Georgia man convicted of delivering suspected cocaine to Erie hotel gets 5-to-10-year term
A Georgia man convicted at trial of delivering a large quantity of what was to be cocaine to a hotel on Erie's bayfront in early May was sentenced on Friday to serve five to 10 years in state prison.
Carl D. Duncan, 44, indicated in statements made in court on Friday morning that he plans to appeal his conviction. His court-appointed lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Wayne Johnson, asked Erie County Judge John J. Mead to consider an oral motion of acquittal for one of the charges Duncan was convicted of, a felony count of possession with intent to deliver, because the substance Duncan actually delivered to the hotel on May 8 was not cocaine but a substance authorities replaced it with after intercepting the package containing the drugs.
Mead sentenced Duncan to five to 10 years in prison on the possession with intent to deliver charge and gave him a concurrent five-to-10-year sentence on the other charge Duncan was convicted of, conspiracy to commit possession with intent to deliver.
More: Atlanta man charged in state police probe of shipment of suspected cocaine into Erie
Duncan argued during his brief remarks in court Friday morning that he never possessed cocaine, but merely picked up a box. Assistant District Attorney Charles Cantrell countered in his remarks that Duncan conspired with Montez L. Freeland, who was charged federally in the drug investigation, in the incident.
"Mr. Duncan had his part and he played it and that's what he's found guilty of," Cantrell told Mead.
Suspicious package leads to hidden cocaine
Troopers with the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation charged Duncan on May 8, on the same day authorities said they tailed him as he delivered the cocaine from a residence on East 23rd Street in Erie to the Courtyard by Marriott Erie Bayfront Hotel.
Investigators wrote in the affidavit of probable cause filed with Duncan's criminal complaint that authorities on May 6 intercepted a suspicious FedEx parcel that was found to contain six bricks of cocaine hidden in a guitar speaker. The cocaine was replaced with "sham" material and was delivered on May 8 by an undercover officer, posing as a FedEx employee, to its intended mailing location in the 300 block of East 23rd Street, according to information in the affidavit.
The package was left at the door after no one answered the door at the East 23rd Street residence and investigators watched it. A few hours later, a female picked up the package and placed it inside of a residence next to the residence where the package was delivered, according to investigators.
Investigators wrote that the female then exited the residence and sat on the front porch before approaching a black Mercedes sport-utility vehicle with Georgia plates that had passed by, then parked. A male got out of the Mercedes and walked with the female into the East 23rd Street residence before he left the residence carrying the package and placed it in the Mercedes before driving off, according to the affidavit.
Police followed the Mercedes to the hotel on Sassafras Pier, where they saw another man approach the Mercedes and remove the package. As the Mercedes drove away, police stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as Duncan, investigators wrote in case documents.
The man who had taken the package, identified by authorities as Freeland, was detained by police and he gave them consent to search his hotel room. During the search, investigators wrote that they found more suspected cocaine, 1.5 kilos of suspected fentanyl, a handgun and a large amount of cash. Freeland admitted to arranging for the retrieval of the parcels and possessing them with the intention of distributing the narcotics in Erie and to known individuals in Pittsburgh, investigators wrote in case documents.
More: More than $300,000 in cocaine seized in Erie probe that included arrest at upscale hotel
Recipient of package charged federally
Freeland, 46, who is also believed to be from Georgia, was charged federally with attempted possession with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine, possession with intent to deliver 1 kilogram or more of heroin and fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense, according to court records that were unsealed in October.
Freeland has been in prison since his initial appearance in federal court on May 9. He waived his right to a detention hearing on May 22, according to court records.
Freeland is scheduled for a plea hearing on Jan. 16.
Freeland faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life if he is convicted of the count related to the 5 or more kilograms alone, according to court records.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Georgia man sentenced in probe of cocaine delivery to Erie PA hotel
