When law enforcement officers found Michael Elijah Jenkins with his pockets jammed full of drugs and cash during the search of a home in the 1500 block of Ogden Avenue in Superior last October, the Chicago man could have clammed up.
"To his credit, he said the jig is up," said his attorney, Lance Nelsen, during a sentencing hearing last week in Douglas County Circuit Court.
Jenkins, 19, pleaded guilty April 20 in Douglas County Circuit Court to party to possession with intent to deliver heroin.
Judge Kelly Thimm sentenced him to five years in prison followed by six years of extended supervision. The judge considered limiting the extended supervision to five years, but chose the longer sentence to help Jenkins.
"The whole idea of being on supervision longer to keep miscreants away from Mr. Jenkins is a good idea," Thimm said.
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Before sentencing, Jenkins apologized to his family for the stress he put them through. He also apologized to the judge and the state of Wisconsin for bringing heroin from Chicago to Superior.
"It makes me sick," Jenkins said.
The path to prison began with a simple favor for someone Jenkins knew.
"To us, they’re the big, bad drug dealers," Nelson said. To Jenkins, they’re "just a guy from the neighborhood."
"I started off doing little errands for these people," Jenkins told the court. "Later that turned into bigger things … when I wanted to get away, I was trapped."
When he was asked to bring heroin to Superior with Marshawn Terrell Johnson, Jenkins said yes. Both men were 18 at the time.
"I did what I thought I needed to do to keep my family safe," Jenkins told the court.
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Bork questioned just how close his connection with the supplier was. When he was arrested, Jenkins had $12,000 worth of heroin and $4,000 cash in his pockets.
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"Who is going to throw a first time person out on the street 450 miles from Chicago with 70 grams of heroin on a first trip?" she asked the court. "That’s a powerful question left hanging there."
Nelsen said Jenkins has been cheerful and polite during his 263 days in jail. It seemed, the attorney said, like he was relieved to be caught.
"I finally can live in peace and live the life I’m supposed to live," Jenkins told the judge as his family sat in the courtroom wiping away tears. "I promise you will never have to see me in the courtroom again."
From the beginning, the Chicago man has acknowledged his role in the drug trafficking.
"He has accepted responsibility and pled to the charge. He did what his parents taught him, ‘When you’re wrong, you’re wrong,’" Thimm said. "I think Mr. Jenkins is a good person who made a horribly bad decision."
But that is no excuse.
"Heroin is a terrible substance," Thimm told the courtroom. "It’s poisoning our community."
Jenkins is a well-spoken man with athletic talent, the judge said, but he brought that poison to Superior, affecting many lives and feeding heroin-related activity in both Superior and Chicago.
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"Mr. Jenkins needs to go to prison to show the community this is not going to be tolerated," Thimm said. "People need to understand they’re not going to come into our community and deal drugs."
The sentence was lighter than the one Thimm handed down to Johnson in May after a jury found him guilty of party to possession with intent to deliver heroin. Johnson was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by 10 years of extended supervision. Jenkins’ character and the fact that he took responsibility earned him the lesser sentence, Thimm said.
Jenkins was also ordered to maintain absolute sobriety, provide a DNA sample, pay a $500 fine plus court costs and have no contact with Johnson or the couple whose residence they were selling drugs out of - Lydia Shanae Higgins, 21, and Matthew Aaron Thompson, 32.
Higgins pleaded guilty March 18 to possession of heroin. She was sentenced to two years of probation and three days in jail with the possibility the charge could be expunged if she completes probation successfully. She was also ordered to continue treatment and provide a DNA sample. A felony party to possession with intent to deliver heroin charge was dismissed.
Thompson faces felony charges of possession of narcotic drugs and party to possession with intent to deliver heroin. His next court appearance is Aug. 1.
