United States v. Moore
| Decision Date | 19 July 2022 |
| Docket Number | CRIMINAL ELH-04-190 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JAMES MOORE, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
This Memorandum Opinion resolves a motion for compassionate release filed by defendant James Moore, pursuant to 18 U.S.C § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). In April 2007, a jury in the District of Maryland found Moore guilty of five charges conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (Count One); conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(o) (Count Two); and three counts relating to the discharge or possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (Counts Three, Four, and Seven). ECF 135. At sentencing in July 2007, pursuant to §§ 2D1.1(d)(1) and 2K2.1(c)(1) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines” or “U.S.S.G.”), Judge Andre M. Davis applied the murder cross-reference under U.S.S.G. § 2A1.1(a) and sentenced Moore to a total term of life imprisonment plus 35 years. ECF 142; ECF 301, ¶ 26.[1]
Moore initially filed a pro se motion for compassionate release (ECF 277), supported by exhibits. ECF 277-1. Counsel was subsequently appointed to represent Moore. ECF 283. Through counsel, Moore filed a supplemental motion for compassionate release (ECF 285), which is supported by exhibits. ECF 288. Moore's attorney also filed two additional supplements with exhibits. ECF 299; ECF 300. I shall refer to ECF 277, ECF 285, ECF 299, and ECF 300 collectively as the “Motion.”
The government opposes the Motion (ECF 296, the “Opposition”), supported by exhibits. ECF 296-1. And, Moore has replied. ECF 298 (the “Reply”).
No hearing is necessary to resolve the Motion. For the reasons that follow, I shall grant the Motion in part and reduce Moore's sentence to 40 years of imprisonment.
Moore and codefendant Porsha Harper were charged with various drug and firearms offenses in an Indictment issued on April 7, 2004. ECF 1. Superseding indictments were returned on August 11, 2004, September 1, 2004, and April 6, 2006. See ECF 10; ECF 24; ECF 106. The First Superseding Indictment added Walter Babb as a codefendant. ECF 10. The Third Superseding Indictment charged Moore and Babb with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 50 grams or more of crack cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (Count One); conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(o) (Count Two); two counts of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (); two counts of use of a firearm to commit murder in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(j) (Counts Five and Six); and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (Count Seven).
Judge Davis resolved a number of pretrial motions filed by Moore and Babb. See ECF 87 to ECF 101 (motions); ECF 107; Docket, Sept. 15, 2006; Docket, Apr. 2, 2007. In addition, on September 8, 2006, the government filed a sentencing enhancement notice for Babb under 21 U.S.C. § 851, stating that Babb had five prior felony drug offenses. ECF 117.
Babb and Moore proceeded to a jury trial that began on April 2, 2007. See Docket.[3] The following summary of the facts is drawn primarily from the government's submission for Moore's Presentence Report (“PSR”). ECF 301.[4] The submission was based on the evidence presented at trial. Id. ¶¶ 6-18.
From at least 2002 through 2004, Moore was part of a drug trafficking organization that distributed large quantities of powder cocaine and cocaine base in Maryland. Id. ¶¶ 17-18. The evidence showed that during the course of the conspiracy, Babb purchased and distributed well over 1.5 kilograms of crack cocaine. Id. ¶ 17. For example, for a several month period from late 2002 to early 2003, Babb bought and distributed one-half kilogram of crack cocaine a week from his source of supply, Richard Jackson. Id. And, in the spring of 2002 until the fall of 2002, Babb bought nine ounces of crack cocaine per week from Jackson. Id.
In July of 2003, Moore received at least 30 grams of crack cocaine from associate Willie Robinson. Id. ¶ 18. And, in 2004 he facilitated the delivery of some 200 grams of crack cocaine, and later two ounces of mixed crack and powder cocaine, to an associate, while he was held in the Cecil County Detention Center. ECF 301, ¶ 18.
During the conspiracy, Moore also traveled to El Paso, Texas to broker high-volume cocaine purchases. Id. In September 2003, Moore travelled to El Paso in an unsuccessful attempt to buy a kilogram of cocaine. Id. And, in “late September/October 2003,” Moore, along with Babb, Robinson, and associate Alexandria Withers, again travelled to El Paso. Id. Moore was to “act as the middle-man for a multi-kilo cocaine transaction” between Robinson and an El Paso source of supply, Rey Sanchez. Id. Babb returned from the trip with a quantity of crack cocaine, although the exact amount is unknown. Id. According to several witnesses, half the deal was done in El Paso and the other half of the deal was to be completed on November 5, 2003, in Greensboro, North Carolina, where Babb lived, at a meeting to which Robinson brought at least $100,000. Id. ¶¶ 10, 18; ECF 271 (Babb PSR), ¶¶ 10, 28. Apparently, Moore and Robinson had a monetary dispute. ECF 182-1 at 9.
On November 6, 2003, Maryland State Trooper James Cameron stopped a Dodge Intrepid for speeding, while the vehicle was traveling northbound on Interstate 95 in Cecil County. ECF 301, ¶ 7. At the time, Moore was driving and Harper was in the passenger seat. Id. The Intrepid was registered to Barbara Hayes, the mother of Robinson's son, who testified that she gave the car to Robinson in September of 2003. Id. ¶ 11. During the traffic stop, Moore stated that he did not have a driver's license; that his name was “James Evans;”[5] and that he was traveling from South Carolina to New York. Id. ¶ 7. Trooper Cameron patted Moore down after noticing a bulge in one of his pockets, and he discovered approximately $1,000 in Moore's pocket. ECF 197 at 4. The officer was suspicious because of the cash; discrepancies in statements by Moore and Harper regarding Moore's name, their destination, and ownership of the Intrepid; and he noted that the rear end of the vehicle was unusually low. ECF 197 at 4; ECF 301, ¶ 8. The trooper called for backup, and two additional officers responded. ECF 197 at 4.
Trooper Cameron continued to speak with Harper, who appeared shaken. Id. Trooper Cameron commented on the unusually low rear end of the vehicle. Harper then asked the trooper if he wanted to look in the trunk. Id.; ECF 301, ¶ 8. The officer answered in the affirmative. ECF 197 at 4. Harper opened the trunk, revealing two corpses. Id.; ECF 301, ¶ 8. The bodies were later identified as those of Robinson and Withers. ECF 301, ¶ 9. Subsequent autopsies and firearm examinations revealed that Withers had been shot nine times with a 9mm pistol, probably a Glock, and that Robinson had been shot five times, most likely with the same gun. Id. Both had been shot in the head, and several of the injuries were at very close range. Id.
Each body was wrapped in bedding, garbage bags, and a shower curtain liner. Id. ¶ 13. The bedding and shower liner were identified at trial as having come from Babb's residence in North Carolina. Id. Moore's fingerprints were recovered from the bags wrapped around the bodies, as well as a separate trash bag recovered from the trunk. Id.
Moore and Harper were both arrested at the scene. Id. ¶ 8. In a post-arrest statement to a trooper, Moore stated that he was a drug dealer, and that he transported “coke and ‘weed'” from El Paso to New York for an El Paso drug dealer. Id. He admitted that he had fired a handgun and several other firearms recently, while in South Carolina. Id. He stated that he had over $100,000 in a green backpack in the Intrepid, to be used to pay for cocaine in New York, and that he had been given both the money and the Intrepid by “people in North Carolina.” Id. He gave varying accounts of how he had met Harper, and did not mention Babb. Id. He denied knowing that the bodies were in the trunk, stating that he had never looked in the trunk, never used the car before, and that it was not his car. ECF 301, ¶ 8.
The green backpack was recovered from the Intrepid. Id. ¶ 16. It had belonged to Devin Bush, a son of Davita Bush, with whom Moore had lived until September 2003 in Andrews, South Carolina. Id. It contained $100,380 in cash, most of it bundled in money wrappers. Id. Robinson's fingerprints were found on two of these money wrappers. Id. And, Moore's fingerprints were found on one of the money wrappers. Id. The backpack also contained a leopard head pendant identified as belonging to Withers. Id. According to the government, the money found in the backpack was the money brought by Robinson to the meeting in Greensboro on November 5, 2003, to complete the drug deal. Id. ¶ 18.
Other items were recovered from the Intrepid or Moore's person. The sum of $1,500 was recovered from Moore's left pocket and $767 was found in his right pocket; a five-dollar bill was found in his right pocket that had a blood stain from which Robinson's DNA was recovered. Id. ¶ 12. Another garbage bag was recovered from the trunk containing clothing of the victims, including a baseball hat...
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