The detective came back to the car and said, “You want to talk to me now Fast Eddie?” Fast Eddie told him that he don’t talk to police. The detective informed him that he wasn’t an officer at all; he was Special Agent Gardner of the DEA. It was then that Fast Eddie realized that he should have followed his gut feelings, knowing that on the streets a minor slip could lead to a major fall. He knew that the truth always reveals itself in time. He went against his own rules. It was then that the realization had set in that his fate was no longer in his own hands.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
At the Waukesha County Jail Fast Eddie was left in the interrogation room for several hours before Agent Gardner and ATF Special Agent Perela tried to run the oldest trick in the book; Good Cop, Bad Cop – straight textbook shit. That trick probably would have been successful on a rookie street punk, but Fast Eddie was a seasoned veteran and not one for the games. After several hours of the cat and mouse game, Fast Eddie was tired and needed some rest so he told both agents that he had something he wanted to say to both of them. They hurried in with pens, paper and a voice recorder hoping to be told where the mother load was at.
Fast Eddie sat with his hands flat on the conference table and said, “I will never tell you two idiots a motherfucking thing. Now either put me where I can get some rest or let me call my lawyer who will put ya’ll to rest.” Cooperating was never a thought in his mind and is contrary to his character and the way that he was raised. As a little boy he was taught never to shift his weight to the next man and that you hold your own, “no matter what the consequences may be.” Both agents, fuming mad, got up and walked out leaving Fast Eddie sitting at the table. He had a lot of things to think about, a lot of people depended on him for survival. It wasn’t over until the fat lady sings. He wasn’t going to lie down without a fight.
CHAPTER ONE
“All rise! This court is now in session. The Honorable Ronald J. Davis presiding,” the Federal Court Deputy yelled at the top of his lungs so that the spectators in the adjacent courtroom could hear.
“Thank you. You may all be seated,” said Judge Davis.
“Your Honor, we call Docket Number 008CF256-1, United States vs. Eddie Lee Smith. This matter is on the calendar for sentencing,” stated the Court Clerk.
“Thank you, Debbie. State the appearances for the record please,” Judge Davis said.
“Your Honor, Attorney Michael Steinley appearing on behalf of the defendant Mr. Eddie Lee Smith, who appears in person. Assistant United States Attorney Richard James Newberry, appearing on behalf of the Government.”
“Thank you. Are we ready to proceed with sentencing?” asked Judge Davis. Both parties agreed.
Fast Eddie did a once over of the courtroom. The most important people in his life was present. His newly married wife Fatima, his six year old daughter Jasmine and his eighteen month old son Eddie Jr. His mom and his mistress occupied the other side of the courtroom along with the Channel 4 News correspondent who’s been following his case since the day of his arrest, thirteen months earlier. Today was judgment day; the icing on the cake as some would say and Fast Eddie prayed to the heavens above that his mom and wife would get along. Momma Smith, as the hood knew her, never approved of Fatima. She always felt that Fatima was a gold digger who trapped her son with two unwanted kids. But out of the love for her son, she kept her distance and her thoughts to herself. But Fatima knew how she felt.
Two U.S. Marshals were at the exit doors of the courtroom, “Fags,” Fast Eddie thought to himself. They toted .45 caliber, semi-automatics which was standard Government Issue now-a-days. Neither probably ever discharged their weapons in the line of duty, but wouldn’t think twice if the opportunity ever arose.
A tap on Fast Eddie’s leg from his attorney brought him back to reality and the matter at hand. “Your Honor”, the AUSA started, “I would like to address an issue I have regarding an email I received from Mr. Steinley late yesterday afternoon in respect to Defendant Smith.”
“Okay, go ahead,” Judge Davis said as he bent his head down and looked over the top of his glasses as your third grade teacher would have done. Throughout the course of this case there has been constant back and forth bickering between the Assistant United States Attorney and the Defendant’s Attorney. Judge Davis wasn’t about to allow this hearing to turn into one of the previous ones.
“Mr. Steinley went into great detail, which I would like to share with you,” Mr. Newberry said as he proceeded to the Judge’s bench to give him copies of the email that the Defendant’s Attorney sent him. “As you can see, Mr. Steinley pointed out how Count One of the Four-Count Indictment, 21 U.S.C. 846 Conspiracy should be dismissed based solely on the fact that the defendant has no co-defendants.”
“Well I’m unsure if now is the right time to address this issue,” interrupted Judge Davis. “This is a matter that should have been addressed prior to sentencing. This court doesn’t have the authority to dismiss a jury’s finding. Today is solely for sentencing purposes, not the finding of guilt or innocence which was determined at trial. Therefore, I will not allow the discussion of whether or not conspiracy is appropriate. However, I will add for the purpose of the record under U.S. Title 21, Subdivision 846, it states in part, conspiracy involves an agreement by two or more people to commit an unlawful act. It goes on further to state that the co-conspirators can be a person or persons known to the Court, indicted and unindicted,” finished Judge Davis.
Fast Eddie turned around and looked at his mother who looked as if she had no clue as to what was going on. All she knew was that the white man was trying to send her son to prison for a long time. Momma Smith grew up in the “Jim Crow Days.”, a time when there was Black Unity and Black Power; also where a time when blacks rebelled against the white man and the system instead of each other. And even to this very day the whitey is still a suspect to her.
Fatima had just come back in the courtroom from changing Eddie Jr.’s diaper and caught the tail end of the Judge’s statement. She blew Fast Eddie a kiss and moved her lips as to say, “I love you.” That kinda eased his mood a bit. It is amazing how something so simple from a woman could change a man’s mood from bad to good.
“Thank you, Your Honor,” Mr. Newberry said and Judge Davis instructed him to proceed. “Your Honor, this case is one that has bothered me since it was first assigned to me for a number of reasons. One was the amount of the drug that was involved, two was the type of drug that Mr. Smith possessed, and three there were guns involved in this case. In addition, the defendant’s lack of responsibility is a concern. He has shown absolutely no remorse throughout any of his court proceedings. Your Honor, Mr. Smith has been convicted of possessing over seven kilograms of cocaine with at least five hundred grams of it being crack cocaine and various firearms violations. Unfortunately we all know the harm drugs and guns can do to a community and its families. Needless to say, any penalty that calls for 262-327 months in prison is serious, serious stuff. Mr. Smith’s Pre-Sentence Investigation Report shows that he has been involved in not only the criminal life, but also the criminal justice system since the age of twelve. That’s more than half of his life! I recall during one of the hearings his attorney said, “My client is not a bad person.” While I believe that Mr. Steinley was sincere in his belief that his client was not a bad person, nevertheless words are relative. What may be not so bad to him, may be horrible to me, and vice versa. Mr. Smith has ties to the 2-4 Organization.”
“I object, Your Honor. There is no evidence to substantiate that,” said Attorney Steinley as he rose from his seat. “My client hasn’t been convicted of being a part of any organization.”
“Sustained,” Judge David said. “Strike it from the record. Let’s stick with the facts here Mr. Newberry.”
“Okay, Your Honor. If we’ll be honest here for a minute, Mr. Smith has become the exceptional criminal and I believe that the Criminal Justice System has allowed him to get to this point. As I looked over his PSI I noticed how Mr. Smith has