Last week I wrote about a trial that was in progress; the trial of Leonard Boston on Delivery of Heroin charges. At the start of the trial, Mr. Boston was charged with 4 counts of Delivery of Heroin and one count of Possession of Heroin with Intent to Deliver and one count of Use of Drug Paraphernalia. He was also charged with Bail Jumping. The first five counts all included School Zone enhancements. During the course of the trial, the State dismissed Count 4 – in the interest of justice. Deric Martin and Lech Radzimski prosecuted and Peter Jones represented Mr. Boston.
After the State finished presenting evidence and rested, Mr. Boston’s lawyer moved to dismiss two counts (Deliveries from 4/6 and 4/15) for lack of evidence. The court granted the motion. This was because the Defendant’s sister, Gail Remington, upon whose testimony these counts relied, gave testimony contrary to that she had given in her written and oral statements to police (all made under penalty of perjury). She testified that she alone possessed the drugs, and that the delivery on 4/6 involved another person rather than herself.
The State had previously made a deal with her which required her to testify truthfully. Because she testified inconsistent with her sworn statements to police, she is in violation of her agreement to tell the truth and will therefore serve the entirety of her 20 month sentence and keep the delivery convictions, which would have been dismissed if she had told the truth.
The case went to the jury on Monday, November 22 in the afternoon. They returned within 3 hours with a guilty verdict on all counts and enhancements. Mr. Boston was held without bail. He is facing a minimum of 108 months in custody (60-120 months on the delivery and Possession with Intent to Deliver charges, plus consecutive enhancements of 24 months for each of the school zone enhancements). He may seek to pursue a prison Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative or DOSA sentence, but the state will argue he is not eligible for a Prison DOSA because he was NOT in possession of a small amount of drugs. It will be up to the Judge to determine whether he gets the DOSA sentence or not.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, this is the second largest heroin seizure in the history of the County.