Loading ...Relatives, Friends Risk Homes to Post Bails
The property will secure the release of three men charged in a St. Petersburg drug case.
Three St. Petersburg men accused of drug dealing will leave jail soon after family members put up their houses Friday as a guarantee the men would not skip town.
Three others charged in the same federal investigation of a multimillion-dollar crack cocaine ring were denied bail. They will remain in jail.
The defendants’ appearances in federal court Friday stem from an indictment of 20 people earlier this week in a trafficking probe of what was once described as the biggest crack cocaine ring ever to operate in St. Petersburg.
The group is accused of conspiring to distribute 5 kilograms (11 pounds) or more of cocaine and 50 grams (1.75 ounces) or more of crack in the past seven years.
U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Jenkins approved bail for Bennie Phillips, 45; Rashie Witcher, 27; and Arthur Coston, 41.
They will not be released from the Hillsborough County Jail until property titles and deeds are filed and approved by the court. The homes of their family members and friends will be seized if they violate any condition of bail, one of which is failing a drug test.
Eight of the suspects, including the operation’s alleged leader, Elrick Bernard Wynn of St. Petersburg, have not been caught. Others named in the indictment have either been released or are awaiting court hearings.
During Friday’s detention hearing, Lee Wright, 29, Danny Thomas, 30, and Darrell Kelly, 30, all of St. Petersburg, were ordered to remain in jail. They did not have property to post as collateral.
Timothy Lutz, an agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, testified that those three men had been caught on video or audiotape making deals with police informers.
When Wright was arrested, authorities said, they recovered $10,000 cash and 1 ounce of cocaine. If convicted, Wright faces a mandatory 20-year prison sentence.
“Mr. Wright is a crack cocaine distributor in St. Petersburg, Florida,” Lutz told the court.
Attorney Bjorn Brunvand of Clearwater quizzed the agent about Kelly, Brunvand’s client. He asked whether the videotape showed Kelly dealing drugs.
“I don’t believe you actually see the hand-to-hand, no,” Lutz said.
Kelly, dressed in orange jail clothes and facing life in prison, shook his head and snickered.
Many factors come into play during a detention hearing, said former federal prosecutor Stephen Crawford of Tampa. Sometimes, minor players are approved for release, he said.
“You don’t know who’s cooperating and who’s not, who’s flipped to try and reduce their sentence by snitching on others,” said Crawford, now a lawyer in private practice. “In fact, prosecutors might want them on the streets to catch the fugitives who are out there.”
If Phillips can provide the appropriate paperwork, he will get out of jail.
The owner of 31st Street Auto Body in St. Petersburg, he got his friends, mother and girlfriend to put up six properties toward the $250,000 bail.
But before Jenkins moved on to the next defendant, she told Phillips he could wind up in jail if he intimidated anyone connected to the case, “including any informant, witness or agent that brought you here today.”
Witcher, another defendant who could be released, did not get such a warning. Owner of Nikko Car Rental on Central Avenue, he was helped by his mother and wife, who claimed they could post their properties toward the $200,000 bail.
Attorney Grady C. Irvin Jr., who represents Witcher, said his client is a well-respected businessman who built his dealership from a fleet of six cars to 30.
“I think it’s a great success story of someone who worked up from the bottom,” Irvin said.
And defendant Coston’s father stepped up to offer his $90,000 home – paid off since 1998 – toward the $150,000 bail.
St. Petersburg Times – St. Petersburg, Fla.
Author: Leanora Minai