ATTORNEY David Banes, who is representing Jeane Bracken, has asked the federal court to sentence her to probation only.
Bracken pled guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to deliver on Dec. 12, 2020.
In a sentencing memorandum filed in court on Wednesday, Banes said, “Before July 2020, Jeane was a responsible, hardworking young woman, completely law abiding, with a great relationship with her parents and friends in the community.”
Banes said she had every reason to believe and look forward to a bright and loving future before her. “Jeane grew up helping her family run a successful restaurant, she did well in school, earned her associate’s degree in accounting and got a job as an accountant at Micronesian Environmental Services LLC, as well as at the family-owned restaurant Spicy Thai,” Banes said.
But in July 2020, he added, she got involved with psychedelic drugs. “Worse, Jeane did something incredibly stupid and out of character: she purchased a small amount of cocaine at the urging of a much-older friend of hers. It was the first time Jeane ever purchased cocaine. And it will be the last and only time Jeane ever gets involved with any illicit drugs of any kind,” her lawyer said.
From start to finish, Banes said her involvement with illegal drugs lasted four months, from July to Oct. 28, 2020, when she was arrested.
Banes said because Bracken is “a first-time drug offender with no criminal history, and has shown true remorse for her misconduct, a term of probation is an appropriate sentence for her and an adequate deterrent.”
He said she is also “an excellent candidate for rehabilitation.”
Banes at the same time is objecting to the defendant’s special conditions of release which, he said, are unreasonable and overbroad.
Banes is asking the court consider less intrusive ways to monitor her online activities.
He said the conditions recommended by the U.S. Probation Office “will overly intrude as the proposed conditions go beyond her own computer, tablet, and cellular phone and will intrude for three years on the activities of her family’s restaurant business but also her other employers’ businesses.”
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI scheduled Bracken’s sentencing for April 14, 2021 at 9 a.m.
The federal government’s sentencing memorandum was sealed as requested by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O’ Malley.
According to court documents, on Oct. 21, 2020, a suspicious parcel was mailed to a private CNMI mailbox.
The parcel contained a clear resealable zipper storage plastic bag labeled Walgreens that had a white, powdery substance inside a vacuum-sealed clear bag labeled FoodSaver and wrapped in a black tank top.
CNMI Customs contacted U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Saipan, which tested the substance and confirmed that it was 4.2 grams of cocaine.
An individual identified in court documents as “Suspect 1” retrieved the parcel from a private mail service store in Garapan, with authorities following close behind.
They later detained and transported Suspect 1 to the DEA Saipan post of duty.
In a statement to the authorities, Suspect 1 said he and Bracken were expecting cocaine in the parcel “with intent to distribute.”
Suspect 1 said Bracken ordered the drugs and determined how much would be distributed.
Suspect 1 said he and Bracken agreed to meet at her place of employment for the delivery of the parcel.
Authorities placed audio and video recording devices in Suspect 1’s vehicle, and a CNMI law enforcement officer rode along with Suspect 1.
After Bracken made contact with Suspect 1 and obtained the package, she was detained and transferred to the DEA Saipan office.
Jeane Bracken
