Jumoke JohnsonJumoke Johnson Jr., a reputedly notorious local criminal despite his young age, pleaded guilty Tuesday to the most serious offense that prosecutors have managed to prove against him.
In a hearing in front of his family and U.S. Magistrate Bill Carter, Johnson waived his right to a jury trial and his right to appeal the case. He then pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine.
"Are you pleading guilty because you are, in fact, guilty?" Carter asked.
"Yes, sir," Johnson said.
After the hearing, Johnson turned toward his family behind him and waved goodbye. He could not raise his arm above his stomach, though. Shackles bound his hands together.
Johnson's family declined to comment after the hearing. So did his attorney, Hugh Moore.
Johnson, 21, is next due in court on Jan. 5, when a U.S. District Court judge will decide how long he should stay in prison. Because of Johnson's light criminal history and despite his reputation -- he has been convicted of only two misdemeanors, Moore said during the hearing -- federal guidelines suggest one of the lightest possible sentences in this case.
However, the judge has the freedom to increase the length of the sentence, and Johnson's charge carries a mandatory minimum of five years in prison.
Johnson is one of 34 men arrested as part of a four-year undercover investigation with the Drug Enforcement Agency that involved surveillance, controlled drug buys and wiretaps. In a news conference last November, then-police Chief Bobby Dodd called Johnson and the rest of the defendants the "worst of the worst" drug offenders in Chattanooga.
The defendants face a host of charges. Their ages range from 19 to 44 years old. In addition to Johnson, at least 20 of the men have pleaded guilty, their sentences ranging from 10 months to 11 years in prison.
Officer James Hixson, who works drug cases for Chattanooga police and as part of his job with the DEA, testified at a January hearing that wiretaps, audio recordings and video evidence prove Johnson bought crack cocaine in bulk. Hixson said Johnson turned around and sold the drugs for profit as part of a criminal conspiracy that stretched to Atlanta.
Moore, Johnson's attorney, tried to get the wiretap evidence against Johnson thrown out of court in June. He said Hixson wrote a "sloppy" application for the wiretap. He said the wiretap might even be illegal. But Carter ruled against Moore.
In court earlier this year, Hixson said Johnson joined the criminal conspiracy around May 2012, around the time the Times Free Press published an article about Johnson's struggle to graduate from Brainerd High School. Teachers and administrators said Johnson was an intelligent student with a gift to influence his peers.
But Johnson's father and grandfather were drug dealers. His dad even brought him to drug deals when he was still a child. Local police have said Johnson's intelligence and leadership skills have earned him a mythological status on the streets.
In January, Hixson testified that Johnson ordered other men to beat up a potential witness in jail and even shot somebody in the back of the head -- though Hixson did not name the victim or the witnesses who made that claim.
During that hearing, Hixson began to laugh.
"It's not really funny as much as it is sad," he said. "Such a threat to society has been allowed to make bond as much as he has."
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.