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Department of Justice Acting United States Attorney Candace G. Hill Contact: Dawn Masden |
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June 8, 2009
LOUISVILLE DRUG DEALER SENTENCED FOR ATTEMPTING TO BUY TWO KILOGRAMS OF COCAINE AND ASSAULTING A FEDERAL OFFICER
– Two-time felon caught with $22,820 cash in attempted buy
LOUISVILLE, KY - George Breed, age 36, of Louisville, Kentucky, in Jefferson County, was sentenced on June 5, 2009, to 11 years’ and 8 months’ imprisonment in United States District Court, Louisville, Kentucky for attempting to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute it and for assaulting a federal officer, Acting U.S. Attorney Candace G. Hill of the Western District of Kentucky announced today. John G. Heyburn, Judge, United States District Court, also sentenced Breed to 4 years’ supervised release following incarceration. There is no parole in the federal judicial system.
On August 14, 2008, Breed pled guilty to attempting to possess 500 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to distribute the substance and to assaulting a federal officer. During his plea, Breed admitted that on June 20, 2007 his co-defendant Shawon Hickman ("Hickman") contacted a man and arranged to purchase 2 kilograms of cocaine. Unbeknownst to Hickman, the seller he contacted was a Drug Enforcement Administration confidential source. At approximately 6:05 p.m. that evening, Hickman and Breed arrived at a prearranged meeting location in a pickup truck driven by Breed to purchase the 2 kilograms of cocaine from the confidential source. The confidential source asked Hickman and Breed if they had the money. Hickman then showed the confidential source a large quantity of cash. After seeing the cash, the confidential source obtained a backpack containing 2 "dummy" kilograms of cocaine. The confidential source handed the backpack containing the 2 "dummy" kilograms of cocaine to Breed through the driver's side window of Breed's pickup truck. Breed then handed the backpack to Hickman in the passenger seat.
Once the backpack had been handed through the window, law enforcement agents moved in to arrest Hickman and Breed. When Breed saw the law enforcement agents approaching, he drove away in his pickup truck at a high rate of speed, striking the vehicle of an ATF Special Agent who was attempting to block Breed’s truck from leaving the scene. When agents were able to get Breed's vehicle stopped, Breed fled on foot but was apprehended after a foot pursuit. Hickman was arrested in the vehicle, where $22,820.00 in cash was discovered. The officers that arrested Breed reported that during post Miranda questioning, Breed admitted that he had agreed to drive Hickman to meet with Hickman’s drug source of supply to purchase “powder”, referring to cocaine. Breed stated that he thought he would be compensated with a portion of the cocaine to be purchased by Hickman during the deal. Breed said that he drove Hickman to the Sam’s Club parking lot where they met with a man who asked them if they had money for “two”. Breed admitted that he took possession of the backpack containing 2 “bricks” of what he believed to be cocaine from the man. Breed stated that shortly after taking receipt of what he believed was cocaine, he saw the police pull behind his vehicle. Breed stated that he decided to flee from the officers in his vehicle because he was currently on parole for a previous state drug charge. Breed stated that he may or may not have struck a vehicle, but could not conclusively recall.
The plea agreement also demands forfeiture of the $22,820 in cash found in Breed’s truck. The estimated street value of 2 kilograms of cocaine is $36,000.
Breed’s co-defendant, Shawon Hickman, pled guilty on August 1, 2008 and was sentenced on November 3, 2008 to 15 years’ and 8 months’ imprisonment.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas W. Dyke, and was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) Task Force, which includes officers from a number of different local agencies including the Oldham County Police Department, the Kentucky State Police, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and the Louisville Metro Police Department as well as federal agents from DEA, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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