Pubdate: Wed, 23 Nov 2005
Source: Daily Progress, The (VA)
Copyright: 2005 Media General Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.dailyprogress.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1545
Author: Liesel Nowak

TESTIMONY PEPPERED WITH STREET TALES

Day seven of the trial of four men charged with running a 
Charlottesville narcotics ring focused on a marijuana delivery gone 
bad, an alleged kidnapping and a drive-by shooting.

When a large chunk of a 50-pound marijuana shipment went missing in 
the spring of 2004, an "upset" Louis Antonio Bryant pointed a gun at 
the man he suspected of taking it, according to testimony from 
22-year-old Jonathan Banks.

Bryant, Terrance Suggs, Claiborne Lemar Maupin and John Darrelle 
Bryant are all charged with racketeering, or committing crimes to 
protect a Char-lottesville-based drug enterprise. Their trial will 
continue past the Thanksgiving holiday into next week.

Banks said Suggs, who is from Philadel-phia, delivered the weed to 
him in a large moving box. After the marijuana had been divided into 
three smaller amounts, Banks said, some of it was stolen out of the 
trunk of his car.

His older brother, Lamont Payne, testified that he had arranged the 
delivery from behind bars so that profits could go to the mother of his child.

Payne's best friend, Louis Bryant, allowed Suggs to stay at his 
house, Banks said, and was involved in trying to find out who stole 
the marijuana.

Bryant wrongfully accused a man named Curtis Johnson of the theft and 
threatened to shoot him, according to Brandon Scott, Banks' roommate 
and one of the real marijuana bandits.

Armed with a black semiautomatic pistol, Bryant pointed the gun at 
Johnson while asking him where he wanted to take a bullet, Scott said.

Later, a still-armed Bryant orchestrated an all-night search on the 
streets of Charlottesville for another suspected thief, Robert "Face" 
Pryor, Banks said. Johnson, who was taken along for the ride, cried 
continually and, at one point, began writing out a last will and testament.

Bryant ultimately gave up the hunt for the night, and Johnson 
returned home unharmed, Banks said.

Scott said he and two other friends, including Pryor, stole the 
marijuana out of the trunk of Banks' car. They eventually sold the 
weed for $20,000.

In the weeks after the theft, Pryor's father's house was the target 
of a drive-by shooting. His mother and sister testified that they 
were hassled by men asking about Pryor's whereabouts.

Payne, Banks and Scott have already pleaded guilty to a drug 
conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing. They are among several 
witness-defendants who hope to receive lighter sentences for their 
cooperation with the government.

With each such witness, Bryant's lawyer, Jonathan L. Katz, emphasizes 
that the men stand to gain personally from their testimony against his client.

The men have all said they've been told to tell the truth and have 
been made no promises by prosecutors.

Payne grew up with Bryant, and the two were close friends and 
business partners in a struggling recording business. Bryant was a 
rap artist who went by the name "Bugsy Stacks," or "B-Stacks."

"It's very hard for me to do so because he's my best friend and I 
love him," Payne said of testifying.

The trial will resume today. Court will be closed Thursday and Friday.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman