TWISTED BLACK SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS

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http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17889286&BRD=2288&PAG=461&dept_id=475626&rfi=6

Rapper gets 30 years in federal drug case
By: Bob Campbell
02/23/2007



Convicted of conspiracy and delivering more than 1,000 grams of crack cocaine, Fort Worth rap musician Tommy "Twisted Black" Burns was sentenced to three concurrent 30-year federal prison terms Thursday in U.S. District Court.

The 35-year-old Detroit native expressed regret to Judge Robert Junell before the sentence was imposed just after 5 p.m. "I apologize for taking up the court's time," said Burns, held without bond at Odessa Detention Center since his conviction on three counts of a four-count indictment last November.

"My past is not a pretty one because I committed crimes up until I became a father in 1993. But there weren't any after that and I ask the court to take that into consideration."

Junell heard a series of objections from the rapper's lawyers, Douglas Greene of Arlington and Mike Heiskell of Fort Worth, and ruled Burns did not have a supervisory role in a conspiracy with several Midlanders between February and June 2005.

But he found the defendant did try to obstruct justice by threatening witnesses and that narcotics investigators with the Midland Police Department proved he was involved in the sale of 1,022 grams of cocaine.

Junell said Burns was charged and-or convicted between 1989 and 1994 of offenses including two counts of assaulting policemen, two counts of attempted murder, unlawfully carrying weapons, driving while intoxicated, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and assault entailing serious injury, for which he served three years in state prison after his probation was revoked.

"Mr. Burns has a vigorous criminal history," Junell said. Greene and Heiskell argued much of the evidence was based on testimony of convicted co-conspirators Andre Harris, Courtney Iglehart and Angela Denise "Angie" Hutson, who got reduced sentences in return for their testimony against Burns.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Parras, who successfully opposed reducing Burns' sentence on defense motions that he did not obstruct justice or sell as much cocaine as alleged.

The investigation was closely related to the September 2005 cocaine conspiracy trial of aspiring rapper Zeteral "Zet" Perkins of Midland, who is serving 22 years.