Man Gets Prison for Drug Sales Near School

A 19-year-old Northridge man was ordered Monday to spend one year in prison under a new federal law that strengthens the penalties for distributing drugs near schools.

Rejecting pleas to allow Michael Jon Enders Jr. to serve time in a drug treatment program, U.S. District Judge William D. Keller said the new “schoolyard” statute requires at least a year in prison.

The case was the first in Los Angeles under the law, which was passed last year. Enders could have been sentenced to up to 60 years for selling 4.8 grams of cocaine in May to an undercover police officer at a home near a school for the disabled.

“We’re dealing with the sale and distribution of narcotics in the area of our schools, and this type of activity must be dealt with firmly,” Keller said.

“Young people have to know that no matter the quantity, this statute that Mr. Enders has pleaded to is intended to deter this type of activity,” he said, “and I, for one, am in agreement with the statute.”

Officer Posed as Student

Enders pleaded guilty July 21 to distributing 1.8 grams of cocaine near Diane Leichman High School in Reseda and another count of selling three grams of cocaine. The sales were made to a police officer posing as a student from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Thomas K. Buck conceded that the quantities of drugs involved were “very small,” but said a total of 14.2 grams were seized at the home by law enforcement authorities.

Enders’ attorney, Gerald V. Scotti, had earlier sought unsuccessfully to withdraw Enders’ guilty plea after learning that another defendant in the case was allowed to plead to lesser charges. Scotti said those charges carry a sentence of about seven months in a drug treatment facility.

The other defendant, Donald Lee Pease, 21, of Sepulveda, was responsible for bringing Enders into the cocaine transactions and was the person who directly sold the drugs to the officer, Scotti said.

“To give this kid a year when Donald Pease gets off with nothing is simply not fair,” Scotti told the judge.

3rd Defendant

A third defendant, Laina Eileen Cormack, also pleaded to lesser charges and was sentenced last month to 60 days in federal prison.

Keller postponed Enders’ imprisonment until Dec. 28, but denied requests to allow Enders to serve his time in a drug treatment facility.

Keller also denied Scotti’s request to add an additional day to the one-year prison term, a sentence that Scotti believes would render the youth eligible for parole after serving a third of the allotted time. Buck said he believes the new statute requires a sentence of one year without parole.

Scotti said he would appeal the judge’s ruling preventing Enders from withdrawing his guilty plea.