THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 22, 1996 TAG: 9610220242
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 86 lines
It was late 1994. Two men pulled up to a Norfolk warehouse in a Nissan 300ZX. One got out carrying a shoebox with nearly $100,000 in cash and handed it over to a New York man known only as ``Tyson.'' In return, he got a brown paper bag so packed with drugs it filled the car with the odor of crack cocaine.
The driver was Jeffry Hamm. The other man, the one who paid for and picked up the drugs, was Nathaniel ``Skeet'' Richardson, Hamm told a jury Monday in federal court.
Hamm's testimony kicked off the prosecution's case against Richardson, an accused drug kingpin who has come to symbolize a ``revolving door system'' of justice in Portsmouth.
Richardson's seeming immunity to state prosecution - he was arrested 25 times but convicted of a felony only once in Portsmouth courts - is one of the reasons federal agents were called into Hampton Roads' most violent city a year ago.
Now, he faces up to life infederal prison without parole if convicted. Two others charged with Richardson, Avery Lawton, 22, and Jermaine Golden, 25, also went on trial Monday. Four others pleaded guilty earlier.
Richardson, 25, is accused of operating a drug gang out of the Southside Gardens Apartments near Norfolk Naval Shipyard. He was arrested by federal agents in August.
On Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Tayman laid out what she called ``the box cover of the jigsaw puzzle,'' that would establish Richardson as the leader of a continuing drug conspiracy.
``These were men and women who grew up in Portsmouth who were enticed by the quick money from narcotics,'' Tayman said in her opening statements.
She said the gang grew from small amounts in 1992 to ``multiple kilos'' by 1994, primarily because of Richardson's alleged access to drug sources like ``Tyson.''
Richardson's attorney, Keith L. Kimball, countered that the jury would find pieces missing and promised he could establish reasonable doubt.
``Sometimes the absence of evidence tells us more than the evidence,'' Kimball said.
Kimball told the jury that witnesses like Hamm, who testified under a plea bargain that reduced his sentence in federal prison, were ``unworthy of your trust.''
Hamm, convicted of malicious wounding in a shooting when he was 17, began serving a federal sentence in January for possession of crack with intent to distribute.
He told the jury Monday he and one of Richardson's co-defendants, Jermaine Golden, served as lieutenants under Richardson. Hamm and Richardson were childhood friends in Portsmouth, he told the jury.
When Hamm got out of jail in 1992, he began to sell small amounts of drugs fronted by Richardson, he testified. The quarter-ounces became kilos as the lieutenants good-naturedly jockeyed to see who could turn their drugs the fastest.
But the trade could turn ugly fast, Hamm said. When those working with the gang failed to pay back the cash - about $28,000 per kilo - for drugs fronted, Richardson allegedly retaliated, Hamm testified.
When co-defendant Latanya Crawford - who pleaded guilty before the trial got under way - came out of a local mall laden with packages, Richardson allegedly confronted her, demanding his money, Hamm said. Later, Hamm testified, Richardson shot out the windows of Crawford's van and shot up the door to her apartment.
Defense attorneys told the jury prosecutors would not be able to establish where dealer profits went, but Hamm testified at least some of the cash went for high-priced cars.
In one case, Hamm testified, a local car dealer brokered the sale of an Acura. Richardson and the car owner were both allegedly carrying guns, Hamm said, and both laid their guns on the table in a room inside the dealership. He said Richardson handed over $44,500 cash in return for the car.
Monday, Richardson at times rolled his eyes as Hamm testified, particularly when defense attorneys tripped him up during cross-examination. But in earlier times, the two were good friends.
Among evidence presented Monday were a series of posed pictures of alleged members of the gang - including Hamm and Richardson - in better times as they partied at Portsmouth night clubs. ILLUSTRATION: Color Court drawing by Alba Bragoli
Nathaniel "Skeet" Richardson, 25, right, faces up to life without
parole if convicted of operating a drug gang. Jermaine Golden, 25,
left, and Avery Lawton, 22, also went on trial Monday.
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Map
Area Shown: Southside Gardens Apartments
KEYWORDS: DRUG GANG TRIAL COCAINE U.S. FEDERAL COURT
DRUG ARREST by CNB