R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Julie Torres, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Chief John F. Timoney, City of Miami Police Department,, announced today that on September 29, 2006, after a five (5) day trial before U.S. District Court Judge Alan S. Gold, a jury found defendants, Taurus Geter and Dominick Jagne guilty of one (1) count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 846 and 841(a)(1), and defendant Dominick Jagne guilty on two (2) counts of possession with the intent to distribute heroin, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Section 841(a)(1). On September 21, 2006, co-defendant Thomas Jerry pled guilty to one count of possession with the intent to distribute heroin, in violation of Title 21, U.S.C., Section 841(a)(1). All three defendants face a maximum statutory sentence of twenty (20) years imprisonment. U.S. District Court Judge Alan S. Gold set sentencing for December 12, 2006.
Geter, Jerry, and Jagne were arrested as part of a multi-agency operation targeting violent drug trafficking areas in Miami. According to the evidence at trial, Geter, a violent street level supplier, employed managers and sellers to distribute heroin from his established sales territory in Overtown, among them, his co-defendants Thomas Jerry and Dominick Jagne.
This case is an example of the successful cooperative efforts of the City of Miami Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration to combat street-level narcotics distribution and the violence that often accompanies these crimes. Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the City of Miami Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michele Korver.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
