The Defendant was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. The Defendant was arrested by the DEA in a narcotics transaction of 500 grams of actual methamphetamine (crystal meth). Based on the amount of drugs involved the defendant was looking at a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison. The Defendant, clearly not wanting to spend the next ten years of her life in prison hired experienced Chicago Criminal Defense Lawyer Michael P. Schmiege. SV had a very tough case – she was caught on video and audio tapes, was implicated by her co-offenders and had given a handwritten statement confessing to her involvement in the case.
Chicago Drug Lawyer Michael Schmiege negotiated with the government and convinced them that the Defendant meet the Safety-Valve criteria of §5C1.2(1-5) which includes: 1) defendant has no more than one criminal history point; 2) defendant made no threats of violence, nor did she possess a firearm or dangerous weapon at any time in connection with the instant offense; 3) defendant’s involvement in the instant offense did not result in death or serious bodily injury to any person; 4) defendant did not act as an organizer, leader or manager or supervisor of others within the meaning of §3B1.1 during her involvement in the instant offense, nor was she involved in a continuing criminal enterprise; and 5) defendant provided the government with a truthful account of any and all information and evidence concerning the instant offense. The Defendant should have been subject to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years. However, because of the above-mentioned -safety valve provision, the Defendant was able to be sentenced without regard to any statutory minimum sentence.
Contact an experienced Chicago Criminal Lawyer if you or someone you loved has been charged with a federal drug crime and needs assistance with the federal sentencing guidelines.