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Three plead guilty in heroin ring
CLEVELAND
Three defendants pleaded guilty Monday morning in a federal heroin-trafficking case; and a jury trial began that day for a fourth defendant.
Vincent D. Moorer, 31, of Lithonia, Ga., who was accused of leading an effort to run heroin from Georgia to Youngstown from January 2013 until last fall, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and conspiracy to launder money.
Pleading guilty to the same charges were his co-defendants, Keyonia M. Moorer and Charity A. Cousin.
All are set for July sentencings by U.S. District Court Judge James S. Gwin.
Another defendant, Jabbar D. Spires, who withdrew his earlier guilty plea, went on trial on charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin and using a telephone to facilitate drug trafficking.
Vincent Moorer’s plea followed Judge Gwin’s denial last week of his motion to exclude results of wiretaps and an Oct. 12, 2014, traffic stop from evidence.
Last Oct. 12, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents followed Vincent Moorer, who was a passenger in a car, from a home on Bouquet Avenue to a drugstore, a restaurant and a home on Southern Boulevard before state troopers pulled the car over on Interstate 80, saying it had excessive window tint and had been following another vehicle too closely.
The defense complained that there was no valid reason for the traffic stop and that Moorer was detained unnecessarily and for too long.
Prosecutors said the stop was justified because, based on earlier wiretaps of Moorer and others, authorities had reason to believe heroin might have been in the car.
Although they conceded the four-hour detention after the traffic stop was excessive, prosecutors said it occurred because troopers were trying to find drugs in the car based on the smell of marijuana inside it.
Authorities found a small piece of a marijuana cigarette, jewelry, $20,000 in cash and a .40-caliber bullet in the car.
The case is being prosecuted by Youngstown-based assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Toepfer and Jason Matthew Katz and the Cleveland-based assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Tripi.