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General Appeal – Plea Agreements

By: Derek Hawkins//November 23, 2016//

General Appeal – Plea Agreements

By: Derek Hawkins//November 23, 2016//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Robert Cardena, Tony Sparkman, Jorge Uriarte, Hecotr Uriarte and Glenn Lewellen

Case No.: 12-3680; 12-3683; 12-3747; 13-1374; 23-2321

Officials: KANNE, ROVNER, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: General Appeal – Plea Agreements

Chicago Police Department officer Glenn Lewellen arrested drug dealer Saul Rodriguez in 1996 and eventually turned him into an informant. By 1998, the two had established a more lucrative arrangement: Rodriguez would collect information about local drug dealers, and then Lewellen would make a seemingly legitimate detention of the dealers and rob them of their drugs and money. Over the next several years, Rodriguez and Defendant Lewellen ran a successful criminal enterprise, bringing in at least thirteen more participants, including Defendants Hector Uriarte (“Hector”), Jorge Uriarte (“Jorge”), Tony Sparkman, and Robert Cardena. Robbing drug dealers eventually escalated into kidnapping them for ransom money or even murdering them for money and drugs.

Although several of the members arranged plea agreements, six of the organization’s members were tried, and five were convicted. They appealed, challenging various aspects of their convictions, and we affirm. In addition, Defendants Hector, Jorge, and Sparkman challenge their sentences. We vacate those sentences and remand for resentencing in light of Alleyne v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2151 (2013).

Affirmed in part

Vacated and remanded in part

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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