Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 28, 1995 TAG: 9501300045
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Baer said Pedro C. Jiminian, 24, provided cocaine to about a dozen drug dealers in the Roanoke area.
Jiminian, who pleaded guilty to the drug conspiracy in November, faced up to life in prison.
U.S. District Judge James Turk, however, imposed the lightest sentence possible under federal sentencing guidelines after hearing Jiminian, and several of the drug dealer's family members, beg him for mercy.
``All I'm saying is, please give me a chance and don't let me lose my whole life,'' Jiminian said, adding that he has an 18-month-old son who needs a father.
Baer, who asked Turk to sentence Jiminian to at least 30 years in prison, urged the judge not to be swayed by the defendant's pleading.
``I just find this display of sentimental emotion disgusting,'' he said. ``This man was the one of the major suppliers to the Roanoke Valley.''
Several convicted drug dealers from Roanoke testified Friday that Jiminian had sold them cocaine.
Stephen Poindexter told Turk that whenever he needed cocaine to supply his drug business, he would call Jiminian and head to New York.
Once in the city, Poindexter told Turk, he would call Jiminian's pager number. He didn't leave a phone number; instead Poindexter would punch in the number of the street he stood on and the 703 area code.
``When [Jiminian] would see the 703 area code then he knew it was somebody from Roanoke, Virginia,'' Poindexter testified.
Poindexter said he made more than 60 trips to New York, where he would buy cocaine from Jiminian for about $18,000 a kilogram. Baer said Jiminian also sometimes exchanged drugs for firearms that were purchased in Virginia.
It has been nearly a year since slippery sidewalks in New York helped federal agents arrest Jiminian.
The agents traveled to New York on Feb. 9 and arranged for an undercover informant to supply Jiminian with a machine gun in exchange for 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.
In an effort to escape, Jiminian stomped on the gas pedal of his car, narrowly missing the agents. The restaurant's only driveway was blocked, so Jiminian steered his car onto the snow-covered sidewalk.
He got only a few feet before losing control and slamming the car into a snow bank.
``Had it not been for the snow, then they would have gotten away,'' Baer said after the arrest.
by CNB