U.S. Attorney: Your Honor, I would like to call my second witness, Mr. John Ellwood.
Judge: Mr. Ellwood.
Clerk: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Ellwood: I do.
U.S. Attorney: Please state your name and occupation for the record.
Ellwood: John Ellwood. I am a mechanic by trade, but I guess you could say that I'm, currently, unemployed. I am waiting to be sentenced to a federal prison on a couple of felony counts for dealing drugs.
U.S. Attorney: In connection with your upcoming sentencing for drug-related offenses, you have made an agreement with the Government to testify about your drug dealing in exchange for a more lenient sentence. However, your testimony must be completely truthful. If it is not, the agreement will be of no benefit to you and you may be prosecuted for perjury. Is that right?
Ellwood: Yes.
U.S. Attorney: Do you know the defendant and, if so, how long have you known him?
Ellwood: Yeah, I know Dan. I've known him for about two years. I got to know him when we worked at Tom's Auto Repair and from there, you might say, we formed a business partnership.
U.S. Attorney: What was the nature of that partnership?
Ellwood: I was a member of the East Town Gang. My job was to monitor drug transactions. By monitoring, I mean, it was my job to see that the shipments of drugs we received were distributed to street dealers. Dan McPherson, was a street dealer who worked my territory -- East Town High.
U.S. Attorney: How did you come to form this business partnership with the Defendant?
Ellwood: About a year and a half ago, Dan hit me up at Tom's Auto Repair, where I worked. He waited till no one else was around, then asked if he could talk to me alone. All hush, hush. Said that he needed a way to make some extra money, and he heard that I could help him.
Not knowing if I could trust him, I sized him up for a couple of months to see if he was the Big Man on Campus that he said he was. It became obvious to me that he had a lot of connections and, over time, I realized I could trust him. I've got a pretty good feel for these things.
U.S. Attorney: How often did you and the Defendant conduct business?
Ellwood: The first transaction was September something, 2004. Beginning of the school year. I would say that we seen each other every few weeks since then, until my arrest in November, 2006. He just kept the names and the money coming and I kept my part of the bargain.
U.S. Attorney: About how much money would you say the Defendant made?
Ellwood: I would say, over the course of a couple months, maybe $10,000. For a high school kid part time, that's decent. He's a hustler. The guy knows everybody.
U.S. Attorney: Thank you, Mr. Ellwood. No further questions.
Judge: Does Defense Counsel have any questions for this witness?
Defense: Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Ellwood, did the U.S. Attorney's Office offer you any incentive for your testimony today?
Ellwood: I was offered a plea bargain. If I agreed to plead guilty and to name my contact at East Town High, I might receive a lighter sentence.
Defense: How much lighter?
Ellwood: They didn't say, exactly. But they led me to believe it'd be worth it to cooperate.
Defense: Did the Defendant ever meet you for reasons other than providing him with drugs to sell?
Ellwood: Yes. I worked on his car a few times when he was souping it up for the girlfriend. I guess you could say that I was his mechanic. I also worked on his parents' cars.
Defense: Did the Defendant ever work for you?
Ellwood: Not full time. He wanted to learn some stuff about cars. Said he wanted to drive a NASCAR someday. Girlfriend was into them. You know how chicks are about NASCAR these days. Wanted to know everything about cars, so he'd be successful on the circuit. So, I let him help out on a few jobs. Since I'm paid piece work, it helped me knock out more jobs and make more money. I gave him a cut and still came out ahead.
Defense: Ahh...so that is what Dan meant when he asked if there was anything you could do to help him get some extra money.
U.S. Attorney: Objection! Calls for speculation.
Defense: Withdrawn. No further questions.
Judge: Redirect?
U.S. Attorney: Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Ellwood, did the fact that the Government offered you a plea bargain have any impact on your testimony against the Defendant today?
Ellwood: No.
U.S. Attorney: Even when the Defendant was assisting you with auto repairs, did you still provide him with marijuana?
Ellwood: Yeah.
U.S. Attorney: Thank you. No further questions.