Jesse Lee Matthews, Jr. - Federal#97016-012
Federal Sentence: 25 years
Offense: Possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base; Use of a firearm during a drug trafficking offense
Court: Central District of California
Priors: See below
Date of Birth: 11/17/1960
Date of Sentencing: 11/21/1994
Projected Release Date: 9/17/2013
Prior Offense: Jesse has one prior state felony conviction for $20 worth of crack cocaine. He pled guilty to the possession for sale of cocaine in 1988, served a little over 5 months of a 1-year sentence and received 2 years of probation. However, in February 2002 the plea was set-aside, a plea of not guilty was entered and the case was dismissed.
Nature of Offense: Jesse became entangled in the events that led to his arrest when a mutual friend introduced him to a criminal informant (CI). With the hopes of reducing the 20-year sentence he was facing for drug charges, the CI was working with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to help catch drug offenders in the Los Angeles area. Shortly after the two men were introduced, the CI contacted Jesse to see if he could buy five to six ounces of crack cocaine from him. Jesse informed the CI that he couldn’t feasibly obtain that much crack, and offered to find him cocaine instead. The CI declined the offer because the DEA had specified that the deal consist of crack cocaine, and instead arranged to purchase a lesser amount of crack. When Jesse arrived to deliver the drugs to the CI, authorities arrested him and confiscated 86 grams of crack cocaine as well as a firearm discovered in his vehicle. He was indicted for possession with the intent to distribute 86 grams of cocaine base along with use of a firearm during drug trafficking on December 23, 1991.
Jesse initially pled guilty to both charges in February 1992 and faced a 25-year sentence: 10 years for the distribution offense, 5 years for the firearm offense, and an additional 10 years because of his prior felony charge. He then filed a motion to withdraw his plea approximately one year later. The sentencing judge, who was very hesitant to give him such a long sentence, granted him permission to withdraw his plea and his trial began in June 1994. He had been offered a deal carrying a 15-year sentence with the dismissal of the 1988 prior, but at the time that seemed like an incomprehensible amount of time to spend in prison, so he rejected it. He was found guilty at trial and the Judge reluctantly sentenced him to 25 years. In 2002, after serving 11 years of his sentence, Jesse’s plea for his prior state felony charge was set-aside, a plea of not guilty was entered and the case was dismissed. Had this occurred prior to the sentencing for his current offense, Jesse would have received a maximum sentence of 15 years. Unfortunately, this charge was not dismissed at the federal level and Jesse is still obligated to serve 25 years.
Judge’s Statement: At his sentencing, U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer made the following comments regarding Jesse’s sentence:
“I do not see any reason why it would be fair to give him a 25 year sentence. There is nothing in there that warrants that other than the statute… the problem I have about it is to take a cookie cutter and do this, this is really an extraordinary sentence for what he did.”
Judge Pfaelzer was greatly disturbed by the length of the sentence she was forced to hand out to Jesse and repeatedly reprimanded the prosecution for placing charges on him that would require a 25-year sentence. Although the Assistant United States Attorney prosecuting Jesse’s case stated “in my personal opinion I do think it is excessive…it is a draconian sentence in my view…” he did not drop any of the charges and Jesse still received a 25-year sentence.
Guideline Sentence: The amount of drugs involved in Jesse’s offense warranted a base offense level of 31. With a criminal history category of II, he received a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and an additional 5-year sentence for his firearm enhancement. Jesse’s prior state conviction was used to trigger an 851 enhancement that added another 10 years to his sentence. All of his sentences are to be served consecutively for a total of 25 years.
Personal Background: Jesse is a high school graduate who worked various jobs as a security guard, in home care provider and truck driver. At the time of his arrest, he was applying for positions at both the U.S. Post Office and the Department of Water and Power. Jesse was 30 when he committed the instant offense and has served nearly 15 years of his sentence. Upon his release, Jesse hopes to take over the family run restaurant that his mother currently owns in Los Angeles and spend time with his children and grandchildren.
Compiled from PSR and inmate information.
BA 5/10/06