Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 24, 1990 TAG: 9004240428
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Manuel Martinez, a 21-year-old New Yorker, testified that he and Ted A. Delinois traveled to Roanoke beginning in December 1988 to sell quantities of crack ranging from one ounce to two kilograms and returned to New York with anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000.
Delinois, a Haitian native and New York resident, is standing trial this week on charges of running a crack distribution network that supplied more than 30 street dealers in Roanoke. Authorities have described Delinois, 21, as a shotgun-toting drug dealer who imported large amounts of cocaine from New York and Florida.
Martinez testified that he and Delinois knew they could get five times the money for the same amount of drugs by selling them in Roanoke instead of New York because competition in the drug market was not as great.
On their first trip, the two men - carrying several large pieces of crack - checked into an Orange Avenue motel, Martinez testified.
He and Delinois recruited about 15 "workers" during their first visit who were paid a percentage of profits, Martinez testified.
During subsequent visits, Martinez and Delinois brought large amounts - "rocks" - of cocaine powder that they would convert into crack by cooking it with water and baking soda. During their second visit, the two men made enough money to rent and furnish a Patterson Avenue apartment, Martinez testified.
Delinois later bought a home on Corbin Circle Northwest, which was raided by drug agents last October. Donald Lincoln, a special agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, testified that among items seized were cellular telephone bills, a bill for a $1,200 pool table and a photo album.
Photos picturing Delinois and other men hamming it up for the camera - wielding semiautomatic weapons, sipping wine from champagne glasses and flashing large wads of cash - were offered as evidence by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Mott.
Two of the eight counts against Delinois involve purchase and possession of a firearm, a pistol-gripped, 12-gauge riot shotgun.
Martinez was arrested while operating alone during his third trip to Roanoke. He was sentenced in Roanoke Circuit Court to a 247-day jail term and two years' probation.
While in jail, he regularly communicated by phone and letter with Delinois and others. Upon his release, Martinez moved in with Delinois at his Corbin Circle home.
A co-defendant, Jean Robert Kernisant - who had been charged with several counts in the eight-count indictment - pleaded guilty Monday to one count of possessing, manufacturing and intending to distribute crack cocaine. His guilty plea was made with the understanding that the other counts be dismissed and that he assist authorities in drug investigations.
by CNB