A Westminster man was convicted Friday of possession of crack cocaine and other charges, but a Carroll County jury was unable to reach verdicts on two more serious charges.
Circuit Judge Francis M. Arnold declared a mistrial in the case of Kareem O. Williams-Tucker on the charges of possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
Williams-Tucker, previously convicted of drug charges in 1994, was facing a mandatory 10-year sentence without parole on the distribution and conspiracy counts, said prosecutor Jerry F. Barnes, state's attorney for Carroll County.
As a second-time offender, Williams-Tucker, 24, of the first block Liberty St. could be sentenced to as much as eight years in prison on his conviction on the possession charge. He will be sentenced July 24.
The jury also found him guilty of making a false statement to a police officer, driving while his license was suspended, driving after his license had expired and speeding.
Arnold revoked bond and ordered Williams-Tucker held at the Carroll County Detention Center.
Barnes said he will retry Williams-Tucker on the two counts on which the jury was hung.
Testimony in the two-day trial showed that Williams-Tucker was stopped for speeding in Sykesville last June. After he and a passenger lied about their identities, state police found photo identification cards in their possession.
Police also found one-eighth of an ounce of cocaine in Williams-Tucker's sock and twice that amount hidden behind a panel in the passenger door.
Barnes said most of the facts were not in dispute. The defendant admitted he bought the cocaine, so he was guilty of possession, Barnes said.
The main issue, Barnes told the jurors, was whether they believed an expert police witness, who said the amount of cocaine was sufficient to be cut 35 times so that each package could be sold for $20.
Barnes argued that the state did not have to prove a sale was made, only that the men conspired and intended to sell or give the cocaine away.
"The defendant would have you believe he is the victim because he is an addict," said Barnes. "Yes, he is an addict, but he also is a drug dealer."
David Weisgerber, a Westminster attorney representing Williams-Tucker, argued that his client grew up in Washington, where one-eighth of an ounce of cocaine was less expensive and could easily be smoked by a user in a 24-hour period. "Being an addict is not a defense," Weisgerber said.
Possession of cocaine is a crime, but there was no evidence that the defendant sold cocaine or intended to do anything with it but use it himself, Weisgerber said.
Pub Date: 5/25/97
