Thomas MacMillan Photo
Mom Barbara and cousin Denesha.
A reputed foot solider in the feared R2 street gang was prepared to plead guilty Thursday and head off to prison for dealing crack. Then he changed his mind — but not before he violated house arrest by visiting his mom to say goodbye.
That farewell almost landed him in hot water with a federal prosecutor on Thursday.
Hill, who’s 22, was known on the street as Mo Digs. He’s one of over 30 people arrested last fall in federal bust of members of an allegedly deadly Newhallville drug-dealing gang known as R2. He’s charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine base, a charge he and his family dispute.
Twelve of 37 defendants in the bust have pleaded guilty, and more guilty pleas are expected.
In November, Hill appeared in U.S. District Court on Church Street and was released on bond into the custody of his girlfriend and twin brother. Since then, he’s been stuck at home with an ankle bracelet monitoring his movement, passing the time by playing Black Ops on X‑Box 360.
At the advice of his court-appointed lawyer, Charles Willson, Hill had decided to plead guilty. A hearing was set for Thursday morning.
Thinking that he was headed for prison the next day, Hill violated his house arrest orders by going to visit his mom and grandmother, both of whom have health problems that have prevented them from visiting Hill.
Then two developments occurred: Hill was found out for visiting his mom, and he began to think twice about pleading guilty. That’s how Thursday’s hearing went from a change of plea to a house-arrest violation hearing.
Thursday morning at 11, Hill’s mom Barbara was seated on a window bench in the marble-floored hallway outside the courtroom of Judge Ellen Bree Burns. She was joined by two of her other children, including Maurice’s twin brother, and several other friends and family members.
Barbara, huddled under a faux-sheepskin coat, maintained Maurice’s innocence. “My son worked all his life,” Barbara said. “He’s worked since he was 13 years old.”
She said her son recently scored well on a test to join the Army. The recruiter said he’ll take him if prison doesn’t, Barbara said.
Maurice just got caught up with the wrong crowd, said his cousin.
“If we had money, we wouldn’t be going through this,” Barbara said. A better lawyer would be able to get her son off, she said.
She said her son is also disadvantaged by not having any information about members of the drug ring. “He don’t know these people!” If he did, he could offer to cooperate with the government and reduce his sentence, she said.
Maurice, wearing a buttoned grey cardigan and faded jeans, appeared in the hallway with his lawyer, Willson. During hushed discussions with the attorney and his family, Maurice bent his head against a fluted column in the hallway or wedged his body between a column and the wall, as though trying to disappear.
“Maurice don’t want to plead,” his mom said.
Moments later, in front of Judge Burns, Willson announced that his client has reservations and does not wish to enter a guilty plea. The conversation turned to Maurice’s recent violation of house arrest.
Willson asked that Burns consider the fact that Maurice has been attending drug counseling and periodic drug tests have all come back negative. He’s been making progress on resolving a pending case in Meriden state court, Willson said.
“Mr. Hill has been on a virtually 24-hour lockdown since his release last fall,” Willson said. “I understand the concern about last night … He’s facing a period of incarceration.” Maurice was simply worried that he wouldn’t see his mom and grandmother before he went to prison, Willson said. “The fact of the eve of today’s proceedings maybe generated some wrong decision-making.”
Willson requested that Maurice not be taken into custody for the violation.
Chris Mattei, Assistant U.S. Attorney, saw it differently. He said Maurice is manipulating the system in order to avoid prison. “He’s putting off the plea to increase his chances of staying out.”
He said Maurice’s brother kept a probation officer on hold Wednesday night in order to give Maurice time to get back home.
“That’s not true,” Barbara muttered from the front row of the gallery.
Willson acknowledged that it looked bad for his client. But Hill has no prior convictions and is struggling with a big choice. “He’s never been to prison,” Willson said. “This is a huge decision! … [There’s] no indication it’s an effort to game the system.”
Maurice rose and spoke softly to the judge. “I’m apologetic that I left my house,” he said. “I hadn’t seen my grandmother since I was on house arrest. I just wanted to see her before I go in.”
Noting that Maurice has complied with his drug counseling and testing, Judge Burns said, “I’m not going to revoke your bond at this time.” However, any further violations and “you better bring your toothbrush with you,” she said.
Barbara began nodding in her seat. As the hearing closed, she put her fists up and smiled.
Outside in the hallway, Maurice said he still wasn’t sure if he is going to plead guilty. “The way my lawyer’s talking, he’s making it sound like I should plead,” he said quietly.
Maurice said he’s innocent, but acknowledged he might not be able to convince a jury of that. “Yeah, I can’t do nothing.”
“My son don’t belong in jail,” Barbara said.
“I just want to get it over with,” Maurice said, sounding tired.
As she headed for the exit, Barbara mentioned that her son has a baby on the way. His girlfriend’s gotten pregnant since he’s been on house arrest in her apartment.