Scandal - Caught in the Drug War crossfire: the tragedy of Rachel Hoffman

[MrG]

Of course she didn't know what she was doing, the fact that she didn't raise the flag when they mentioned a gun purchase proves that she had no idea it was not a regular thing to request from a dealer.

They probably knew as soon as she asked for the weapon with the drugs that she was part of a sting operation. The moment she pulled up I imagine they checked her for a wire, found it and then killed her.

Idiot cops.

You see, if these cops actually knew anything *other* than the bullshit those in power are force feeding the masses, then they would have known from the start how stupid it was to ask for a gun as well as the drugs.

I don't know whether to be more mad or depressed at the state of this whole sorry affair.

Shame on them, shame on them all. I hope each and every one of those LE assholes responsible for her death have to suffer crushing guilt each and every day of their lives until they are dead. I wish them nothing but sorrow and misery for the rest of their lives.

Reputation Comments on this post:

	Correct, as usual
	good stuff

[Heretic.Ape.]

Just a heads up if anyone is wondering where your post over the last page went: this thread has gone way off topic and I have cleaned it up a bit. We're not discussing gun laws. If you feel I have deleted something relevant you may contact me.

[dpayne]

SwiD believed it to all be relavant to the situation as to put into perspective america's stance to guns etc compared to other countries.

The internet is a multi-national envirnment and after reading those posts by ??Beeker??? gave someone from outside the US a total different idea of what exactly had been done in this case, or to put it this way how seriously illegal fire arms are dealt with compared to legal firearms. (As from where swiD grew up watching movies etc from an outsiders perspective America and guns are yea no worries would you like fries with that) Not majorally off topic and if off topic only in that it was informative in high detail rather than opioniated that the topic had drifted.

The explaining of the harshness and what the police were trying to CREATE with introducing a gun in relation to the laws involving guns and drugs is totally different to those in swiD country and to be honest the deleted posts were something that have left an impression in swiD mind that he was totally unaware and miss informed of.

As an outsider to the US swiD feels that maybe it had some relavance to the odd non us resident.

[Figaro]

I think the cops acted negelable and the family should suite them for causing her death. On top of that they wanted to blame it on her, what are they nuts.

[chillinwill]

Buying Gun Was Hoffman's Idea

Transcripts Released In Investigation

It was Rachel Hoffman's idea to buy the handgun thought to have been used to kill her in May when a drug sting went bad, according to documents released Saturday by the Tallahassee Police Department.

That and other details are revealed in more than 500 pages of transcribed interviews conducted by TPD's internal-affairs investigators with the officers and Drug Enforcement Administration agents involved in the operation. Two of Hoffman's friends also were interviewed.

Included in the transcripts, which were used to compile a 199-page internal-affairs report made public in late September, is the full interview with former investigator Ryan Pender, Hoffman's main police contact.

His firing for violating nine department rules was announced the day the earlier report was released. Four more senior officers were suspended for two weeks without pay. Chief Dennis Jones and Deputy Chief John Proctor were reprimanded.

Pender said the 23-year-old Hoffman hoped that buying a gun would help satisfy the vague terms of her confidential-informant work so she could more quickly get out of Tallahassee and on with her life. Hoffman planned to go to culinary school, her friends have said.

Hoffman, a recent Florida State University graduate, had been caught with about a quarter-pound of marijuana in her apartment in April when she began working with police.

"She asked, 'Well, if I bought a gun would that ... help my charges?' " Pender told internal-affairs investigators Danielle Davis and George Creamer in an Aug. 22 interview. "I said, 'Any charge you get against him, if you bought anything stolen from him, and he's dealing with stolen property, that would be a charge. That would help with substantial assistance."

The gun she was to buy from the two men now charged with her murder is thought to have been stolen from the car-detailing shop where they worked days before the doomed operation. If convicted, Andrea Green, 25, and Deneilo Bradshaw, 23, could face the death penalty.

The fact that a gun would be purchased as part of the deal was not included in Pender's written plan. He pointed out, however, that it did say that firearms would be present.

Still, Pender conceded he was rushed to get the plan done, according to the transcript.

"It was a small mistake on my behalf as far as accuracy," he said.

Pender wasn't worried about Hoffman buying a gun, he said, despite the fact that she had no experience with firearms. He told her not to touch it and said her desire to purchase one for protection wouldn't seem strange to the suspects because she was a drug dealer who had been robbed twice before, the transcripts state.

"Now if ( she ) were wanting to buy stolen rims, that wouldn't have made sense," he said.

The transcripts also provide more insight into why Pender was not concerned about sending Hoffman off alone with $13,000 in cash. It would have been out of character for her to steal the money, he said, but if she did flee she'd be easy to find.

"She's a "" as she called it "" a very religious, family-oriented girl," he said.

Pender also said in the internal-affairs interview that Hoffman was used to handling lots of money. According to him, she admitted to moving five to 15 pounds of marijuana a week, an amount worth at least $26,000. Hoffman's friends, though, described her as a low-level dealer who wasn't selling that much marijuana.

"So what is $13,000 to her?" he said. "It would be insufficient. It would be pennies. It wouldn't be worth it."

Authors: Nic Corbett, And Jennifer Portman, Democrat Staff Writers
Pubdate: Sun, 02 Nov 2008
Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL)
Copyright: 2008 Tallahassee Democrat
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n995/a03.html?1042

[MrG]

How convenient, the one person allegedly responsible for the decision to add a firearm to the mix also happens to be the only one who cannot verify, nor counter, that allegation.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Hit the nail right on the head

[gardis]

what would be really screwed up is if the 2 people who shot here claimed it was entrapment because they would not normally act that way. I do not know if they could even claim entrapment for a murder case and i doubt it would fly. but this is just flat out ridiculous 0 deaths a year from marijuana use, and who knows how many from prohibition...