Denver Man Found Guilty Of Gun And Drug Crimes Following Jury Trial

Defendant faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years to life consecutive to any other sentence for possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime

DENVER – Dontae Daniel Hines, age 30, of Denver, Colorado, was found guilty earlier this week of gun and drug charges following a 3-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martinez.  The jury deliberated for 4 hours before reaching their verdicts.  Hines is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Martinez on October 8, 2014 at 11:00 a.m.  Hines was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 8, 2013.  The indictment charged Hines with being a felon in possession of a handgun, possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Hines trial began on June 23, 2014. 

According to the facts presented at trial, Hines was selling crack cocaine from inside an apartment building in Denver. During an undercover operation, Hines agreed to sell an undercover officer $40 worth of crack.  After the transaction was complete, the undercover officers gave a signal to have an arrest team enter the apartment building.  Before the arrest team could arrive, Hines told the undercover officer to smoke the crack in front of him so that he can prove he was not a police officer.  Hines, seeing the officers enter the property, fled to the second level of the apartment building.  Following a 25 second foot chase, Hines gave up and was taken into custody.  During that chase he placed a black firearm onto a blue storage container sitting outside of a second level apartment.  Officers very soon after the chase recovered the weapon.  Hines having previous felony convictions was prohibited from possessing the firearm.  Further, he was using the weapon, which had been reported stolen in the weeks leading up to the incident, in furtherance of drug trafficking – namely the sale of crack.

Hines faces not more than 10 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine for the one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  He faces not more than 20 years in federal prison, and up to a $1,000,000 fine for one count of possession of cocaine base (crack) with intent to distribute.  Finally, Hines faces not less than 5 years, and up to life imprisonment, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, for one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This case was investigate by the Denver Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Hines is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Sibert and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Rieman.