Late last month, President Obama commuted the sentences of 111 more prisoners, all of whom were convicted of drug crimes. This round brought his total number of commutations to 673. White House counsel Neil Eggleston wrote, “We must remember that these are individuals – sons, daughters, parents, and in many cases, grandparents – who have taken steps toward rehabilitation and who have earned their second chance.”. All of these individuals were convicted of various drug crimes and were described as “non-violent” (Byron Tau, Wall Street Journal, 8/30/16).
The conviction of 13 of these ‘non-violent’ offenders included at least one firearm charge. Here’s a summary:
- Sly Stallone Aikens (no, really!), convicted of knowingly using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to, and possessing the firearm in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crime (2 counts), sentenced to 360 months imprisonment (amended to 235 months) and 5 years supervised release;
- Alfonso Allen, convicted of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; distribution of cocaine base (2 counts); possession with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, and marijuana; possession of a short barreled shotgun in furtherance of a felony drug offense; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession of a an unregistered short barreled shotgun, sentenced to life plus 10 years;
- Brian Allen Altman, convicted of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (2 counts), sentenced to 420 months imprisonment and 8 year’s supervised release;
- Derrick Lewis Bynum, convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances; use of a communications device to facilitate narcotics trafficking (3 counts); possession with intent to distribute controlled substances (2 counts); possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, sentenced to 300 months imprisonment and 10 year’s supervised release;
- Fred Charles, Jr., convicted of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams of cocaine; use of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, sentenced to 248 months imprisonment and 5 years supervised release;
- Darryl Dewayne Edwards, convicted of attempt to manufacture 50 grams or more of cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; possession of a firearm by a felon, sentenced to life imprisonment;
- Mark Foster, convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; carrying or possessing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, sentenced to life plus 60 months imprisonment,
- Orfil Javier Garza, convicted of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute; carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense, sentenced to 180 months imprisonment and 5 years supervised release;
- Ali Reno Harden, convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession of a firearm having an obliterated serial number; possession with intent to distribute more than five grams of cocaine base; possession of a firearm during the commission of a drug trafficking crime; possession of marijuana, sentenced to 180 months imprisonment, 8 years supervised release, and $5000 fine;
- Ronnie Lorenzo Hardy, convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; principal to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; unlawful possession of a firearm; possession of a firearm during a felony drug offense, sentenced to life plus 60 months imprisonment;
- Derrick Waller, supervised release violation (possession of an unregistered firearm and distribution of cocaine); possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (crack), sentenced to 224 months imprisonment plus 45 months from previous charge;
- Richard Van Winrow, convicted of possession with intent to distribute a narcotic drug contolled substance; felon in possession of a firearm, sentenced to life imprisonment.
Forgive the amount of information presented above, but I wanted you to have a sense of why these folks are in jail to start with. I thought it would be interesting to see what I could find about these cases and see how the gun was involved. I was able to find a little more on three of them and I think they warrant further discussion. It was suprisingly difficult to find anything about their actual cases. I was looking mostly for local media reports, but those were few and far between. I think these three are pretty representative of the type, however.
Walter Breland of Statesville, North Carolina, was arrested on October 31, 2001. An informant had notified officers that were conducting surveillance of a known drug distribution house in Evansville, Indiana, that a man was standing on the porch of the house selling cocaine. When officers approached Breland, he “immediately ran from the porch area of the residence, across the street and between some houses, where he hid behind a large bush. When Officer Luecke began to pursue Breland, he rose, tossed a plastic bag containing cocaine over a fence, and charged Officer Luecke brandishing a firearm. Officer Luecke struck Breland with a flashlight, which caused Breland to drop the gun, but Breland continued to run from the police. He was caught and arrested minutes later by other officers who conducted a search incident to the arrest and found $2,000” (http://www.allcourtdata.com/law/case/united-states-v-walter-breland-katrel-thomas-and-andre-vaughn/cBbx4nd?page=1).
Darryl Dewayne Edwards (aka David Devon Wilson) of Port Author, Texas was arrested after a federal search warrant was executed at his home, where crack, a large amount of cocaine, implements to cook crack, and a gun were recovered. This was his third such arrest, which mandated a life sentence (http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/new/article/Drug-gun-charges-put-Port-Author-man-in-jail-for-765320.php).
Orfil Javier Garza of Pacoima, California, was arrested in Kearnes, Utah, along with two others, including a 15 year old juvenile. The arrest came as a result of a long term drug trafficking investigation. The arrests resulted in the seizure of $500,000, 1.5 pounds of meth, 4 weapons, and 8 ‘high-value’ vehicles. https://www.dea.gov/pubs/states/newsrel/denver120707.html
Others of note include Ali Reno Harden, who was arrested in possession of a firearm from which the serial number had been removed. Then there’s Derrick Waller, who was on supervised release for a previous offense when he was arrested in possession of an unregistered firearm and for distribution of cocaine.
Lets consider, now, how many times have we heard Obama and his leftist compatriots call for more gun laws or tougher gun laws? After every shooting that makes the news, one or all of them is on TV before the bodies are cold decrying how easy it is to get a gun, how there are too many guns, how there are guns out there that no one should own. Here is a small sample of 13 criminals who are in custody partly because they committed a crime that involved a firearm. If he really wants to reduce gun crime, how does it make sense to put these people back on the streets earlier than a jury of their peers called for? None of these people has any business having their sentence reduced. They were peddling poison, possibly to your friends, family, or neighbors. They were armed for a reason, likely to protect themselves from people even worse than them!
No, Obama and his minions have no real interest in public safety, only in pushing their ill-conceived and unconstitutional agenda. That’s why he continues to talk out of both sides of his mouth.