- Name
Corey Jacobs, Federal Inmate #17061-112 - Age
46 - Time Served
16 years - Offense
Non-violent drug conspiracy - Age at Time of Offense
Early twenties - Sentence
Life with absolutely no chance of parole - Release Date
None - Prior Felony Convictions
None - Co-defendants’ sentences
Three of five co-defendants testified against Corey in exchange for reduced sentences of their own. These co-defendants were each released from prison after serving a little over 10 years.
On August 27, 1993, Corey and five others were indicted by a federal grand jury on drug charges related to a non-violent drug conspiracy said to have occurred beginning in the summer of 1988 and ending in the fall of 1993. Corey was sentenced on May 22, 2000 in the Eastern District of Virginia to 16 concurrent life sentences for his role in conspiracy. His involvement in the conspiracy occurred when he was just in his early twenties. Facing financial difficulties after moving from New York to Virginia for college, a very young Corey became involved with a small group of friends in an ongoing conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.
The instant case was Corey’s first ever felony conviction. Prior misdemeanor convictions counted against Corey in no way relate to any involvement in drugs, but solely relate to failure to appear in court on a minor traffic violation. Corey was by no stretch a drug kingpin and absolutely no aspect of the conspiracy was violent. During the trial, the federal government presented no evidence that law enforcement ever found Corey to be in possession of any drugs, weapons, or large sums of money. Furthermore, the federal government did not present any evidence (1) of any video or audio surveillance capturing Corey’s involvement in any drug activity or (2) that Corey participated in any confidential drug informant buys. Even with a lack of physical evidence, Corey was sentenced to multiple life sentences based primarily on the self-serving testimony of co-defendants, who testified against him in exchange for reduced sentences of their own. These co-defendants were each released from prison after serving a little over 10 years.