Shelby County Woman Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Plotting to Kill Ex-Husband

BIRMINGHAM—U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon today sentenced a Shelby County woman to 10 years in prison for conspiring with her mother to hire someone to kill her ex-husband in 2009, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Maley.

KIMBERLY DAWN McGUFFIE, 44, of Calera, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy in December. Judge Kallon sentenced her to the maximum statutory sentence allowed for the crime.

McGuffie was indicted along with her mother, BARBARA LOUISE PATTERSON, 64, of Columbiana, on the conspiracy charge in March 2011. McGuffie admitted in her plea that she had conspired with her mother to hire someone to kill McGuffie’s ex-husband with a poison cocktail of prescription medication supplied, in part, by Patterson. A federal jury in February convicted Patterson of the conspiracy. She is scheduled for sentencing May 31.

“In this country, we use the courts to resolve divorce and custody disputes. McGuffie, however, decided to arrange for the murder of her ex-husband to resolve her custody issues,” Vance said. “The murder plot was never executed because the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the FBI were able to prevent it. McGuffie is now facing 10 years alone in prison, instead of spending those years with her children.”

According to court records, McGuffie and Patterson attempted to carry out their conspiracy as follows:

In mid-July, 2009, McGuffie first called an acquaintance and asked for his assistance in murdering her former spouse. She later met the man in person to discuss her plan. On July 23, 2009, Patterson called her own doctor’s office, requested a prescription for Lexapro, a medication used to treat depression, and picked up 14 sample tablets of the drug, which she gave to her daughter.

In August, 2009, McGuffie and Patterson drove to a location near Columbiana to meet and again try to enlist the assistance of the man they wanted to help them kill the ex-husband.

On Sept. 8, 2009, that man, who became a confidential informant to police, told McGuffie he had found someone to do the job and would introduce her to him that night. McGuffie drove that day to the town of Shelby and bought methadone pills, which she added to her deadly cocktail.

Later that evening, McGuffie drove to a shopping center parking lot in Calera where she met the confidential informant and an undercover officer posing as the hit man. She gave the hit man a small bag containing Lexapro, methadone and Xanax, plus a key and a hand-drawn map to her ex-husband’s home. She also wrote him a $1,000 check to cement her agreement to pay him for the murder.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Simpson is prosecuting the case.

Bloods Gang Member Sentenced to 105 Months for Murder Plot

NEWARK, NJ—A member of the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims set of the Bloods street gang was sentenced today to 105 months for conspiring to murder a rival gang member in April 2009 and illegally possessing firearms, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Samad McCallum, 24, of Elizabeth, N.J., previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering and one count of possession of two firearms while a convicted felon. McCallum previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler, who also imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

McCallum admitted that he conspired with other Fruit Town and Brick City Brims members, including Gerard Jennette, 27, a/k/a “Swizzy,” and Thomas Haskins, 26, a/k/a “Tommy Gunz,” to kill a rival gang member, identified in court documents as “M.B.” They believed M.B. was responsible for ordering the murder of two Fruit Town and Brick City Brims members in Jersey City, N.J. Haskins and Jennette have both previously pleaded guilty; Haskins was sentenced to 10 years in prison, Jennette is awaiting sentencing.

On April 27, 2009, McCallum, Jennette, and Haskins were arrested in Jersey City in a van with a loaded Kahr 9-mm handgun, a loaded Intratech Luger 9-mm semi-automatic Tec-9, and three ski masks.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced McCallum to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward; law enforcement officers from the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Frank X. Schillari; the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Samuel Jefferson and Chief Thomas Comey; and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Edward J. De Fazio

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Jampol, Lisa Colone, and Robert Frazer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: Michael Pedicini Esq., Morristown, N.J.

Superseding Indictment Returned by Federal Grand Jury Against Fairbanks-Area Men for Conspiracy to Kill Federal Officers

ANCHORAGE—United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today, January 23, 2012, that a federal grand jury in Anchorage has returned a superseding indictment against three Fairbanks area residents charging them with additional federal offenses, including conspiracy to kill federal officers and employees.

Named as defendants in the superseding indictment are Fairbanks area residents Francis Schaffer Cox, age 27, Coleman L. Barney, age 36, and Lonnie G. Vernon, age 57. Each of these defendants had previously been charged in an earlier indictment with participating in a conspiracy to receive and possess unregistered prohibited weapons, including hand grenades and firearms silencers. In addition, Cox had previously been charged with possessing unregistered illegal weapons, including a machine gun and a silencer, and with unlawfully making a silencer. Both Cox and Barney had also earlier been charged with possessing illegal hand grenades and other destructive devices, and with carrying firearms during a crime of violence.

The superseding indictment returned by the grand jury includes all of the previous charges, and includes the additional charge against all three defendants for conspiracy to kill federal officers and employees. In addition, Cox is charged with soliciting Barney and Vernon to murder federal officers. Finally, Cox , Barney and Vernon are all charged with additional counts involving the carrying of firearms during a crime of violence. In addition to these charges, the indictment includes criminal forfeiture allegations relating to several seized firearms, silencers, and destructive devices.

All of the defendants are presently in custody and are awaiting trial. A trial in the case is presently set for February 6, 2012, in Anchorage.

Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Skrocki, Yvonne Lamoureux, and Joseph Bottini, who presented the case to the grand jury, indicated that the law provides for a sentence of up to life in prison. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

The FBI, ATF, the United States Marshals Service, the Alaska State Troopers, and the Fairbanks Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case. An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.