Weldon Angelos
Sentence: 55 years
Offense: 3 counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; 13 additional drug, firearm, and money laundering charges
Priors: Convicted for the possession of a handgun as a juvenile and received 3 months probation
Year sentenced: 2004
Age at sentencing: 25
Projected release date: Oct. 2, 2051
Raised by his father, Weldon started
a family with his childhood sweetheart at age 23. He launched a successful
music career that was quickly bringing him nationwide recognition. The founder
of Utah-based rap label, Extravagant Records, Weldon was considered an “up and
coming” entrepreneur in the industry. He wrote and produced songs with
acclaimed artists such as Snoop Dogg.
Between May and June 2002, Salt
Lake City police set up a series of controlled buys from Weldon, whom they suspected
was a member of the street gang Varrio Loco Town. Police arranged for an acquaintance
of Weldon’s to act as a confidential informant (CI), hoping to prove Weldon’s
involvement in trafficking large amounts of marijuana. The CI purchased ½ pound of marijuana from
Weldon on two separate occasions.
According to the CI, a firearm was visible in Weldon’s car during the
first buy. During the second controlled buy, the CI alleged that Weldon was
wearing an ankle holster holding a firearm. Police searched Weldon’s home in
November 2003 and found additional guns, drug paraphernalia, and other evidence
that officers claimed indicated his involvement in drug trafficking and money
laundering.
Weldon was indicted on 20 charges,
including weapons possession, drug trafficking, and money laundering that
mandated a minimum sentence of 105 years.
At trial, the jury convicted Weldon of 13 drug, firearm, and money
laundering charges, as well as three counts of possession of a firearm in
furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Two of the three counts of possession
of a firearm resulted from the gun he allegedly carried during the buys with
the CI. The third count stemmed from a handgun found in a bag in Weldon’s home.
Although one charge was dismissed and he was acquitted of three others, Weldon
was sentenced to 55 years in federal prison.*
Weldon’s sentencing provoked
unprecedented public outcry. 29 former judges and prosecutors filed a ‘friend
of the court’ brief beseeching Weldon’s sentencing judge to declare the sentence
unconstitutional. At sentencing, Judge
Paul G. Cassell called Weldon’s punishment “unjust, cruel, and even irrational,”
comparing it to much shorter federal sentences given to repeat child rapists
and airplane hijackers. Judge Cassell wrote a 67-page opinion urging President
Bush to commute Weldon’s sentence to 18 years or less. Unfortunately, none of these efforts proved
fruitful.
Weldon is serving the first
decade of his 55-year sentence in Southern California. His immediate family is trying to relocate from
Utah to make communication and visitation more feasible. Despite health issues, Weldon has taken
classes in computers, psychology, philosophy, public speaking and history, and has
completed the Dental Laboratory Manager program. Weldon’s relationship with his
wife suffered as a result of his sentencing and the two are no longer
together. His sons, only five and six at
the time of his sentencing, are growing up without their father.
*Weldon received a 5-year
mandatory minimum for the first charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance
of a drug trafficking crime; a consecutive 25-year sentence for the second, and
another consecutive 25-year sentence for the third. With a two-point firearm enhancement,
Weldon’s adjusted guideline level was 78 to 97 months, to be served
concurrently with the firearms mandatory minimums.
Read about Weldon's appeal in the Salt Lake City Tribune
here.