Nine-thirty arrived and the courtroom deputy asked if all parties involved were prepared to proceed. Everyone was and the courtroom deputy picked up his phone and contacted the judge.
“I’m not ready,” Andre yelled out to the deputy. The Secret Service agent immediately became alert and the other deputies approached the table.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Kareem whispered.
“Are you kidding, Andre?” Greenburg asked and frowned. “You cannot have an outburst like that. Do you want to watch your trial from a TV monitor?”
“Yes,” said the Secret Service Agent. “Because the next time you have that sort of outburst, I assure you that you will be out of here, and for good.”
“We’ll take care of this,” Greenburg said.
“We’re not taking care of shit!” Andre yelled.
“Let’s go. Stand up and cuff up,” the Secret Service Agent said. “We’re not having this.”
“Neither am I. I wanna go back into the cells and speak with my lawyer,” Andre said as he was walked through the courtroom and taken behind a door.
“Um, Greenburg,” Barnswell said across the room. “We’re not having a mistrial here at all.”
“No one asked you to submit to one,” Greenburg said and then tapped Ravonne to join him in a corner of the courtroom.
CHAPTER 51
“What the hell is going on here?” Ravonne said through his teeth. “Tell me that you are in on this?”
“I am not, and I resent the accusation. He seems to think that he should not be on trial because the federal court is not real. All of a sudden, he thinks that the criminal laws were not enacted into law because the Congress was not in session when they were written.”
“Well, of course you explained that that was impossible. This is nonsense.”
“Actually, there is a little case law and material to support his claim, but no court has honored it.”
“Whaaaaat? Am I missing something here?” Ravonne was confused.
“No, this is absurd. There are some radicals who seem to think that we as people are not subject to criminal laws and we can write a check to pay our way out of going to jail. I can point you to research on this, but it’s a waste. This theory has been rejected on all federal levels. There have been inmates that have brought law suits against judges and prosecutors and sometimes even had liens placed against them for outrageous amounts in the billions. And these assholes are so smart that they know that it is very, and I mean very, difficult to get them lifted.”
“Well, do you blame them? They have nothing but time on their hands, so hey let’s file false liens on the people that prosecuted us.”
“That’s not the end of it. If there is a lien placed on the judge, then there lies some prejudice. How could the judge rule on any post-trial motions if the defendant has a lien on them?”
“They can’t.”
“They shouldn’t, but they do.”
“So what’s happening with Andre here?”
“He wants to call into question the federal court and file a lien against the judge and Barnswell. I absolutely refuse to get involved here. There was a big sting in the FDC and they locked nearly 30 inmates who possessed any material in the SHU . They then banned the material from coming in, but you know inmates, they get everything that they want someway somehow. I am not playing this game, but he has threatened to fire me and represent himself.”
“He’s not competent, so that’s not going to happen. The judge would not grant his request.”
“And he knows that, but I have surmised that he wants to preserve the record for appellate review. He wants to get that denial and then use it as grounds to get back.”
“I see. What I am thinking is that the judge will rule that he is not mentally ill and the motion to change plea will be denied. So when the Judge denies his request to represent himself, he won’t really have a reason too. But in the end, he’s hoping that the appeals court rules that he should have given him a chance to present evidence that he was mentally insane, and since he didn’t, how could he rule against him in representing himself?”
“This all imaginative. Pure fiction and I am at wits end with this. Can you have Kareem talk to him? He listens to him. This is just not going to happen the way he wants. If he plays with fire and gets convicted, it’s going to be a wrap, Lemmelle. There is nothing that he will be able to do, as I am going to give this my all and avoid many of the ineffective counsel grounds that he could potentially take advantage of.”
“Well do your job. I am going to run this by Kareem. In the meantime...”
“All rise,” the courtroom deputy said. “The Honorable George E. K. Martin presiding.”
CHAPTER 52
Judge Martin took his seat on the bench and a wave of confusion consumed him. Neither defense attorney was at the table, nor was one of the defendants.
“Let’s start with the defense. What’s going on?”
Ravonne and Greenburg looked at the judge perplexed.
“Either one of you,” the judge added.
Ravonne took his seat at the table and immediately began whispering to Kareem.
Greenburg approached the podium in the middle of the courtroom and smiled at the judge. “Your Honor, good morning.”
“I don’t know about good, but hello.”
“Your Honor, my client Mr. Andre Bezel had an outburst a moment ago and had to be removed from the courtroom.” He paused as he had to tread lightly and not violate attorney-client privilege.
“Do you have a motion?” the Judge asked and grabbed the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. He was attempting to bail the defense attorney out by asking that question. He often did that. It forced attorneys to formulate an oral motion to rectify the problem and preserve their appeals right to the issue, if it’s overruled.
“No motion Your Honor. I am going to request five minutes to chat with my client and ask that the Court remind Mr. Bezel that he cannot make outbursts in the courtroom.”
“Very well. Any opposition from the government?”
“No, Your Honor.”
“Let’s take a five-minute break and remind the defendant that courtroom outbursts will not be tolerated.” He smiled.
Greenburg walked back to the table and leaned to whisper to Ravonne. He said, “Come with me too chat with Andre. He may be persuaded by you to behave.”
“Sure, I can do that. That’ll cost you three hundred dollars.” Ravonne said and smiled. He stood and followed Greenburg to the prisoner holding tank.
* * *
The Marshals were thick in the courtroom when Andre was ushered back to his chair. The judge had ordered that he remain handcuffed. His blazer was placed over his hands so that the jury could not see the handcuffs. The Judge had also admonished the defense as a whole for Andre’s outburst. It was made clear that Andre would be tried in absentia and defense counsel would be fined if there was another Andre courtroom outburst.
“Now that that business is over, we have the issue of change of plea, a defense motion that was submitted and objected to by the government. I am going to deny that motion to present evidence proving that the defendant Andre Bezel is insane and was under duress while committing these alleged crimes. The defense trial brief submitted to the Court one week prior to the commencement of trial thoroughly outlined that the primary defense was to counter the government’s case by presenting evidence that alleges that the defendant’s actions were coerced by a chief government witness. The defense is not and simply cannot now seek to prolong trial and violate speedy trial laws in an effort to unearth facts that may or may not add to the evidence already in possession of the defense. I am going to deny this motion and primarily because of the timing. Defense counsel had over a year to find a trial defense and the one propose here should have been up at the top of the menu.
So we have a trial to begin. I’d like to remind everyone that this is a court of law, and it shall be treated as such. We all know the rul
es and I just want all officers of the court to assure that this train runs smoothly down the track.”
“Yes, Your Honor,” all of the attorneys said in unison.
“Very well. I’ll have my deputy bring in the jury and the government can deliver their opening statement.”
“Your Honor, I’d just like to ask that the defense change of plea motion be marked as sealed as far as the trial goes. It, in a way, admits guilt and I am motioning that this motion not come up during trial.”
“Barnswell?”
“No objection, Your Honor with the exception of the defendants taking the stand.”
“The Court will grant that motion with the caveat that if the defendant Andre Bezel only takes the stand and testifies to any facts contrary to what was admitted to in the motion only, the motion may be introduced to impeach the defendant, but not solely because he takes the stand.” The judge looked at the prosecutor and asked, “Clear?”
“Yes sir.”
“Perfect. Let’s get the jury in here and you can present your opening statement.”
CHAPTER 53
Richard Barnswell’s opening statement was being served up as a fantasy tale being put on for a theater club membership audition at a local high school. He was textbook theatrical and did more telling than showing. He wanted the 12 jurors and two alternates to believe that he had evidence to suggest that Andre Bezel had killed two fellow white, young drug dealers and a DEA Agent that went undercover to follow the Bezel Brothers. He glamorized circumstantial clues that suggested Andre was on the scene when his drug dealer partner was gunned down by the men that Andre was on trial for killing.
“See here’s the problem, ladies and gentleman, while this is the United States of America versus Andre and Kareem Bezel, today is not about them. Today is about the lost lives of Avery Snobli, Brent Gower, and DEA Agent David Turner.” On the computer monitors around the courtroom was a photograph of Avery Snobli with a bright smile on his face in a football uniform. Next came a picture of Brent Gower in his football captain’s letterman jacket. And last was a photograph of Agent Turner dressed in his army fatigues. Barnswell did not speak as the pictures flashed on the monitors. It was his own moment of silence. The photos were not meant to shock the jury, they were simply to add faces to the names of the men that Andre was on trial for murdering. Barnswell had photographs of the men in their dead state and could not wait to have them admitted in as evidence.
Barnswell continued to outline his case: “See ladies and gentleman, Andre Bezel is a winning team kind of guy, which was why he joined the deceased Brent Gowers’ drug gang. He was in King of Prussia, a Philadelphia suburb and the big drug dealer on campus was Brent Gower, who was also captain and quarterback of the Upper Merion High School football team, which Andre was a team member of. He began making drug runs to the city for Brent Gower and the two created an empire, and like any empire, greed and envy came into play and some people had to go. And we are here to seek justice for those who had to go. Before they left here brutally murdered, as forensic techs will testify to, there was someone who was just as deep into this little drug gang. And you’ll hear from that person.
“The Drug Enforcement Agency had an undercover operative assigned to this case from the very beginning. He will testify to the aforementioned and paint a very vivid picture of how these men sold drugs together and how Andre Bezel callously murdered them.
“Now, I have to be very honest about something. This DEA agent has some skeletons in his closet that will be revealed. He was enticed by the fast life and committed some crimes of his own.”
“Objection. May we approach the bench Your Honor.”
The Judge waved them to the bench and looked at the jurors. He wanted to see if they were affected by the sudden outburst. Opening statement objections were not customary and almost never took place.
Greenburg leaned in and told the Judge, “Your Honor, the government is testifying and not outlining his case. He’s not simply expressing what witnesses will testify to, but rather, he is testifying that Agent McKenzey was enticed by the fast life and committed some crimes. That is misleading. And while I understand the government may be looking to mitigate the shock of having the defense bring up the agent’s crimes, this cannot be brought to the jury as if it’s to be overlooked.”
“I don’t think that the government was suggesting that any acts should be overlooked,” the judge said.
“No. Not at all, Your Honor. I could rephrase what I said.”
“Damage is done,” Greenburg said.
“Harmless error at best.” Barnswell shot back.
“Counselor just rephrased what you have said,” the judge said to the government. To the defense, he said, “I’ll allow some lead way to address this in your opening.”
“What if we planned to waive our opening?”
“Then your objection is duly recorded and you have yourself and appeals court issue. Now let’s get moving.” He dismissed the two barristers and informed the jury that Barnswell would continue and they had nothing to be concerned with.
CHAPTER 54
“Mail call,” an officer yelled on the SHU tier as he locked the door behind him. He could hear the shower shoes on the feet of mail-hungry prisoners making their way across their cells. They all posted up on their cell doors anticipating the CO stopping at their cell and dropping an envelope in front of it, before kicking it under the door. It was such a disrespectful act, but it involved the scum of the earth, so respect didn’t matter.
McKenzey was on the top reading the prisoners handbook. He laughed at many sections and passages regarding the rules and regulations of the jail. They were a hoot to him and not likely to be relevant to him being in the SHU and all that jazz.
“McKenzey, mail,” the guard said in front of the cell door. He began to open the food port on the door.
“More legal bullshit from them pigs over on 7th. Tell ‘em to shove it up their asses.”
“Not this time. It’s a book. Looks good,” the CO said and sat the book on the port. McKenzey jumped down and gripped up the book. “See, it wasn’t from the pigs after all.”
Crying to Pretend I’m Not Laughing by Kareem Bezel. McKenzey laughed at the irony and began to read.
CHAPTER 55
“Now the defense will make an attempt to have you intelligent twelve jurors disregard the agent’s testimony because he did commit some crimes. But that is absurd ladies and gentleman. No matter the agent’s discretions, it’s your duty to evaluate the trustworthiness of his testimony as it is presented here today, and not judge him based on some prior bad decisions.”
Barnswell was on a roll and made no attempt to stop doing what he was doing. He was presenting his case and if he spoke out of turn that was not his problem. It was up to the defense to protect their case. He had carte blanche to do as he pleased and no one could change that, but the attorneys on the other side of the courtroom. The team that sat furthest away from the jury. It was an unwritten standard rule that the prosecutor always sat at the table closest to the jury. Kareem had thought to challenge that rule as it was not codified into law in no state or federal crimes code. It was a tactic to divide and conquer. Sit the menace as far from the jury as possible as they may make an attempt to attack the jury.
Barnswell went back to his table and grabbed another notepad to read from. Such an amateurish thing for a prominent prosecutor. He said, “Next, the defense will call upon a confidante of the defendants. A person very close to the two of them. A person who was intimately connected to the defendants. I am talking about, Latoya Eala, the fiancé of Kareem Bezel. She was a direct witness to many of these acts and plans to tell the jury, you all, all about what her man was doing to disturb the economy. Many of the acts that Agent McKenzey will testify to will be bolstered by Latoya’s testimony. Testimony that will validate and confirm many of the acts outlined in the indictment against the defendants.
“In addition, several banking officials will tes
tify to the acts specifically committed by Kareem Bezel that aided and abetted Andre Bezel’s drug dependency. The large sums of money stolen and embezzled by Kareem funded Andre stepping away from doing business with Avery and Brent, which ultimately led to their deaths.”
There were so many pieces to the puzzle that Barnswell thought that he had figured out and perhaps from his perspective he did. The defense had plans to fill in the holes for the AUSA and his star witness was going to be used as a filler. There was no mention of evidence, just testimony. Where were the murder weapons? How about video surveillance? Something tangible that linked Kareem or Andre to a murder scene.
“This case is complex, but very clear and concise, ladies and gentleman. Sorta clear-cut, and I am asking that you not be persuaded by the cloud of smoke that will be blown by the defense to distort the facts. The defendants set out to take over the suburban drug trade, and in order to do that, some people had to die, and did. They’re not here to tell you all about that, but the testimony and evidence set forth will speak for them. Thank you for your time and patience.”
The judge looked at the large clock that sat above the jury. It was not quite lunch time and not time for a bathroom break, so he planned to carry on. He delayed his response to watch the defense wiggle in their boots. He had to be concerned with the jury members, as if they were uncomfortable, then they could not be excellent judicial servants. But he knew that the defense would pitch a bitch if he decided to postpone their opening until after lunch break. He knew that they wanted the jury fresh and ripe with the prosecution’s case on their minds.
The judge asked, “So, will we have both of you put on an opening. Or one of you? Or neither of you?”
Ravonne stood and said, “Mr. Kareem Bezel is un-indicted Your Honor and is not in need of an opening.” He had a seat and crossed his hands over the desk.
Ravonne and his client were there to cross examine any government witnesses who presented evidence against Andre Bezel that may have introduced evidence that may have prompted the government to supersede Kareem for crimes that were not confessed to during the original proffer hearing. There was no way that Kareem admitted to each and every crime that he had committed and Barnswell knew that. And he had put together a witness who was sure to elicit facts that Kareem had withheld. In the event that that happened, the government could honor its current agreement and reconvene a federal grand jury and present evidence to indict Kareem on wholly separate charges. Everyone involved here played a dangerous game, and they all knew that.
Die Later Page 13