United States v. Austin, No. 14-3135 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseIn 2008, defendant Jason Austin was the leader of a street-level, retail drug-trafficking operation. Austin received drugs from suppliers and sold the drugs to users, with the help of many others. Money was passed up a chain of “managers” or “bundle runners,” who in exchange distributed drugs to “pack workers” for sales. Drug proceeds were then finally passed from the managers up to Austin. Off-duty Chicago Police Detective Robert Soto and Kathryn Romberg were shot and killed while sitting in Soto’s car on the west side of Chicago. The investigation into their murders focused on Austin and his operation. The murder case against Austin was ultimately dismissed. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Chicago Police Department then began what became a two-year investigation into Austin and his operation. The investigation included numerous undercover drug purchases, extensive surveillance, and interviews with informants and coconspirators. At the end of the investigation in November 2010, over 100 people were arrested. Austin was indicted on federal charges relating to his role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy, particularly for his participation from January 2008 through June 2010. A jury found Austin guilty of five counts of drug distribution and one count of conspiracy to distribute, but only for an amount of less than 100 grams of heroin. He appealed only his sentence, challenging the quantity of drugs attributable to him and the court’s finding that he played a leading role in the organization. In particular, he argued that a key witness has been so thoroughly discredited by alleged misstatements and contradictions that it was error for the court to credit his testimony at least in part. After review, the Seventh Circuit disagreed, and affirmed Austin’s sentence.
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