-from hometownannapolis.com-

By Scott Daugherty

$10.3 million score leads to less than 6 years for conspirators

Hundreds of bricks of marijuana formed a wall in the back of the conference room. Along another wall, more than three kilograms of cocaine and 30,000 tablets of Ecstasy covered a table.

It was the largest drug bust in county history, then-county police Chief P. Thomas Shanahan announced in May 2006 during a rare press conference. His detectives - working in cooperation with the Baltimore County Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration - had seized $10.3 million worth of drugs in Glen Burnie and Reisterstown and cuffed five drug dealers.

“This is a wow,” the chief exclaimed in front of a bank of television cameras and reporters.

But as almost two years of court hearings and plea negotiations wound down this week, some county leaders were outraged the big bust never yielded any big sentences in U.S. District Court.

The suspected ring leader - Alvin Lomax Burruss, 37, of Reisterstown - is on the lam after having skipped out on a $750,000 bond in late 2006.

None of his accomplices will spend more than six years in prison - even though some pleaded guilty to charges with “mandatory minimum” sentences of 10 years.

“That is terrible,” said former County Executive Janet Owens, arguing the sentences are so low they are “demoralizing” to police. “This wasn’t some nickel and dime thing,” she said.

To date, Jason Bibeault, 25, of Glen Burnie has received the harshest punishment in connection with the bust. He pleaded guilty to the top count - conspiracy to distribute narcotics - and U.S. District Court Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced him to five years and three months in prison.

The other three defendants received sentences of four years three months; three years; and six months house arrest.

“It’s an unfortunate reality in the criminal justice system. Judges don’t give the sentences that need to be given,” said O’Brien Atkinson, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police.

U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein, who authorized the plea agreements for the four defendants, defended the sentences.

“It’s a reflection of their criminal history … and the facts and circumstances of the case,” he said. “I anticipate that when Mr. Burruss comes to trial, he will receive a substantially longer sentence.”

Mr. Rosenstein declined to elaborate because most of the plea agreements are sealed.

Still, State’s Attorney Frank Weathersbee said he doesn’t think he could have done any better than the feds.

“I’m sorry to say, no,” he said, hypothesizing county judges would sentence each “volume dealer” to five years in prison - the mandatory minimum in state courts. “We don’t see any large sentences for first-time offenders.”

10 years to life

The original federal indictments handed down in August 2006 threatened much harsher sentences than those that materialized. A conviction on the top count carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison.

The federal government’s mandatory minimum is not as mandatory as it sounds, though.

Marcia Murphy, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office, explained a “safety valve” clause is built into the law to allows a judge to go below the mandatory minimum. That way, if a defendant is a first-time offender or has a mild criminal history, the judge is not required to send him to prison for 10 years.

In general terms, federal judges are not known for their lenience. Prosecutors and defense attorneys alike note that federal convictions usually carry longer prison sentences and stiffer fines than convictions in state courts.

And unlike state prisons, where a prisoner may only have to serve half of a sentence because of abundant good time credits, Mr. Weathersbee said in federal prison “you really have to serve the time you are given.”

“There are no light sentences in federal court,” said defense attorney John Robinson III, who helped Derek Honeycutt, 26, of Glen Burnie, get 4 years 3 months on Wednesday for his mid-level involvement in the operation.

In the case of Honeycutt, Judge Blake said Wednesday his minimal criminal record - a couple of alcohol offenses - recent commitment to drug treatment and professional success as a mechanic went a long way in her decision to disregard the 10-year mandatory minimum he faced.

County Executive John R. Leopold said Judge Blake went too far.

“It points again to where judges use their discretion to undercut the legislators who draft the legislation and the police officers who enforce the law,” he said, arguing it breeds cynicism in the judicial system. “The magnitude of the drug seizure merited a stiffer penalty.”

The investigation

It’s unclear exactly what role each defendant held in the multi-million dollar operation.

The federal court file in the U.S. District Courthouse in Baltimore is littered with sealed documents. And when each defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced over the past year, most of the attorneys did their talking with the judge at the bench - out of earshot and not on the public record.

Still, charging documents filed in state court, a federal plea agreement, and county police search warrant affidavits reveal what detectives knew in 2006 about the operation.

Police actually were tipped to what was happening in February 2004 - after Mr. Burruss was shot in Glen Burnie during a drug deal gone bad. Police said he had a duffel bag containing $40,000 in cash that smelled like marijuana.

With the help of two confidential informants in April 2006, county police eventually learned Mr. Burruss was getting the drugs from Canada via Ohio; that Mr. Burruss would give large amounts to Bibeault; and that Bibeault would give about 30 pounds a week to Honeycutt.

After two months of intense surveillance, police on May 11, 2006 searched a Glen Burnie storage locker, the home Mr. Burruss and Elizabeth Mary Cullens, 26, shared in Reisterstown, and another home in Glen Burnie. Detectives seized several large duffel bags containing 684 pounds of marijuana, 30,200 Ecstasy pills and 3 kilograms of cocaine.

Alfred Milton Anderson, 33, of Glen Burnie, was at Mr. Burruss’ home at the time of the raid. He told police he stole five duffel bags of marijuana found in his car. He said he needed money to pay child support and planned to ask Mr. Burruss to help him sell the drugs.

Legacy

All five people were in jail the day after the bust. Over the months and years that followed, however, they posted bonds or were placed on house arrest.

That worked for everyone but Mr. Burruss.

According to court documents, Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Vicki J. Ballou-Watts cut Mr. Burruss’ bond June 13, 2006 from $1.5 million to $750,000. Mitchell Cohen of Lexington National Insurance posted the bond June 24, but Mr. Burruss never returned to court.

It’s unclear how much money Mr. Burruss lost in the deal. Representatives from the surety company and the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office didn’t return messages.

Mr. Rosenstein said Mr. Burruss is a fugitive. Capt. Tom Rzepkowski said detectives suspect he is in Canada - due to his past connections with that country.

While the sentences may not go down in history, police said the bust did leave a mark on the county.

During the months following the bust, police noticed it was harder to buy marijuana in Anne Arundel County.

“Detectives saw an increase in the price of marijuana and large amounts weren’t readily available for purchase,” Capt. Rzepkowski said. He added that dealers haven’t forgotten about it either.

“Informants and suspects still comment on the bust. Detectives find newspaper articles about the bust in residences when executing search warrants,” he said.