By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE, August 16 – Robert Shannon has been on trial for drugs and guns. He is in Essex County Corrections Facility.
And he will remain incarcerated. On August 16, with Inner City Press the only media in the courtroom, the jury returned a guilty verdict, 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
On March 29, 2021, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge John P. Cronan held a proceeding on Shannon. Inner City Press covered it.
On the question of discovery, the defense lawyer said he was getting a bigger thumb drive or hard drive, but that review of the discovery in the Essex jail's law library was difficult.
Shannon spoke for himself as to the limitation.
On March 31, 2021Judge Cronan held a proceeding on co-defendant Kareem Roderique. There was more talk about hard drives for discovery.
Jump cut to August 9, 2022, when Judge Cronan was presiding over the trial. Shannon's lawyer was question the supervising Agent who arrested cooperator Ken Johnson, described as a big fish who raised $185,000 in a week. Once arrested, and in handcuffs, he started naming names. But Shannon's name didn't appear in the group chat until 38 minutes in, his lawyer pointed out.
On August 11, Ken Johnson was on the witness stand. He was shown video of his wife carting a big suitcase into her car - leased, he pointed out - soon after he was arrested and started cooperating. He insisted that in the suitcase, which he called a briefcase, were only an Xbox, a Playstation and headphones.
He was asked about gang signs and a long history of cooperation.
On August 12 Judge Cronan asked Shannon if he was going to testify. No, Shannon said. The jury was called back and, Juror 4 was let go (there are two alternates), and then the charging conference, not long. It is coming to a close.
The case is US v. Shannon, et al., 21-cr-56 (Cronan)
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