MAN GETS LIFE FOR SELLING COP HEROIN

But He Says He Was Entrapped

A Lacombe man who made a $50 profit when he sold heroin to an undercover
cop was sentenced Monday to serve the rest of his life in prison.

Wesley C. Dick III, 44, who had no criminal record of drug dealing before
his October conviction for distributing heroin, has not denied he sold the
drug, but he argues that police entrapped him.

By state law, the conviction carries a mandatory life sentence.

"I made a mistake," Dick said during his sentencing hearing Monday before
state District Judge Patricia Hedges. "I'm willing to take responsibility.
What I did was wrong. (But) I can honestly say I was not dealing drugs."

At trial, testimony showed that Dick, an admitted former heroin addict, did
not have any heroin or the money to buy it in May 1999 when undercover
Slidell police Detective Kevin Swann contacted him through a confidential
informant.

When the men met on two separate occasions, however, the officer gave Dick
money and Dick drove to New Orleans to buy the drugs for the officer,
testimony showed.

Both transactions, which took place in Dick's car with his two young
daughters in tow, totaled about $360. Dick, who was living on food stamps
at the time, says he made about $50 profit.

Arguing that the sentence is excessive and does not fit the crime, Dick's
father testified during a presentencing hearing Monday.

"He made a total of $50 out of sales," Wesley Dick II said. "That's hardly
a drug dealer."

Wesley Dick II also told the judge his son had a solid work history as an
offshore construction inspector and had been supporting his family until he
was hospitalized with kidney failure in 1998.

"When the Legislature put in life sentence for distribution of heroin, they
were talking about a different guy than Wesley Dick," the attorney, Doyle
"Buddy" Spell Jr., said. "What is the benefit of putting away a guy who has
never hurt anybody?"

Spell also said that if he were in federal court, Dick would be facing a
sentence of 30 to 50 months, not his entire life.

Assistant District Attorney David Weilbaecher countered that dealing
heroin, a highly addictive drug, is hurtful to others and is akin to
spreading the addiction.

"This is not a difficult case," Weilbaecher said. "The jury has spoken. Mr.
Dick has been convicted of distribution of heroin."

Saying she was bound by law to give Dick a life sentence, Hedges denied
Dick's motion for postconviction acquittal and for a modification of the
conviction to a lesser charge.

She said, however, that she found three mitigating circumstances
surrounding the crime and sentence: The defendant acted under strong
provocation; the victim of the defendant's criminal conduct induced or
facilitated its commission; and the imprisonment of the defendant would
entail excessive hardship to himself or his dependents.

Spell said he planned to appeal on the grounds that Dick was entrapped.

District Attorney Walter Reed's Office, which can screen cases for
prosecution, said Dick's case was taken before a grand jury, who heard "a
full airing of the facts" and chose to indict him, First Assistant District
Attorney Houston "Hammy" Gascon said .

"If we've got the evidence, as far as I'm concerned, we've got to do it
(prosecute)," Gascon said.