Jury Doody...part 1

Ok, so I just got a call from the court clerk that my fellow jurors reached a verdict of guilty on all three counts, so I can dish about the trial.

The defendant was charged with (1) Conspiracy to distribute cocaine; (2) Attempted distribution of cocaine; and (3) Distribution of cocaine. Here is the glossy overview of testimony and evidence:

On 9/16/08, the FBI intercepted the defendant's drug mule carrying 6 kilos of cocaine at Oakland International Airport. They had been monitoring her flight activity, since she was taking frequent trips to and from OAK to Philadelphia and not even staying more than 24 hours at a time. Allow me to back up and provide a timeline of that day, as based on phone calls and witness testimony (both the mule and the FBI agents).

The mule woke up around 3:30am, and from that time until the time she went through TSA security (at 5am), she was in contact with the defendant. On her way to the airport, she stopped by some hotel in Emeryville and dropped off 1 kilo to the defendant. Around 4:45am, she went to the Park and Call lot at the airport, and handed off the remaining 6 kilos of cocaine, in a black duffel, and her green roller bag to another guy who had a standby ticket on a different flight. At around the same time (5:05am), both she (the mule), and the guy she'd handed off her bag to went through 2 different security checkpoints at the airport. By this time, the guy with the mule's luggage has been in contact with a Southwest employee, and presumably, handed the cocaine over to said employee. This employee was on video entering the airport through the employee secure entrance wearing a humongous jacket, despite the testimony that it was a warm day. We see on video the guy with the luggage in the bathroom at the same time as the Southwest employee; we infer that they are transferring the cocaine from the jacket to the duffel bag at this point.

After both men exit the restroom, the man who had met the mule in the Park & Call met her again, in the cafe at the airport, and handed back her luggage to her. She then went to the bathroom and, again, we reasonably presume, transferred the cocaine from the duffel to her roller and her oversize Coach handbag. It was at this point that she went to her gate, and was intercepted by FBI agents.

Keep in mind, that during this entire time period the defendant was in phone contact with the man the mule met at the Park & Call and the mule herself, and the Park & Call guy was also in phone contact with the Southwest employee. The mule had already texted the defendant to say that everything was okay.

While in FBI custody, one agent took the mule's luggage and had it x-rayed and sniffed by a drug-sniffing dog. The x-ray showed 5 unusual square shapes in the roller bag and one in the Coach bag. At this point, when confronted with the mounting evidence, the mule agreed to cooperate and work with the FBI on the case. By this time, the mule had missed her original flight, and so ended up on a flight several hours later with 2 FBI agents.

Part 2 later....