendant's intentional, repeated violation of this court's sequestration order would be to permit willful, obstructionist conduct to pass without serious consequence. The government therefore respectfully requests that this court prohibit Reverend Johnson and Alana Cornell from testifying and thus preserve the integrity and fundamental fairness of the trial.
Day 13: North Carolina Latin Kings on trial
CORRECTION: This post reported in error that FBI Special Agent Doug Rentz met Latin King member Tracy Weyman in Thomasville in September 2011. In fact, Rentz testified that he met Weyman in September 2012. The distinction is critical because September 2012 was after the racketeering indictment was unsealed against the Latin Kings in December 2011.
Rentz testified on Thursday that Weyman gave him a letter from Jason Yates to Cornell that indicated the FBI had been investigating the Latin Kings and that an indictment might be in the offing. Weyman testified today (Friday) that she doesn't remember if she gave the letter to Rentz. Weyman testified that she was appearing in court under subpoena and indicated by her demeanor that she was unhappy about being called to testify.
ORIGINAL POST: The Rev. Nelson Johnson led a group of about 20 Greensboro residents in expressing concerns about the Greensboro Police Department’s response to an incident in which North Carolina Latin Kings leader Jorge Cornell was shot in August 2008 during a press conference Thursday morning in front of the federal building in Winston-Salem.
Cornell and five other Latin Kings members are being tried on federal criminal racketeering charges. A motion by Cornell’s court appointed lawyer, Michael Patrick, two weeks ago indicated that a Greensboro police employee told prosecutors that one of the prospective defense witnesses had told her that he shot Cornell. Patrick also submitted to the court a Greensboro Police Department e-mail obtained through a public records request by the ALKQN Support group that contains a narrative describing an encounter by a police officer with a Latin King with Chicago connections who indicated he had been sent to kill Cornell.
AJ Blake, a former member of the Greensboro Police Department gang unit who was fired in 2010, has indicated in a complaint filed with Greensboro City Manager Denise Turner Roth that police employee Patricia Caffey told Assistant US Attorney Robert AJ Lang that he shot Cornell. Blake said the statement is completely false and asked Roth to investigate Caffey for violations of truthfulness, malicious gossip and other department directives to repair his reputation.
An Officer Trimnal with the Greensboro Police Department said that he encountered an intoxicated Latin King member stranded on a roadside in Greensboro in November 2010 who said Cornell, in Trimnal’s words, “was about to be ‘taken out’” and “that this ‘shit comes from high up/within.’” Trimnal said in the narrative that he had no charges on which to arrest the man, identified as Gorge Cardenas, and helped him move his vehicle out of the roadway.
“What investigation was generated from this?” Johnson asked. “If indeed Jorge Cornell was shot – and he has been shot – and someone says he’s there to kill Jorge Cornell, we think it merits an investigation. We think the Greensboro Police Department owes an explanation to the public.”
Johnson also said that since the e-mail surfaced, the police department has frozen release of public documents related to the case at the request of the US Attorney’s Office.
“We think this is a violation of citizens’ right to know and part of a protective mechanism to shield the police department from scrutiny,” he said. “Why shouldn’t the public know about someone on the side of the road that says he is here to kill Jorge Cornell?”
Charles Cherry, a former Greensboro police captain who was also fired in 2010, also spoke at the press conference. Cherry said that legitimate complaints against Greensboro police officers are not investigated, citing a complaint he filed against Assistant Chief Dwight Crotts.
Johnson also commented on how Cornell’s representation of himself as someone intent on promoting peace among street organization and on uplifting the community squares with testimony by Latin Kings who have said that Cornell ordered retaliatory strikes against rival groups and ex-members, and took proceeds from robberies.
“I have met the people that are turning evidence for the state,” Johnson said. “I have visited them in jail, and they’ve talked to me about some of those things. They are fighting for their lives, fighting against 15-to-20-year sentences, so they may be stretching the truth.”
Johnson also said that he and other pastors have tried to help Latin Kings obtain employment and housing, while the Greensboro Police Department has tried to hinder them from legitimate employment. Cornell had been living in “sheer poverty,” Johnson said, adding that a member of Genesis Baptist Church had agreed to rent a house to the group before they were arrested on racketeering charges.
One of those cooperating witnesses, Charles Lawrence Moore, finished up his testimony on Thursday morning.
Moore said Cornell ordered him and other Latin Kings to beat up Allan Jordan, a former member, and that they drove over to the Target store where Jordan was employed, but it was closed and there were no cars in the parking lot. Moore testified that an audio recording played for the jury on Wednesday that referenced “Target” had been made prior to the group’s arrival at the store.
Under cross-examination, Moore contradicted Richard Robinson, a fellow Latin King who is also turning the state’s evidence, a second time (see previous post). Moore testified that he and two other Latin Kings had been at Guilford County Court when they assaulted Anthony Vasquez “to make sure that nobody tried to do anything to Mr. Robinson while he was there.”
Robinson, who became close friends with Moore as JobCorps workers before they joined the Latin Kings, testified last week that Moore, along with defendants Russell Kilfoil and Carlos Coleman, had actually been there to intimidate him because he was in bad standing with the Latin Kings at the time.
During cross-examination defense lawyers elicited testimony from Moore that suggested the witness tended to commit criminal acts on his own and without Cornell and other members’ blessing. Moore also testified that Cornell and others benefactors took him into their homes during several episodes in which he was at risk of homelessness and that Cornell tried to help him cut down on his drinking.
Moore testified that the Latin Kings maintained rules against selling drugs and robbing people. Later in the exchange, Patrick referenced a period when Moore stayed with a couple in an apartment at Smith Homes.
“At that point you were living with a member of the Bloods who was selling marijuana,” Patrick said.
“Yes,” Moore replied.
“And you were selling marijuana yourself.”
“Yes.”
Moore also testified that he and Robinson eventually told Cornell about a check-kiting scheme they undertook, but tried to keep it a secret from him for a time.
Patrick attempted to blunt the damage from testimony by Moore and Robinson that Cornell had ordered a drive-by shooting on the apartment where the Blood member was staying to avenge a beating received by Moore.
“After you left Smith Homes, did Mr. Cornell make an effort to work out that problem without retaliation?” Patrick asked.
“No,” Moore responded.
“Did you ever talk to Saralee Gallien and May Young about that effort?” Patrick asked.
“No,” Moore said.
Gallien and Young, with whom Moore briefly stayed last year, are expected to testify for the defense once the government rests its case.
Moore admitted that he was disciplined in the Latin Kings for his abuse of alcohol.
“King Jay put me on a program where he determined when you can and cannot drink,” he said.
Patrick also poked some fun at the prosecution’s decision on Wednesday to introduce as evidence a YouTube video showing Latin Kings marching in Detroit in June 2010 and the government’s characterization of the event as a “Latin Kings conference” in the indictment.
“That wasn’t a Latin Kings conference,” Patrick prodded.
“It was a Social Forum,” Moore testified. He added, “It was just everybody that wanted to do something about the community.”
“And that includes the Latin Kings,” Patrick said.
“Yes,” Moore agreed.
Under cross-examination by Patrick Moore testified that the Rev. Nelson Johnson and Wesley Morris attended the US Social Forum. He didn't recall the names of other people, but indicated there were a sizeable number of other participants in addition to the handful of Latin Kings by virtue of the fact that a bus was chartered for the trip. Johnson and Morris are both employed with the Beloved Community Center, a non-profit social justice organization.
For the remainder of the day, the government presented evidence and testimony that was intended to establish an association among the defendants and build the case that their activities interfered with interstate and foreign commerce.
The latter aspect was the reason for calling Michael Stevenson, the director of loss prevention at Variety Wholesalers. In previous testimony, cooperating defendants had described stealing merchandise off of a truck parked outside Rose’s department store, a wholly owned subsidiary of Variety Wholesalers. Among other things, the government is required to establish that the activity of the defendants affected interstate and foreign commerce to prove a racketeering enterprise.
Asked by Lang about the origin of photo frames, soft drinks and shirts – items that Latin Kings have referenced as being stolen in previous testimony -- Stevenson testified that they had come from outside of North Carolina.
“All of the photo frames that we sell are made in China,” he said, “so they are shipped into a port and transported to our distribution center.”
The drinks, he said, came from Pennsylvania. As for the shirts, he said, “I don’t really know where all of them come from. But if you look at the labels it says Bangladesh, Vietnam, China and Poland. They’re shipped into New York, and brought down to our distribution center.”
Testimony from Richard Taylor Dixon, a former corrections officer at the Person County Jail, and Antwan Lloyd, a prisoner, appeared to be for the purpose of establishing that defendants were members of the Latin Kings. In his opening statement, defense lawyer Patrick told the jury there was no doubt that the defendants were members of the Latin Kings, and none would deny that Cornell was the leader.
Testimony from FBI Special Agent Doug Rentz about items of yellow and black clothing seized from the residences of defendant Russell Kilfoil in December 2011 built on that theme.
Rentz also said he recovered a piece of paper from Russell Kilfoil’s residence containing an individual’s name underscored by an “X” and the notation “green light.”
Lang asked what “green light” meant.
“It’s the go-ahead to beat on site or terminate on site that individual,” Rentz responded.
Rentz testified that he also recovered shotgun shells from among Kilfoil’s possession.
“Is it illegal to purchase shotgun shells?” Brian Aus, Kilfoil’s court-appointed lawyer, asked.
“Not unless you’re a prohibited person,” Rentz responded.
“Was Mr. Kilfoil a prohibited person?” Aus asked.
“I don’t believe he was,” Rentz said, “but I’m not sure.”
Rentz also testified that in June 2011 the US Attorney’s Office advised Jason Paul Yates “we were looking at an indictment against the Latin Kings in Greensboro, and asked if he would want to cooperate.”
Yates, a co-defendant who will stand trial separately because his court-appointed lawyer was unprepared to go forward with the others, has been characterized in previous testimony as a bitter rival with Cornell for control of the North Carolina Latin Kings.
Rentz testified that he met Tracy Weyman, also known as Queen Smiley, at the Thomasville Inn in September 2012, and that Weyman gave him a letter from Yates to Cornell warning that the FBI was investigating the Latin Kings and that an indictment might be coming.
Rentz said he learned there had been a shotgun at the residence of Kilfoil’s girlfriend, Dana Scott, but testified that he was unable to locate any firearms in the course of executing a search warrant. High Point police Detective Dennis Szentmariay, a member of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, testified earlier in the week that a raid on a Latin Kings house in Greensboro during the same period also failed to recover any firearms.
The government ended the day by putting FBI employee Tara Cataldo, described as a “cyber agent,” on the witness stand. Her testimony, which was tedious overall, covered investigative procedures for mining data from the defendants’ Facebook pages, and was apparently designed to establish relationships among the defendants.
Out of thousands of pages of Facebook data that Cataldo said she obtained from Facebook, the cyber agent cited only a couple messages that appeared to be benign at best and ambiguous at worst.
One exchange between defendant Carlos Coleman and an individual named Jonathan Hernandez begins with Hernandez saying, “Oh yeah, you need to understand that you can’t get out of this. King’s word is gold. You need to stop tripping and handle what you got to handle.”
Coleman responded, “ADR, we will talk in person. Why you talking about nation affairs on Facebook? You need to inbox me.”
“ADR,” which stands for “amor del rey,” or “love of the king,” is a standard Latin King greeting.
Another Facebook message from defendant Samuel Velasquez to Hernandez reads, “King Peace: ADR, bro. What’s good? You like that lion ha ha – the peaceful lion. You like that lion.”
After Judge James A. Beaty dismissed court for the day, Lang apologized to Cataldo in the hallway for causing her to give up her afternoon to testify.
Rentz testified on Thursday that Weyman gave him a letter from Jason Yates to Cornell that indicated the FBI had been investigating the Latin Kings and that an indictment might be in the offing. Weyman testified today (Friday) that she doesn't remember if she gave the letter to Rentz. Weyman testified that she was appearing in court under subpoena and indicated by her demeanor that she was unhappy about being called to testify.
ORIGINAL POST: The Rev. Nelson Johnson led a group of about 20 Greensboro residents in expressing concerns about the Greensboro Police Department’s response to an incident in which North Carolina Latin Kings leader Jorge Cornell was shot in August 2008 during a press conference Thursday morning in front of the federal building in Winston-Salem.
Cornell and five other Latin Kings members are being tried on federal criminal racketeering charges. A motion by Cornell’s court appointed lawyer, Michael Patrick, two weeks ago indicated that a Greensboro police employee told prosecutors that one of the prospective defense witnesses had told her that he shot Cornell. Patrick also submitted to the court a Greensboro Police Department e-mail obtained through a public records request by the ALKQN Support group that contains a narrative describing an encounter by a police officer with a Latin King with Chicago connections who indicated he had been sent to kill Cornell.
AJ Blake, a former member of the Greensboro Police Department gang unit who was fired in 2010, has indicated in a complaint filed with Greensboro City Manager Denise Turner Roth that police employee Patricia Caffey told Assistant US Attorney Robert AJ Lang that he shot Cornell. Blake said the statement is completely false and asked Roth to investigate Caffey for violations of truthfulness, malicious gossip and other department directives to repair his reputation.
An Officer Trimnal with the Greensboro Police Department said that he encountered an intoxicated Latin King member stranded on a roadside in Greensboro in November 2010 who said Cornell, in Trimnal’s words, “was about to be ‘taken out’” and “that this ‘shit comes from high up/within.’” Trimnal said in the narrative that he had no charges on which to arrest the man, identified as Gorge Cardenas, and helped him move his vehicle out of the roadway.
“What investigation was generated from this?” Johnson asked. “If indeed Jorge Cornell was shot – and he has been shot – and someone says he’s there to kill Jorge Cornell, we think it merits an investigation. We think the Greensboro Police Department owes an explanation to the public.”
Johnson also said that since the e-mail surfaced, the police department has frozen release of public documents related to the case at the request of the US Attorney’s Office.
“We think this is a violation of citizens’ right to know and part of a protective mechanism to shield the police department from scrutiny,” he said. “Why shouldn’t the public know about someone on the side of the road that says he is here to kill Jorge Cornell?”
Charles Cherry, a former Greensboro police captain who was also fired in 2010, also spoke at the press conference. Cherry said that legitimate complaints against Greensboro police officers are not investigated, citing a complaint he filed against Assistant Chief Dwight Crotts.
Johnson also commented on how Cornell’s representation of himself as someone intent on promoting peace among street organization and on uplifting the community squares with testimony by Latin Kings who have said that Cornell ordered retaliatory strikes against rival groups and ex-members, and took proceeds from robberies.
“I have met the people that are turning evidence for the state,” Johnson said. “I have visited them in jail, and they’ve talked to me about some of those things. They are fighting for their lives, fighting against 15-to-20-year sentences, so they may be stretching the truth.”
Johnson also said that he and other pastors have tried to help Latin Kings obtain employment and housing, while the Greensboro Police Department has tried to hinder them from legitimate employment. Cornell had been living in “sheer poverty,” Johnson said, adding that a member of Genesis Baptist Church had agreed to rent a house to the group before they were arrested on racketeering charges.
One of those cooperating witnesses, Charles Lawrence Moore, finished up his testimony on Thursday morning.
Moore said Cornell ordered him and other Latin Kings to beat up Allan Jordan, a former member, and that they drove over to the Target store where Jordan was employed, but it was closed and there were no cars in the parking lot. Moore testified that an audio recording played for the jury on Wednesday that referenced “Target” had been made prior to the group’s arrival at the store.
Under cross-examination, Moore contradicted Richard Robinson, a fellow Latin King who is also turning the state’s evidence, a second time (see previous post). Moore testified that he and two other Latin Kings had been at Guilford County Court when they assaulted Anthony Vasquez “to make sure that nobody tried to do anything to Mr. Robinson while he was there.”
Robinson, who became close friends with Moore as JobCorps workers before they joined the Latin Kings, testified last week that Moore, along with defendants Russell Kilfoil and Carlos Coleman, had actually been there to intimidate him because he was in bad standing with the Latin Kings at the time.
During cross-examination defense lawyers elicited testimony from Moore that suggested the witness tended to commit criminal acts on his own and without Cornell and other members’ blessing. Moore also testified that Cornell and others benefactors took him into their homes during several episodes in which he was at risk of homelessness and that Cornell tried to help him cut down on his drinking.
Moore testified that the Latin Kings maintained rules against selling drugs and robbing people. Later in the exchange, Patrick referenced a period when Moore stayed with a couple in an apartment at Smith Homes.
“At that point you were living with a member of the Bloods who was selling marijuana,” Patrick said.
“Yes,” Moore replied.
“And you were selling marijuana yourself.”
“Yes.”
Moore also testified that he and Robinson eventually told Cornell about a check-kiting scheme they undertook, but tried to keep it a secret from him for a time.
Patrick attempted to blunt the damage from testimony by Moore and Robinson that Cornell had ordered a drive-by shooting on the apartment where the Blood member was staying to avenge a beating received by Moore.
“After you left Smith Homes, did Mr. Cornell make an effort to work out that problem without retaliation?” Patrick asked.
“No,” Moore responded.
“Did you ever talk to Saralee Gallien and May Young about that effort?” Patrick asked.
“No,” Moore said.
Gallien and Young, with whom Moore briefly stayed last year, are expected to testify for the defense once the government rests its case.
Moore admitted that he was disciplined in the Latin Kings for his abuse of alcohol.
“King Jay put me on a program where he determined when you can and cannot drink,” he said.
Patrick also poked some fun at the prosecution’s decision on Wednesday to introduce as evidence a YouTube video showing Latin Kings marching in Detroit in June 2010 and the government’s characterization of the event as a “Latin Kings conference” in the indictment.
“That wasn’t a Latin Kings conference,” Patrick prodded.
“It was a Social Forum,” Moore testified. He added, “It was just everybody that wanted to do something about the community.”
“And that includes the Latin Kings,” Patrick said.
“Yes,” Moore agreed.
Under cross-examination by Patrick Moore testified that the Rev. Nelson Johnson and Wesley Morris attended the US Social Forum. He didn't recall the names of other people, but indicated there were a sizeable number of other participants in addition to the handful of Latin Kings by virtue of the fact that a bus was chartered for the trip. Johnson and Morris are both employed with the Beloved Community Center, a non-profit social justice organization.
For the remainder of the day, the government presented evidence and testimony that was intended to establish an association among the defendants and build the case that their activities interfered with interstate and foreign commerce.
The latter aspect was the reason for calling Michael Stevenson, the director of loss prevention at Variety Wholesalers. In previous testimony, cooperating defendants had described stealing merchandise off of a truck parked outside Rose’s department store, a wholly owned subsidiary of Variety Wholesalers. Among other things, the government is required to establish that the activity of the defendants affected interstate and foreign commerce to prove a racketeering enterprise.
Asked by Lang about the origin of photo frames, soft drinks and shirts – items that Latin Kings have referenced as being stolen in previous testimony -- Stevenson testified that they had come from outside of North Carolina.
“All of the photo frames that we sell are made in China,” he said, “so they are shipped into a port and transported to our distribution center.”
The drinks, he said, came from Pennsylvania. As for the shirts, he said, “I don’t really know where all of them come from. But if you look at the labels it says Bangladesh, Vietnam, China and Poland. They’re shipped into New York, and brought down to our distribution center.”
Testimony from Richard Taylor Dixon, a former corrections officer at the Person County Jail, and Antwan Lloyd, a prisoner, appeared to be for the purpose of establishing that defendants were members of the Latin Kings. In his opening statement, defense lawyer Patrick told the jury there was no doubt that the defendants were members of the Latin Kings, and none would deny that Cornell was the leader.
Testimony from FBI Special Agent Doug Rentz about items of yellow and black clothing seized from the residences of defendant Russell Kilfoil in December 2011 built on that theme.
Rentz also said he recovered a piece of paper from Russell Kilfoil’s residence containing an individual’s name underscored by an “X” and the notation “green light.”
Lang asked what “green light” meant.
“It’s the go-ahead to beat on site or terminate on site that individual,” Rentz responded.
Rentz testified that he also recovered shotgun shells from among Kilfoil’s possession.
“Is it illegal to purchase shotgun shells?” Brian Aus, Kilfoil’s court-appointed lawyer, asked.
“Not unless you’re a prohibited person,” Rentz responded.
“Was Mr. Kilfoil a prohibited person?” Aus asked.
“I don’t believe he was,” Rentz said, “but I’m not sure.”
Rentz also testified that in June 2011 the US Attorney’s Office advised Jason Paul Yates “we were looking at an indictment against the Latin Kings in Greensboro, and asked if he would want to cooperate.”
Yates, a co-defendant who will stand trial separately because his court-appointed lawyer was unprepared to go forward with the others, has been characterized in previous testimony as a bitter rival with Cornell for control of the North Carolina Latin Kings.
Rentz testified that he met Tracy Weyman, also known as Queen Smiley, at the Thomasville Inn in September 2012, and that Weyman gave him a letter from Yates to Cornell warning that the FBI was investigating the Latin Kings and that an indictment might be coming.
Rentz said he learned there had been a shotgun at the residence of Kilfoil’s girlfriend, Dana Scott, but testified that he was unable to locate any firearms in the course of executing a search warrant. High Point police Detective Dennis Szentmariay, a member of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, testified earlier in the week that a raid on a Latin Kings house in Greensboro during the same period also failed to recover any firearms.
The government ended the day by putting FBI employee Tara Cataldo, described as a “cyber agent,” on the witness stand. Her testimony, which was tedious overall, covered investigative procedures for mining data from the defendants’ Facebook pages, and was apparently designed to establish relationships among the defendants.
Out of thousands of pages of Facebook data that Cataldo said she obtained from Facebook, the cyber agent cited only a couple messages that appeared to be benign at best and ambiguous at worst.
One exchange between defendant Carlos Coleman and an individual named Jonathan Hernandez begins with Hernandez saying, “Oh yeah, you need to understand that you can’t get out of this. King’s word is gold. You need to stop tripping and handle what you got to handle.”
Coleman responded, “ADR, we will talk in person. Why you talking about nation affairs on Facebook? You need to inbox me.”
“ADR,” which stands for “amor del rey,” or “love of the king,” is a standard Latin King greeting.
Another Facebook message from defendant Samuel Velasquez to Hernandez reads, “King Peace: ADR, bro. What’s good? You like that lion ha ha – the peaceful lion. You like that lion.”
After Judge James A. Beaty dismissed court for the day, Lang apologized to Cataldo in the hallway for causing her to give up her afternoon to testify.
Robbie Perkins: The tension in the GPD is apparent to me
At-large Greensboro City Councilman Robbie Perkins acknowledged in an e-mail message to the Rev. Nelson Johnson last night that Department has been in turmoil for several years, and unresolved issues have created an environment that leads to many questions from our citizens." He added that City Manager Rashad Young is in the process of "changing the culture within the organization," and he did not think it would be constructive for council to intervene.
Young, Chief Tim Bellamy, Mayor Bill Knight, the Rev. Cardes Brown and the other seven members of the council were carbon copied on the message, but Perkins said he was "responding as an individual member of council.
The full text of the e-mail message appears below:
Young, Chief Tim Bellamy, Mayor Bill Knight, the Rev. Cardes Brown and the other seven members of the council were carbon copied on the message, but Perkins said he was "responding as an individual member of council.
The full text of the e-mail message appears below:
Subject: RE: Request for Council Intervention in Growing Tensions inside GPD
I am in receipt of your letter and am responding as an individual member of Council.
The issues you raise are varied and complex in nature, and involve past and current employees of the City of Greensboro whose rights are protected under personnel laws.
The tension you describe within the Police Department is apparent to me. The Department has been in turmoil for several years, and unresolved issues have created an environment that leads to many questions from our citizens.
I do not believe it is possible to right every wrong in this matter. What I do know is that we have a City Manager and staff, including the Police Chief, that are committed to what is best for all of the citizens of Greensboro. The Manager is in the process of changing the culture within the organization. This change will not happen overnight, and it certainly will not be helped by Council intervention in work that we are not trained to manage or perform. I know our City is moving in a positive direction. The Police Department will have new leadership by the end of summer, and that very fact will insure that changes will be made. At this point, I must trust the leadership of the Manager and his staff, knowing that none of us are perfect, and this process will result in some level of conflict prior to a successful resolution. For now, we should stay the course and allow the City Manager, staff and the Police Chief to do their jobs, while working through the maze of legal issues as best we can.
Please know that I welcome the opportunity to discuss these and other issues with you in conversations based on respect and fairness to all involved. Do not hesitate to call me at my office at 336-XXX-XXX, or my cell phone at 336-XXX-XXXX.[redacted by YES! Weekly]
Ahmed Blake's press conference
Greensboro police Officer Ahmed Blake will hold a press conference at New Light Missionary Baptist Church tomorrow at 2 p.m.
From an official media announcement received from the Rev. Nelson Johnson today:
Officer Blake, found guilty on two charges of assault in District Court, asserts his absolute innocence; his case is on appeal. He will explain in detail how these charges actually grew from events at a drunken police party and are deeply rooted in prejudices within the Greensboro Police Department (GPD) against Latinos and other people of color.
Officer Blake has already filed two discrimination complaints through the GPD’s Internal Affairs mechanism and is party to an investigation by the US Justice Department on behalf of over 30 GPD officers of color. Officer Blake will share how a certain Greensboro City Council member promised to get the assault charges dropped against him if he withdrew from the Justice Department suit.
Officer Blake will explain further that the charges brought against him are also related to his expressed opposition to the abuse of police power by some members of GPD’s Gang Unit in their interaction with street groups, especially Latinos.
From an official media announcement received from the Rev. Nelson Johnson today:
Officer Blake, found guilty on two charges of assault in District Court, asserts his absolute innocence; his case is on appeal. He will explain in detail how these charges actually grew from events at a drunken police party and are deeply rooted in prejudices within the Greensboro Police Department (GPD) against Latinos and other people of color.
Officer Blake has already filed two discrimination complaints through the GPD’s Internal Affairs mechanism and is party to an investigation by the US Justice Department on behalf of over 30 GPD officers of color. Officer Blake will share how a certain Greensboro City Council member promised to get the assault charges dropped against him if he withdrew from the Justice Department suit.
Officer Blake will explain further that the charges brought against him are also related to his expressed opposition to the abuse of police power by some members of GPD’s Gang Unit in their interaction with street groups, especially Latinos.
Officer Julius Fulmore confirmed as pastors' source
I called Officer Julius Fulmore last week. I had a short list of candidates for the anonymous source who told the Rev. Nelson Johnson that Lt. Craig McMinn ordered the destruction of about 50 boxes of files related to the Klan-Nazi shootings while he commanded the special intelligence section. Fulmore confirmed that he was the one. Here's the story.
Fulmore told me: "I know that you know; otherwise you wouldn't be calling me."
We decided to hold off on publishing the information about Fulmore's roles in hopes that we could learn more from interviewing him. I haven't spoken to Fulmore in depth yet. I've gotten some of the details from Fulmore's lawyer, Amiel Rossabi over the past seven days. It was only a matter of time before Fulmore's identity was going to come out, and secrets are hard to keep in a small city like Greensboro.
We decided to publish our story.
Fulmore told me: "I know that you know; otherwise you wouldn't be calling me."
We decided to hold off on publishing the information about Fulmore's roles in hopes that we could learn more from interviewing him. I haven't spoken to Fulmore in depth yet. I've gotten some of the details from Fulmore's lawyer, Amiel Rossabi over the past seven days. It was only a matter of time before Fulmore's identity was going to come out, and secrets are hard to keep in a small city like Greensboro.
We decided to publish our story.
Pastors allege police documents related to Klan-Nazi killings were destroyed
Signe Waller, whose husband was killed during an attack by Klansmen and Nazis on a 1979 march organized by the Workers Viewpoint Organization, joined Rev. Nelson Johnson, Rev. Cardes Brown and Rev. Gregory Headen (l-r) at the New Light Missionary Baptist Church on Tuesday. The pastors allege that a Greensboro police sergeant ordered the destruction of 50 boxes of documents related to the killings after the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission filed a public records request. The Rev. ZN Holler was also present at the press conference.
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