THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 7, 1995 TAG: 9507040185
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JANE HARPER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
After escorting several just-convicted drug dealers to their new homes in federal prison, Norfolk Deputy Federal Marshal Kim Wright soon discovered that the dealers often had a lot in common with each other.
Most were young and began dealing drugs because they thought it was a quick and easy way to make lots of money with little or no consequences. But what struck Wright most was how stunned the dealers were by their long prison terms and how ignorant they were of federal sentencing guidelines, which don't allow for parole and usually require much longer prison terms than under state law.
``They're in shock,'' Wright said of most dealers after being sentenced. ``They had no idea how much time they could get.''
Even more revealing to Wright was that many of the dealers said they would never have gotten involved in drugs if they had known what they had faced, she said.
Hearing that, Wright decided that maybe if more youths were educated about federal laws and sentencing rules, they would choose to stay away from the drug business. As a result, she and a group of counselors at Western Branch High School in Chesapeake have created the ``Feds Don't Play'' program in which Wright visits classes during the school year and informs students of the consequences of dealing drugs.
The program was presented to several classes at Western Branch High School, where Wright graduated in 1985, during the last term.
It has been so successful that the Norfolk Federal Marshal's Office hopes to extend it to other schools throughout the Hampton Roads area, especially those where drug activity is especially problematic, said Robert Guard, supervising deputy in charge of the Norfolk and Newport News divisions of the Federal Marshal's Office. Presentations already are planned for Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk in the fall, he said.
``I think the program is the single best we have to offer to next year's customers,'' Guard said, using a term he often uses to refer to high school students who deal drugs.
The approximately hourlong program is presented during health classes to students in grades nine and 10. Wright teaches the students with role playing, lecture and demonstrations.
One of the major goals of the program is to let students know that drug crimes don't always end in probation and light jail sentences as many of the students believe. State prosecutors, who have become overwhelmed by the large number of drug cases and frustrated by the light sentences often given in those cases, are increasingly turning them over to the federal courts, where the penalties are much more stringent, Wright said. Especially cases involving crack cocaine.
``The federal government has spent a lot of time and money trying to get the message out'' that those convicted in federal courts will pay a heavy price, she said. ``But the message isn't getting out and that's why we've created this program.''
During one trip to Western Branch, Wright showed the students how a drug conspiracy works using volunteers from the class to act out the parts of the kingpin, lookouts and street dealers. Using Sweet and Low packets to represent crack cocaine and toy guns to represent the weapons dealers often carry, the students went around the classroom and ``sold'' the packets to their classmates.
Wright then arrested one of the students, Billy Starenger, handcuffed him and brought him to the front of the room. When Wright told Billy that he either could face 20 years in federal prison with no parole or get a lesser sentence by naming those involved in his drug trafficking, Billy quickly made his choice.
``She did it; she did it,'' he said, pointing with his handcuffed hands to Crystal Brett, the student who played out the role of the drug gang leader.
Using the federal sentencing guidelines form that federal judges use, Wright then told the drug-dealing students what each would face if convicted of conspiring with five or more people to sell 50 grams or more of crack cocaine.
The students were surprised to find out that even those who just acted as lookouts would get up to 10 years in prison with no chance at parole. If the conspirators were caught with guns, another five years of no-parole time would be tacked on. And if they're a leader in the group or if they have any prior criminal record even more time will be added.
Crystal, the student who played the part of the kingpin, for instance, would have faced up to 38 years of no-parole time if a judge found that she had been convicted of selling drugs before, was the leader of a drug conspiracy that sold drugs within 1,000 feet of a school, and carried a gun, Wright told the students. If her record was extensive, she likely would face 60 years to life.
Wright then showed the students what it is like to be locked up in handcuffs, ankle restraints and a ``belly chain'' to which the handcuffs are attached. After putting the highly uncomfortable and restrictive retraints on student Matt Roche, she asked Matt to pick a state on the East Coast. Matt chose Florida.
Wright then explained how if Matt were to be transported to a federal prison in Florida he would have to stay in the restraints during the entire car trip, which could be as long as 12 hours. Even when Matt ate or went to the bathroom, the restraints would stay on, Wright told the students. ``No way,'' was the response from one female student in the back of the class.
Wright then showed the students a filmed interview of a 23-year-old federal prisoner who grew up in the projects in Pittsburgh and got into drug dealing at a very young age. The young man, who is serving 27 years with no chance at parole, talks about how difficult it is to live in prison and how he wished he had never turned criminal.
Afterward, the students asked a variety of questions that ranged from ``How much do marshals make?'' to ``Have you ever shot someone?''
Brian Burke, head of the department of health and physical education at Western Branch, said the program has been a big hit among the health classes.
``I think it's helpful for the kids to have some firsthand experience with someone who sees this up close,'' Burke said. ``I think it's a message that needs to get out to these kids. The felons she transports didn't know and if they had known earlier they may not have gotten into trouble.''
Guard, who is Wright's supervisor, said more marshals will be trained to present the program if more schools show an interest in it. They hope to take it to many Hampton Roads schools, he said.
``We feel it's a small token on our part, but it's something positive we can do,'' he said. ``If we can turn even just one of these kids away (from crime) that's one less that the federal taxpayers have to pay for and it's one less family that is destroyed. To me that's well worth our time.'' by CNB