| Five
Kilos of Drugs
Triggered
Verdict
Against
Cabbie Now US
Asks for Under
57 Months
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Nov 6 – A self-described taxi
driver has been on trial for
five kilos of narcotics.
On July 18,
a Drug Enforcement Agency
agent testified before the
jury and U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of
New York Judge Alvin K.
Hellerstein. Inner City Press
was there.
The agent
described questioning the
defendant Victor Molina
Rodriguez after the transfer
of narcotics between him and
Diogenes and Stalym Plaza -
who said he was on his way to
cut hair in Manhattan.
Molina
Rodriguez said he had met the
two while giving them a ride
in his cab. But the agent said
seized phones told another
story.
On July
19, Stalym Plaza was on the
witness stand, in MDC jail
being and a US Marshall beside
him. He listened to his own
WhatsApps and described his
and Victor's drug deals. A gun
he had, he said he found, and
told the government about. He
admitted to using false papers
to find work at Uber Eats,
DoorDash and Lyft.
The verdict?
Guilty: "Jury found defendant
guilty on count 1."
On November 6,
the prosecutors wrote in to
request a "substantial term of
imprisonment below the
applicable Guidelines range of
57 to 71 months."
The case is
US v. Molina Rodriguez,
22-cr-632 (Hellerstein)
***
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