Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 15, 1994 TAG: 9411150108
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
New York City's slippery sidewalks aided federal agents from Roanoke who traveled north in February to arrest Pedro "Pete" Jiminian, who federal prosecutors say supplied at least 33 pounds of cocaine to drug dealers in the Roanoke area.
Jiminian, 24, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court to helping set up a conspiracy to sell cocaine to dealers in Roanoke. He sometimes exchanged drugs for firearms that were purchased in Virginia; other sales were strictly for cash.
Tom Gallagher, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, testified Monday that Jiminian slipped up - literally - when federal agents tried to arrest him in February.
Gallagher said agents from the ATF and the Drug Enforcement Administration traveled to New York on Feb. 9 and arranged for an undercover informant to supply Jiminian with a machine gun in exchange for some cocaine.
After watching the deal - which took place at a fast-food restaurant in Harlem - federal agents moved in to arrest Jiminian and his partner, Felix Contreras.
That's when Jiminian stomped on the gas pedal of his car, narrowly missing the federal agents, who jumped out of the way.
The restaurant's only exit was blocked, so Jiminian steered the car onto the snow-covered sidewalk. He got only a few feet before losing control and slamming the car into a snow bank.
The two men were arrested but not before federal agents fired several warning shots after Contreras pulled out a gun.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Baer compared the arrest to a scene on a television police drama like "NYPD Blue."
"Had it not been for the snow, then they would have gotten away," he said. "I don't want to make the city of New York look bad, but thank God they didn't clear the sidewalks."
In addition to pleading guilty to the drug conspiracy, Jiminian pleaded guilty to conspiring to assault a federal officer, a charge returned by a federal grand jury in New York.
He faces 10 years to life in prison at his sentencing in January, and Baer told U.S. District Judge James Turk that the government plans to call at least a dozen witnesses to testify that Jiminian and Contreras were their main drug suppliers.
Contreras already has pleaded guilty to similar charges. He also faces a life sentence.
The arrest of the two New York men was part of the local Operation Roundball investigation, so named because many of the drug deals evolved from friendships made on basketball courts.
Baer said the investigation has resulted in nearly 50 drug convictions with sentences ranging from two years to life in prison.
by CNB