Bayview Man Convicted of Drug Trafficking and Possession of Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking

SAN FRANCISCO—Andre Ned was convicted by a federal jury Thursday of five criminal offenses that include trafficking in crack cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy) and marijuana; and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.

The jury, after deliberating for approximately twenty minutes, found the defendant guilty on all counts. The guilty verdict followed a near week-long jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg. Evidence at trial showed that Ned, 25, of the Bayview area of San Francisco, trafficked in three different types of narcotics out of his grandfather’s residence. Evidence also showed that he used his cellular telephone to conduct his drug deals and that he possessed a semi-automatic firearm loaded with hollow point bullets and an extended capacity magazine in furtherance of his drug trafficking operation.

Immediately following the jury’s verdict, Ned was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 19, 2011, before Judge Seeborg in San Francisco.

The maximum statutory penalty for possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 924(c), is life in prison and a $250,000 fine. This offense carries a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence consecutive to any other punishment imposed. The maximum statutory penalty for possession with intent to distribute more than five grams of crack cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a), is 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $2 million. This offense carries a mandatory minimum of five years in prison. The maximum statutory penalty for possession with intent to distribute ecstasy, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a), is 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. The maximum statutory penalty for possession with intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a), is five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The maximum statutory penalty for using a telephone to facilitate narcotics trafficking, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 843(b), is four years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 fine. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Kathryn R. Haun and Derek Owens are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who prosecuted the case with the assistance of Rosario Calderon, Lillian Arauzhaase, and Sutton Peirce. The prosecution is the result of a months-long investigation in March by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and San Francisco Police Department’s Gang Task Force.

Further Information:

Case #: CR 10-546

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.

Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

Judges’ calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court’s website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Jack Gillund at (415) 436-6599 or by email at Jack.Gillund@usdoj.gov.

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