THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 3, 1995 TAG: 9502030563
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOE JACKSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
Two alleged leaders of a major Portsmouth heroin ring had their sentences slashed from life without parole to 17 years Thursday because federal agents secretly let a key informant have sex in federal offices in exchange for his cooperation.
Fernando C. Blow and Garry Copeland were the latest in a series of co-defendants to see their sentences reduced in U.S. District Court because of constitutional violations in their trials. On Jan. 11, the life sentence of Marvin A. Pointer was reduced to 12 1/2 years, and the 30-year sentence of co-defendant Tyrone Staton was reduced to 12 years.
All four men have already served four to 4 1/2 years in federal prison.
Federal authorities have admitted in court documents that in 1990, drug supplier Gary Weathers was allowed to have sex with his wife, Cynlithia, several times in federal offices. Twins were conceived during one of the trysts, records show.
Weathers, a drug wholesaler who supplied the Portsmouth gang, was a prisoner when thevisits occurred. In June 1989 he was sentenced to 25 years without parole. But later that year he agreed to cooperate with the government, and authorities testified that his help was essential in cracking the gang and convicting gang members.
In exchange for his help, Weathers' sentence was reduced to 14 years. The government has also admitted that he was allowed the sexual visits.
Cynlithia Weathers said in an affidavit that the visits occurred in FBI offices. However, FBI officials have said the visits occurred in the Norfolk offices of the Drug Enforcement Administration, located in the same building on Granby Street. Weathers also had sex with a girlfriend in the office, federal authorities acknowledged.
A Justice Department investigation is continuing.
The trysts were not revealed until October, when Pointer - sentenced largely because of Weathers' testimony - filed an appeal asking for a new trial on the grounds that federal prosecutors and FBI agents violated his right to a fair trial. The credibility of both Weathers and James Watters, the lead FBI agent in the case, was a main issue cited in the defenses of the alleged gang members.
Three other men whose convictions also hinged on Weathers' testimony will receive new trials or new sentencing hearings because of the secret deal. They are Samuel Collins Jr., sentenced to life, who was called one of the largest drug suppliers on the East Coast; Bruce E. Boone Sr., sentenced to life, whom a federal judge called one of the biggest drug dealers in Portsmouth; and William K. Banks, sentenced to 25 years, dubbed a co-conspirator by federal prosecutors.
Their court dates have not been set.
``This is a very unusual procedure,'' U.S. Judge Robert Doumar told Blow and Copeland during Thursday's hearing. ``It doesn't happen every day, and I hope it doesn't happen again.''
The seven men who have received reduced sentences or who are awaiting court action were allegedly part of a $20 million drug ring that smuggled narcotics from Northeastern cities to Hampton Roads from 1984 to 1990. During that period, police believed Portsmouth was responsible for about 90 percent of the area's heroin sales.
In 1990 and 1991, eleven alleged members - including these seven - were convicted of charges including conspiracy to distribute drugs, possession of drugs with intent to distribute, interstate transportation in aid of racketeering, and threats against witnesses. Their sentences ranged from three years in prison to life without parole.
Prosecutors called Copeland the first lieutenant of Samuel Collins, the gang's supplier. During his 1991 sentencing, Copeland claimed that fears for his and his family's lives kept him dealing drugs long after he wanted out.
Blow was called one of the gang leaders. Blow maintained during his trial that he sold only powder cocaine, not heroin or crack. He said Thursday that he was never involved in a conspiracy and did not know his co-defendants.
``A man told me when I left this courtroom (in 1991) to hang in there, and I hung in there,'' Blow told Doumar before he was sentenced. ``I prayed every day. I never gave up.'' ILLUSTRATION: Drawing
ALBA BRAGOLI
Fernando C. Blow and Garry Copeland had their sentences reduced from
life without parole to 17 years. Both have already served 4 1/2
years in prison.
KEYWORDS: DRUG ARRESTS DRUG KINGPINS TRIAL
SENTENCING SEX FOR TESTIMONY by CNB