Mississippi Man Gets Ten Years For Cocaine Possession

Tyler Morning-Telegraph ^ | 02.20.04

[Cathryn Crawford]

A Mississippi man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday for possessing a kilogram of cocaine. Frederick Wilkins, 24, was sentenced by a jury after five hours of deliberation. He was found guilty Thursday of aggravated possession of a controlled substance.

Wilkins' half-brother, Berdell Willis, was found guilty of the same charge this week and was sentenced to 40 years in prison by a jury.

Assistant Smith County District Attorney Brett Harrison said Willis, 31, rented a car and drove to Dallas, where he stayed a day before heading back to Greenville, Miss., with Wilkins as his passenger. On his way back home on July 16, 2003, he was stopped for a traffic violation on Interstate 20 by Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Wayne Hellen.

A K-9 unit was called in and Hellen searched the vehicle after dogs detected the cocaine.

Harrison said the trooper found 1 kilogram of the powdered drug underneath the passenger's seat.

Assistant Smith County District Attorney Joe Murphy also prosecuted the cases in Judge Cynthia Kent's 114th District Court. Defense attorney Guy Conine represented Willis, while Clifton Roberson is defending Wilkins.

[Cathryn Crawford]

A Mississippi man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday for possessing a kilogram of cocaine. Frederick Wilkins, 24, was sentenced by a jury after five hours of deliberation. He was found guilty Thursday of aggravated possession of a controlled substance.

Wilkins' half-brother, Berdell Willis, was found guilty of the same charge this week and was sentenced to 40 years in prison by a jury.

Interesting.

[HiTech RedNeck]

2.2 pounds of it. That would take awhile to snort.

[Scenic Sounds]

Forty years for a kilo. That's just a little over two weeks per gram, Cathryn - a mere slap on the wrist.

When are y'all gonna crack down on your dope problem down there? ;-)

[Cathryn Crawford]

I think we do a half-way decent job of cracking down, wouldn't you say? We don't tolerate no drugs here! Now, if you're 14 and want to by a case of beer - no problem. LOL

[coloradan]

"Aggravated possession" sounds like "aggravated sitting in a rocking chair."

[Abcdefg]

Or to shoot up.
How dumb is that? People actually buy street drugs from street thugs and put it directly into their bloodstream.
Too dumb to live.

[Scenic Sounds]

I think we do a half-way decent job of cracking down, wouldn't you say? We don't tolerate no drugs here!

Well, I come from a state that's now broke and our new governor is going to have to release some of our prisoners a little earlier than expected. Down in Texas, though, y'all can still afford to just raise taxes to pay for appropriate sentences. When this guy gets out in forty years, he's just gonna go back to doing the same thing all over again. Why not give him 400 years?

[WKB]

A "This anybody you know or kin to Mississippi ping"

[SuziQ]

Driving in to Mi-ssi-ssi-ppi,
bringing in a couple of 'kees'
Don't check my car, if you please, Texas Ranger man.

With apologies to Arlo ;o)

[LadyDoc]

one kg means he is a pusher. but since they didn't catch him selling, you can't prosecute him for pushing.

This is not "simple possession"...

and one wonders how many other crimes he committed but wasn't caught.

[G.Mason]

2.2lbs?

Hmmmm ....... I wonder how many kids he could have sold that to?

[Jonathon Spectre]

A Mississippi man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday for possessing a kilogram of cocaine.

Another life destroyed by the War on (Some) Drugs.

[oldironsides]

One coke seller gets 10 years and another gets to visit his "bro" in the whitehouse.

[Smogger]

10 years? 40 years? for a white collar crime?

Gee I wonder if 40 years in the pokey locked up next to violent criminals will reform them? Or if they will get out in 10 years violent and angry, not giving a @#$#@ and looking for some "payback"... I would guess the latter.

[xrp]

Just another example of the state thinking it owns the individual.

[thoughtomator]

How exactly can you possess something in an "aggravated" manner? "It's mine, and I'm ornery about it!"?

[Super Mak90kid]

The 24 year old will get out in 10 years. Therefor he will have the option of still leading a productive life, or going back to a life of crime and still being dangerous at 34.

Now the other guy is another story. He's 31 now, so when he gets out in 40 he'll be 71. Way too late to start a normal life and too old to be an effective criminal. If he's even alive at all by the time he gets out. I know a Kilo is allot of dope but the punishment just doesn't seem to fit the crime in his case.

[NerdDad]

You talk like you expect them to serve their entire sentence. It would be a shock if they serve a tenth. That's ages 25 and 35.

[Mr. Mojo]

How exactly can you possess something in an "aggravated" manner?

lol....yep, the same thought crossed my mind.

Meanwhile violent crimminals - child molestors, rapists, etc - will spend a fraction of the time in jail that these two dope dealers are going to get. The system is not only messed up, it's backwards.

[wtc911]

How is cocaine trafficking a white collar crime?