Pubdate: Wed, 07 Apr 2004
Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN)
Copyright: 2004 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
Contact:  http://www.knoxnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/226
Author: JAMIE SATTERFIELD

DRUG CONSPIRACY LAWS PASS TEST WITH GUILTY VERDICTS

In this test, federal prosecutors walked away with an A.

A jury in U.S. District Court delivered a sweeping series of guilty 
verdicts Tuesday in the region's first-ever federal conspiracy case 
involving a methamphetamine lab.

It was a test case of sorts on the U.S. Attorney's Office's ability to use 
drug conspiracy laws to battle what has been deemed a meth epidemic in East 
Tennessee's rural communities.

"We're pleased with the verdict," Assistant U.S. Attorney James Brooks said.

Although Brooks and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Theodore downplayed the 
idea either made local history in successfully prosecuting meth-makers as 
drug conspirators, Theodore said he hopes like-minded suspects take note.

"Hopefully, this trial will have a deterrent effect on others who might be 
tempted to engage in this kind of conduct," Theodore said.

The jury took less than two hours to deem four Monroe County citizens 
charged in the conspiracy guilty, collectively, of more than a dozen 
counts. The jury found a fifth defendant, Steven Bivens, guilty of being a 
convicted felon in possession of a shotgun.

Judge Thomas Phillips dismissed conspiracy charges against Bivens Monday 
after attorney Bruce Poston successfully argued prosecutors had failed to 
link him to the conspiracy.

The precedent-setting case stemmed from a November 2002 search at a 
ramshackle trailer and shed owned by Ernie Miller, who was convicted 
Tuesday along with his wife, Mary Miller; his stepdaughter, Samantha 
Moreno; and family friend, Richard "Rambo" Ramsey.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Department had been investigating the clan for 
more than a year, according to testimony.

On Nov. 27, 2002, the agency sent in deputies armed with a search warrant 
and discovered a "working lab" in the shed with a batch of the drug brewing 
on a hot plate, Theodore has said.

Brooks outlined each of the four defendants' roles in the conspiracy in his 
closing arguments Tuesday. Ernie Miller, he said, was the leader, while 
Mary Miller supplied materials to make the drug and doled out the finished 
product to meth users.

Moreno was the chief materials supplier, using her employee discount at the 
Wal-Mart where she worked to get the ordinary household products used to 
brew the drug, he said. Ramsey was "the cook," Brooks said.

Defense attorneys contended prosecutors were trying to build a conspiracy 
case where none existed. Their clients, the attorneys argued, were a ragtag 
bunch of meth users, not drug barons.

"Here sits the grand mogul of the methamphetamine empire of Monroe County," 
attorney Roland Cowden said in a mocking tone as he pointed to Ernie 
Miller. "We're talking about country people. We're talking about people who 
are uneducated, and they get along the best they can."

Attorney Beth Ford told jurors Mary Miller was a victim of meth addiction 
and bad taste.

"She chose the wrong spouse," Ford said.

Attorney James Varner contended Ramsey "wasn't even there" and had been 
misidentified by a deputy. Moreno's attorney, Kenneth Irvine, argued his 
client was being prosecuted for buying cold medicine, paint thinner and 
peroxide.

"Buying things that are perfectly legal shouldn't send you to jail," he said.
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