NORWICH – Jury selection will begin Thursday in the case against the man at the center of a 2009 drug bust involving the seizure of $25,000 worth of crack cocaine.
Michael A. Victor Jr., 30, was indicted in 2009 on eight charges including second degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a Class A-II felony carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. He also faces three counts of second degree criminal possession of a weapon, a Class C felony which carries a maximum of 15 years in prison; three counts of third degree criminal possession of a weapon, a Class D felony; and second degree conspiracy, a class B felony.
Victor’s trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday, but his attorney Michael A. Garzo Jr. requested the matter be adjourned for two days while defense counsel reviewed evidence recently turned over by the Chenango County District Attorney’s Office. Garzo’s request was granted by Judge W. Howard Sullivan.
Garzo and his client were in court yesterday to argue the admissibility of that evidence, which consists of recordings of phone calls made by Victor during his incarceration at the Chenango County Correctional Facility.
Victor has been an inmate at the county jail since March 27, 2009, when, following an undercover investigation, law enforcement officials raided two apartments in the City of Norwich.
Victor was believed to live in one of the apartments – at 31 Hickok Ave. – with his then-girlfriend, 20-year-old Curissa Jenkins, while the couple used the other – at 72 Plymouth St. – as a front for a illegal narcotics operation.
In the subsequent search of the two residences, police allegedly seized quantities of both marijuana and crack cocaine as well as several thousand dollars in bundled cash and a loaded 12-gauge shotgun.
Further charges were filed against Victor after police raided a storage unit allegedly rented in Jenkins’ name on April 3. Inside the unit was a 2004 Mercedes Benz coupe in which police discovered $25,000 worth of crack cocaine. A loaded assault weapon and other loaded firearms, all with their serial numbers ground off, were also allegedly found hidden in the car.
Victor remains an inmate of the correctional facility, where he is held in lieu of $400,000 cash bail – $200,000 for each of the two most serious charges against him.
In January of 2010 his co-conspiritor, Curissa Jenkins, pleaded guilty to fifth degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a class D felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of two and a half years with one year of post release supervision. As part of a negotiated plea deal, she has agreed to testify against Victor in exchange for a lesser sentence.