Tillmon's arraignment is tentatively scheduled for June 13 in Greenville, and he is the only person indicted in the case who has yet to declare his guilt or innocence while the remaining 14 have all taken pleas. The sentencing date for the bulk of the 14 who have accepted plea deals has been pushed to September 13, federal court documents show.
Acting United States Attorney John Bruce argued in the motion filed last month against continuing the sentencing date for all but four of the 14 who have taken pleas, the four being Adrienne Moody, Alaina Sue-Kam-Ling, Kavon Phillips and Crystal Pierce.
Bruce argued in his motion defendants Lann Clanton, Jason Boone, Wardie Vincent Jr., Corey Jackson, Jimmy Pair Jr., Curtis Boone, Alphonso Ponton, Thomas Jefferson Allen II and Tosha Dailey, have had sufficient time to prepare for sentencing, which at the time was scheduled for June 14 in Greenville.
“On April 22, 2015, a federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned a 54-count indictment against fifteen defendants … on June 9, 2015, and August 25, 2015, the government provided the defendants with extensive discovery in the form of documents and audio and video files. In order to ease the defendants’ review of these materials, the government organized the files by operation and provided indices to the files.”
The newest information, which was contained in Bruce's motion, shows the 15 defendants were divided between two teams. “The two teams worked independently of each other and indeed, many members of each team did not know the members of the other team.”
Tillmon, who Bruce wrote is the only defendant expected to stand trial, was on Team Two. Team Two also consisted of Ikeisha Jacobs, Moody, Sue-Kam-Ling, and Phillips.
Bruce argued the majority of the defendants do not have information that would be useful for the trial of Tillmon, nor would his trial provide information useful for the purpose of the sentencing of non-Team Two members.
Bruce asked the court to schedule sentencing for June 16, which is also the date Phillips is scheduled for a bond revocation hearing after he was arrested for drunk driving while on release in Gates County. “The government does not intend to be parsimonious in making this suggestion, but instead seeks to efficiently complete the cases of these defendants, who pleaded guilty months ago and who already requested and were granted a sentencing continuance from the court’s May term. No new relevant information is expected for or from these defendants, and their cases should come to their conclusions.”
Bruce also argued the defendants have had ample time to review discovery. “By way of their motion, the defendants also state that they need more time to review the discovery in this case, in light of the draft PSRs (pre-sentencing reports) that they recently received. The government provided the defendants with discovery in June and August of 2015, and did so through letters and files that were meticulously organized so as to ease the defendants’ review of the materials. The defendants have had approximately nine months to review the discovery in this case, and by the time of the court’s June 2016 term, it will have been four months since the last of the defendants who are the subject of this motion pleaded guilty.”
Referring to the Tillmon case, Bruce said defendants do not have useful information for his trial nor will Tillmon's trial impact them. “The defendants also suggest that, like defendant Jacobs, whose motion to continue sentencing the government joined, they need more time to comply with the terms of their plea agreements and that defendant Tillmon’s trial, expected to begin in Summer or Fall 2016, will provide additional information that may be relevant to their sentences.
“The defendants who are the subject of this motion, however, were on Team One during the course of the investigation, worked separately from defendant Tillmon, and do not have information for defendant Tillmon’s trial.”
However, Bruce wrote, the reason the government approved the motion of Jacobs was because she was involved in Team Two by contrast, “and thus potentially has information relevant to defendant Tillmon’s trial. It is for this same reason that the government does not object to a continuance of the sentencing of defendants Moody, Sue-Kam-Ling, and Phillips, who were also on Team Two.”
It is expected, Bruce wrote, Tillmon’s trial will focus on the three operations in which he allegedly participated, “and his role as part of that team will not reveal additional information that will be relevant to the sentencing of the defendants who are the subject of this motion.”
