Silk Road forums
Discussion => Security => Topic started by: thyme on January 28, 2013, 03:59 am
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Unlike a lot of "drugs in the mail" stories, this one is nicely detailed.
Man receives package in mail. It happens to contain a Mr. Potato Head and also an ounce of heroin.
Package is intercepted by LE and has "beacon" placed in it.
Warrant is to be served either once the package is opened OR after two hours have passed.
Man puts package out in hall, does not open it.
Two hours+ pass.
The police show up.
Man talks to police (No! don't do it!) and denies knowing sender. Man does NOT open package, note.
The police search other areas of the building that aren't within man's residence and find trash/similar packaging with the man's name and sender's name, which is then used to obtain a warrant to search his residence.
Man is arrested because there was stuff that was felt to be sketchy and drug paraphernalia in his residence.
Looks like trial is in a couple of weeks, as he is now not taking the plea bargain.
Oh: I was a bit confused by the name, but the Glory Hole is the local homeless shelter, apparently.
Shelter night manager arrested after heroin delivery
Posted: January 26, 2012 - 12:08am
By EMILY RUSSO MILLER
The night shelter manager of the Glory Hole was arrested Tuesday evening after law enforcement allegedly intercepted a package containing heroin inside a Mr. Potato Head toy that was headed for the downtown shelter.
Stephen Morton Dabney, 61, was charged with second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, a class ‘A’ felony that can carry up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine.
According to a Wednesday morning statement from the Juneau Police Department, “Officers of the Juneau Police Department and Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) along with FBI and Postal agents intercepted and then did a controlled delivery of heroin at about 1:00 pm (sic) yesterday afternoon. The package was delivered to the 200 block of S. Franklin Street.”
Dabney appeared in Juneau District Court before Deputy Magistrate Sharon Heidersdorf on Wednesday afternoon for his arraignment.
Dabney told the judge he lives in an apartment at the Glory Hole where he volunteers as the night shelter manager, and he collects Social Security disability money. The judge found he qualified for court-appointed representation, and appointed the Public Defender Agency to represent him.
Assistant public defender Timothy Ayer told the judge there are questions as to whether Dabney knew what was in the package, and he requested bail to be set at $10,000 cash. Ayer noted that Dabney does not appear to have a criminal history in the state of Alaska.
Assistant District Attorney Amy Williams requested bail to be set at $20,000 cash.
Williams told the judge Dabney admitted to receiving more than one package, that he received “a significant amount” of heroin — about an ounce — and that he poses a flight risk.
Heidersdorf set bail at $20,000 cash, $15,000 as a cash performance and $5,000 as a cash appearance, and set a preliminary hearing for Feb. 3 before Judge Keith Levy.
According to an affidavit filed by Williams on Tuesday, the incident began on Monday when a U.S. Postal Inspector from Anchorage contacted JPD about a suspicious package addressed to Dabney at the Glory Hole’s address. The inspector told police Dabney had received other packages at the same address, and that in the past, someone matching his physical description had followed the Postal Service courier to retrieve packages just before they were delivered to the address.
The inspector obtained a federal search warrant to allow her to open the package, and allegedly found a Mr. Potato Head toy with about one ounce of heroin inside.
The inspector also told police a man had followed a postal courier on Monday, and someone had contacted the post office asking about the whereabouts of the package.
On Tuesday, JPD and postal agents conducted a controlled delivery with the intercepted package. The package was outfitted with a beacon transmitter that emits a signal if and when the package has been opened. An inspector obtained another federal search warrant allowing retrieval of the package after the beacon activated, or a minimum of two hours had passed.
A mail inspector delivered the package to the reception area of the Glory Hole at about 1:05 p.m. Tuesday, and, a few minutes later, officers observed a man take the package upstairs to Dabney. Officers could see Dabney in the rear, upper window on the back side of the Glory Hole, “carefully examining the exterior of the package over an extended period of time,” the affidavit stated.
Dabney allegedly set the package down on a table, then extended a mirror out of the same window, “as if to conduct surveillance on areas outside the window which he could not see,” the affidavit said.
Officers finally contacted Dabney inside an apartment on the top floor of the Glory Hole, and Dabney told them the parcel was in the hallway, which officers located. Dabney told them the parcel was from someone named Kyle, and that he does not know Kyle, nor does Kyle know him.
“Dabney stated that he received other parcels from Kyle and that he did not know what the contents of this package were, but the previous ones had contained toy cars,” the affidavit read. “Dabney stated that he did not know why someone he doesn’t know would be sending him toys.”
Officers then found a label from an earlier package addressed to Dabney inside a trash can in the administrative office area of the Glory Hole.
“The parcel label was nearly identical to the controlled delivery parcel, including the same sender, Kyle Nelson,” Williams wrote.
A JPD Drug Enforcement Unit officer then obtained a search warrant for Dabney’s apartment, and they found $897 in cash, various documents including what appeared to be drug ledgers, drug paraphernalia including a cooking spoon, syringes, marijuana pipes, cotton balls and “looters,” firearms, a case for a digital scale, 10 cell phones and two laptop computers, according to the affidavit.
Glory Hole Executive Director Mariya Lovishchuk said Dabney will be banned from the premises for life, and he will no longer be able to receive housing or assistance from the local soup kitchen and shelter.
“Of course the Glory Hole has a no tolerance policy for drugs for anybody who is at the Glory Hole,” Lovishchuk said, adding, “We are fully cooperating with the law enforcement.”
Lovishchuk said she was extremely grateful for the local law enforcement action in this matter, and said there’s been an ongoing effort to work with the community on resolving chronic drug and alcohol abuse.
Lovishchuk, who has been at the Glory Hole for about three years now, said she could not recall another instance when drugs were found at the shelter since her time as the director.
Lovishchuk said in a phone interview Tuesday evening that Dabney was a volunteer, not a paid employee, who lived at the shelter. She said his duties were signing and checking people into the shelter, that he has been a volunteer there for the past three years, and that he is a former electrician who had a debilitating work-related accident.
'Not guilty' plea in heroin case
Posted: February 8, 2012 - 12:00am
The night shelter manager of the Glory Hole pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to possessing heroin with the intent to deliver.
The district attorney’s office charged Stephen Morton Dabney, 60, late last month with second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, a class ‘A’ felony that can carry up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine. He was indicted on the same charge by a grand jury on Friday.
Juneau Superior Court Judge Philip Pallenberg scheduled a three-day trial in the case to begin May 7. An omnibus hearing is slated for later this month and a pretrial hearing for April 26.
Prosecutors allege Dabney received a package that contained one ounce of heroin inside a Mr. Potato Head toy that was headed for the downtown shelter. He was arrested Jan. 26 after law enforcement intercepted the package then conducted a controlled delivery.
Dabney’s attorney public defender Eric Hedland pointed out in court on Tuesday that Dabney never opened the package and may not have known what was inside.
Dabney is being held on $20,000 bail. A bail review hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
Former shelter resident going to trial
Posted: September 27, 2012 - 11:09pm
A plea agreement for a man accused of receiving drugs at the Glory Hole fell apart, and now the case is going to trial.
Stephen Morton Dabney, 61, appeared in Juneau Superior Court before Judge Philip Pallenberg Thursday for a ‘change of plea’ hearing.
But his attorney, public defender Eric Hedland, told the judge the plea agreement that had been reached was no longer in place, and he requested a new trial date.
Pallenberg rescheduled a three-day trial to begin in February.
Dabney is charged with felony second-degree drug misconduct, and if convicted, he could be facing up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors say he received a package that contained one ounce of heroin inside a Mr. Potato Head toy that was headed for the downtown shelter, according to charging documents. He was arrested Jan. 26 after law enforcement intercepted the package then conducted a controlled delivery.
Hedland says his client never opened the package and may not have known what was inside.
Dabney resided at the Glory Hole at the time of his arrest, and volunteered as the night shelter manager there to earn his keep.
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It says his trial starts today, I wonder if he'll get off. 20 years is a long time, game over for a 60 year old I'd say.
Mr Potato Head - LoL ::)
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I think he wll beat it, but then again he has a Public pretender so thats not good.. Thank god he did not open it, maybe he was smart enough to write "return to sender' But what is gonna get him is the mail he did open from "KYLE" AND INSIDE the spoon 10 cell phones<spoons cleary to cook some h" lol.. But nice Mr. Potato head..
Eaither way if he is found guilt, he will not get the 20 years.. Thats the max, He' could end up getting 5 years and do 2.5 , court sentences work that way.. Iv beeen in and out of them for 9 years..
Taking a case to trial and then blowing trial(Meaning loosing) is not good at all though.. Iv been involved with 2 jury trial s... NEVER GO TO A MAJOR TRAIL WITHOUT A WELL KNOWN PAID LAWYER !! I WON both of mine.. My lawyer not only use to be a Cop, He was Dea and something else as well.. Helps as well when your Lawyer is a Freemason of Good standing and the defendant is or has very close ties to as well.. TRUST ME ;)
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This guy's goose is cooked. There's almost no chance he'll walk. Why? Here's a whole list of reasons:
a) he actually admitted to receiving more than one package
b) he clearly lied to the police (about the toy car bullshit - obstruction of justice)
c) he repeatedly engaged in suspicious behavior (following mail carriers, calling post office, using the mirror, etc)
d) his matching description came up more than once for the mail carriers
e) he had 10 cells and a whole whack of paraphernalia that is a prosecutor's wet dream
f) a matching label for a previous package was found in the trash
g) he had both strong motive and opportunity
h) he refused to plead out, now he wants to change his plea
i) a fucking public defender holds this guy's life in his hands
If he had just kept his mouth shut and not tried to lie his way out of a bad situation, he may be have been ok. And if he had not followed mail carriers and done other suspicious shit, then they would've never gotten a federal warrant to open that package in the first place. Anyone can call a package "suspicious". They'll X-ray it if that's the case. If that comes up empty which this clearly did, an inspector may seek a warrant to take further action. If there is ZERO evidence other than someone's hunch to call a package suspicious, and the X-rays come up negative, the warrant will be denied. Simple as that. This guy was a complete idiot who didn't understand his rights, let alone exercise them.
It was amateur night all the way. They'll make an example out of him. The prosecutor will ask for the full 20 years and the public defender will make a wink-wink, nudge-nudge deal for 15. Then he'll get 18-20.
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oh dear I would think he is screwed.
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Sounds like a pretty hip place...Glory Hole
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haha sending dope to the local homeless shelter
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Sounds like a pretty hip place...Glory Hole
lol I was thinking that, everyone loves a glory hole
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he was the manager for a homeless shelter as well, So it will be in everyones head he had the customers basically in his work on a daily basis.
He did make quite a few too many mistakes as referenced above by baraka. As far as getting the 20 years goes, he could be looking at 20 no doubt and doing half because it's not as if it's the first time he has done it.
Interesting, Will be watching this too see how it turns out
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OK, so I was following up on this (trial is now moved to mid-June.)
While searching for the Dabney story, this one came up in search.
- The guy picked up a beacon/wired pack up at post office
- He took the pack home [was not tackled in front of the USPS as is prophecied will happen]
- They served anticipatory warrant on... his home? (I am assuming that) once the signal came in.
Edited: Links break, look it up.
5/31/2013
FAIRBANKS — A North Pole man was arrested Wednesday after picking up a package containing approximately $20,000 worth of heroin at the North Pole Post Office.
John McElwain, 44, was charged with second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance following a sting operation involving the Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit, U.S. Postal Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and North Pole police.
According to charging documents filed in court, McElwain picked up a package containing 39.1 grams of heroin at the post office in North Pole. The street value of heroin in Fairbanks is approximately $500 a gram.
Law enforcement authorities were tipped off about the drugs on Tuesday after they were discovered by Anchorage postal inspectors. The package was addressed to McElwain’s residence on Peggy Street in North Pole.
On Wednesday, authorities conducted a “controlled delivery” by wiring the package to alert them when it was opened.
After McElwain picked up the package at the post office, drug investigators followed him to his residence. When they received an alert that the package had been opened, investigators served McElwain with a search warrant and found that he had opened the package.
Because that amount of heroin is considered indicative of intent to sell, McElwain was charged with second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance.
Troopers did not divulge where the package was sent from because they are still investigating who sent the heroin to McElwain, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said.
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This guy is flipping zips of dope and cant hire a team of good lawyers that could actually save him. ???
he talked to LE at all...wtf did he wake up one day and start dealing without doing any research...
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The most disturbing part of this is how the Postal Inspector got a warrant to open the package. It doesn't sound like the package itself was the least bit suspicious. Rather, in the past the defendant had received other packages from the same sender, and followed the mailman around to intercept the packages before they were delivered. That seems like pretty weak probable cause. In any case, in a bigger city that would have gone unnoticed because postal workers can't keep track of that many people's names and behaviors. Small town shit.
His only hope is to prove there wasn't probable cause for the warrant to open the package. Then he can argue that all the rest of the evidence is "fruit of the poisonous tree." He's probably fucked though.
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http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/north-pole-man-busted-in-heroin-sting/article_3b21ce0a-ca8f-11e2-b863-0019bb30f31a.html
5/31/2013
FAIRBANKS — A North Pole man was arrested Wednesday after picking up a package containing approximately $20,000 worth of heroin at the North Pole Post Office.
John McElwain, 44, was charged with second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance following a sting operation involving the Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit, U.S. Postal Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and North Pole police.
According to charging documents filed in court, McElwain picked up a package containing 39.1 grams of heroin at the post office in North Pole. The street value of heroin in Fairbanks is approximately $500 a gram.
Wait a tick.
$500 a gram at the north pole?
Damn, them elves have a good union.
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Nope. Won't work at this point. He's already incriminated himself many times over. There was a ton of suspicious behavior before LE even entered the guy's apartment. And what about the packaging they found in the garbage outside his place? What about his clear lies to the police?
As I noted above, he's already fucked himself. No way out at this point. Especially with a public defender.
His only hope is to prove there wasn't probable cause for the warrant to open the package. Then he can argue that all the rest of the evidence is "fruit of the poisonous tree." He's probably fucked though.
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I just thought of something else that COULD have worked in this guy's favor if he had shut the fuck up from the start. He was living in this shelter, which I bet houses quite a few mentally ill people. Some of them are clinically paranoid schizos. I've seen this quite a few times and there's no reason to doubt it's any different up north.
Imagine this guy doesn't talk to the cops. He does everything else that was dumb, but that's it. A case could've been built that his unusual behavior used to obtain the warrant was completely normal due to his condition (which could have been built up as a medical case). Then the warrant might have been thrown out and the whole case could've evaporated.
Again, I think this really shows how devastating communicating and cooperating with the police can be. The same thing goes for that soccer mom who got busted in NY. She actually admitted that she owned the property, but denied a search. They came back with a warrant a few days later and found EVERYTHING. If she were smarter, she'd still be out right now.
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Wait a tick.
$500 a gram at the north pole?
Damn, them elves have a good union.
This really doesn't surprise me--lots of remote northern locations have ridiculous prices.
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Common sense things. This guy would very close to getting off.
examine package near open window - do stupid thing with mirror
follow postal persons
leave labels evidence in trash can from early shipment
admit to other packages
if he only not do those thing case would be very weak!
what need to see here is affidavit support original search warrant on package from postal inspector. what was suspicious about package how it get flagged.
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There was a poster on here a week or two ago asking about sending to homeless shelter , lol.. said he wanted to start working there, and become their mailman or some shit.. lol