ACCUSED DEALER CALLED VICTIM

Cocaine trafficking trial gets under way in U.S. District Court

Starsky Redd masterminded a plan to have 757 pounds of marijuana and more
than 22 pounds of cocaine delivered in the Jackson area, a federal
prosecutor told a jury Wednesday.

"We ask you to find him guilty," Assistant U.S. Attorney Al Jernigan said.
"The drugs were delivered to a site where his mother has a business."

But Redd's attorney, Ishmael Rasheed Muhammad, said his client was a
victim, duped by a friend into giving him a ride to the drug drop site.

Both sides made their cases in opening arguments to the jury of three men
and nine women in Redd's trial in U.S. District Court in Jackson.

Redd, whom authorities labeled a major drug dealer in the Jackson area, is
charged with conspiracy with the intent to distribute cocaine, attempting
to possess cocaine and discharging a weapon in the commission of drug
trafficking.

He faces a maximum of life in prison and a $4 million fine if convicted on
the drug charges, plus a mandatory 10 years if convicted of the firearms
charge.

Law enforcement officers confiscated the cocaine and marijuana - with a
combined street value estimated at $8 million - from an 18-wheeler that
arrived in Jackson from Dallas in November 2000.

The government isn't pursuing charges involving the marijuana because it
carries a lesser sentence than the cocaine charges.

Police had been tipped off about the shipment and intercepted the
18-wheeler at a truck stop, then directed the driver to continue on his
planned route, meeting Redd and another man who were waiting along I-20 in
a blue Ford Expedition, authorities said.

The big rig, loaded down with drugs, followed Redd to the drop site, where
officers busted up the operation, police said.

Redd allegedly shot at authorities and was shot in the right arm and left leg.

Hector Jamie Guajardo, the 37-year-old driver of the semi, later pleaded
guilty to possession with intent to distribute drugs and was sentenced to
five years.

Santiago Alonso, a 27-year-old Mexico native who was to unload the drugs
from the truck, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years.

Christopher Jefferson, 29, of Dallas, who helped orchestrate the scheme,
pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years.

All three are expected to testify against Redd.

Muhammad said Jefferson masterminded the drug delivery.

The night of the drug bust, he said, Redd thought he was taking Jefferson
to pick up clothes, compact discs and some money.

Former Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agent Charles Melvin, the first
prosecution witness, testified that surveillance of Redd began after a
confidential informant contacted a local FBI agent about the planned drug
shipment. The agent then contacted the Narcotics Bureau.

The informer had told the agent that the 18-wheeler would arrive at the
then-SOS Truck Stop off I-20 in Clinton. It was there that authorities
commandeered the truck.

"Obviously, drugs were being delivered," Melvin said.

In a plan to catch the individuals who arranged the shipment, two officers
got in the back of the cab of the 18-wheeler and had the driver continue on.

Melvin said authorities had planned to have a Hinds County sheriff's
officer stop the truck where it was supposed to meet Redd and Jefferson, on
I-20 eastbound near the I-220 detour.

But the plan backfired when the tailing officer lost sight of the truck,
leaving the officers in the truck on their own, he said.

The 18-wheeler then followed the Expedition, driven by Redd, to a location
near the intersection of College Hill Road and Northside Drive, where the
drugs were to have been unloaded, he said.

It was there that Jefferson approached and officers announced their
presence. Jefferson tried to run. Then a shootout occurred between Redd and
the officers.

The trial, expected to last until next week, continues today before U.S.
District Judge William H. Barbour Jr.