The prosecution and defense needed four hours Monday to pick 14 jurors out of a pool of more than 40.U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak declared a mistrial in Cooper’s first trial in November when the jury declared themselves hopelessly deadlocked. This jury of 14, including two alternates, is made up of eight women and six men. They will have to decide if Cooper, 35, committed a crime during two telephone calls that lasted less than a minute.“This case is about picking up a telephone and making a simple telephone call,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Gayle Littleton said in her opening statement Monday afternoon.Cooper is charged with a single count of using a telephone May 27 to facilitate the crime of distribution, or possession with intent to distribute, a controlled substance. She faces up to four years in prison.
She is accused of calling a drug dealer to complete a drug transaction between him and her boyfriend, Dr. Michael Reed. Reed, 55, a former surgeon, pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess and distribute cocaine and was sentenced in November to almost five years in prison. He was arrested May 27, along with six other men charged in the conspiracy, after officers served a warrant at his Wild Heron residence.
Littleton said Cooper called Hector Melara, who has been charged in the case, and convinced him to wait 10 minutes before coming to her door with a kilo of cocaine. Prosecutors said Cooper needed Melara to wait until her morning guests left, ensuring the “coast would be clear” to make the transaction at the Wild Heron home.
Melara testified Cooper was a recreational drug user and bought small amounts of cocaine from him every few weeks.
Cooper’s attorney, Jim White, said that while his client was guilty of some things, including buying cocaine, taking the kilo from Melara and being Reed’s girlfriend, she is not guilty of the telephone crime. He told the jury that Cooper’s guests already had left for the morning and Reed had just told her that she was going to pay for and receive $30,000 worth of cocaine. Instead of trying to make the drug transaction go smoother, Cooper needed a few moments to herself to mentally prepare for the situation, White said.
She is accused of calling a drug dealer to complete a drug transaction between him and her boyfriend, Dr. Michael Reed. Reed, 55, a former surgeon, pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess and distribute cocaine and was sentenced in November to almost five years in prison. He was arrested May 27, along with six other men charged in the conspiracy, after officers served a warrant at his Wild Heron residence.
Littleton said Cooper called Hector Melara, who has been charged in the case, and convinced him to wait 10 minutes before coming to her door with a kilo of cocaine. Prosecutors said Cooper needed Melara to wait until her morning guests left, ensuring the “coast would be clear” to make the transaction at the Wild Heron home.
Melara testified Cooper was a recreational drug user and bought small amounts of cocaine from him every few weeks.
Cooper’s attorney, Jim White, said that while his client was guilty of some things, including buying cocaine, taking the kilo from Melara and being Reed’s girlfriend, she is not guilty of the telephone crime. He told the jury that Cooper’s guests already had left for the morning and Reed had just told her that she was going to pay for and receive $30,000 worth of cocaine. Instead of trying to make the drug transaction go smoother, Cooper needed a few moments to herself to mentally prepare for the situation, White said.
“Those calls were absolutely meaningless,” White said. “They didn’t aid and assist a thing.”
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