Ahead of his sentencing in just over two weeks, Tower Suites co-owner Shervington ‘Big Head’ Lovell through his lawyer is asking US Judge Paul G. Gardephe not only to be lenient but for him to serve his time at Fort Dix Federal Correctional Facility in New Jersey to afford him the opportunity to pursue vocational training in horticulture.
Lovell, who has been in a US jail since 2018, pleaded guilty to count seven of his drug trafficking indictment last November before Justice Gardephe, who is due to hand down a sentence on May 20.
His attorney, Eon Smith, in a sentencing submission, said his client has a background in farming but never had any formal education in that field and therefore wants to prepare himself for re-entry into society while serving his sentence.
Describing Lovell as a loving father of eight children, his lawyer referred to the several hand written letters from his relatives and friends that were sent to the judge speaking to his character and his generosity as he was known to always give to the needy.
Letters came from his wife, Keisha Phillips, his brother, Shawn Lovell, children and employees all asking the judge to be lenient with him and attesting that he would not commit such a crime again.
The lawyer pointed out that his client accepted responsibility from the moment he was arrested in Jamaica and did not challenge his extradition and his instructions from the outset, was to arrange a plea.
While incarcerated, Lovell, according to his lawyer, faced unprecedented challenges and spent a great deal of time confined to his cell for reasons that had nothing to do with him.
“Mr. Epstein’s tragic death and the missing loaded firearm led to the facility being lockdown for several days, and in some instances weeks at a time,” the lawyer said.
The ‘Mr. Epstein’ referred to by the lawyer was American financier and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein who reportedly died by suicide in a New York prison cell on August 10th, 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.
Lovell’s freedom of movement was further hampered due to the effects of COVID-19, which resulted in him having no access to visitors or even a phone call. But despite all of this, his lawyer said he managed to take General Educational Development classes and was awarded a Lead by Example Certificate.
‘Wrong’
Lovell, according to his lawyer, accepts that his participation in the drug transaction was wrong, regardless of his motivation to do so and understands that the decision and his punishment will impact his children, wife and community.
“The individual the Government presents to the court is a drug dealer that engages in drug dealing for profit. While Mr. Lovell did stand to gain from the transaction, that is not who he is. He is a farmer, vendor and gold miner. Mr. Lovell is a loving father of 8 children. Regardless of the circumstances of their birth, Mr. Lovell has never tried to shirk his parental responsibilities,” the lawyer wrote.
The lawyer said that while he acknowledges that his client’s conduct is deserving of punishment, he is just asking for leniency. He submitted that the statutory mandatory minimum or above is not needed to achieve the purposes of the deterrence and to promote respect for the law.
‘Always a provider’
Meanwhile, according to Lovell’s wife, Phillips, her husband has always been a provider and caretaker not only for his children but her niece and countless others in their community. She spoke of him dropping out of school to assist his single mother and siblings as a child when he worked long hours doing odd jobs. She said he was supportive and attentive to his family and community. She also said he was remorseful about his actions and asked that the judge be lenient with him.
His son, who is named after him, described his father as a friend, mentor, therapist and much more. He said he believes his father understands where he went wrong and would do better if given a second chance.
One of his step-sons also wrote a letter in support of Lovell and asked the judge for leniency.
His fifty-year-old brother, Shawn, also wrote a letter and said he can guarantee that his brother would not make such a mistake again even as he spoke of his dedication to his family and his good work ethics.
“I have every confidence that Mr. Lovell will avoid making such poor decisions in the future,” the brother wrote.
Another character reference was provided by a woman who said she knew Lovell for about nine years and one of the things that struck her about him was his drive for assisting the less fortunate.
“He also ensured every year on each of his children’s birthdays they visit various orphanages around Guyana. During these visits orphans got to enjoy lunch, party bags and just a happy time to be appreciated. The great smiles on those children’s faces will always melt anyone’s hearts,” the woman said.
She, too, indicated that he will not commit such an act again.
The government is expected to make its pre-sentence submissions tomorrow.
Count Seven
Count Seven of the indictment states that from about April 2018 to July 2018 in Guyana, Jamaica, Colombia, on the high seas and elsewhere, Lovell along with three other named men and others who are known and unknown intentionally and knowingly combined, conspired, confederated and agreed with each other to violate the maritime drug and enforcement law of the US.
While on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the US it was said that they knowingly and intentionally possessed with intent to distribute a controlled substance in violation of Title 46, United States Code, and Section 70503 (a) (1). The controlled substance involved in the offence was 5 kilograms and more of mixtures and substances containing a detectable trace of cocaine in violation of US laws.
As a result of committing the offence, Lovell and the other accused are subject to forfeiture to the US of all controlled substances, all raw material products of any kind, all listed chemicals, all drug manufacturing equipment, all encapsulating machines and all gelatin capsules. Also all conveyances, including aircraft, vehicles or vessels, all books, records and research, including formulas, microfilms, tapes and data, properties, including any right title and interest, cash and any firearms are all to be forfeited.
Lovell was nabbed in 2018 following months of investigation and planning by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, which saw him meeting with confidential sources (CSs) in Georgetown and Jamaica to allegedly plan a cocaine shipment to the Netherlands.
It was following the interception of a cocaine-laden vessel, 350 miles off Diamond Valley, Barbados on July 27th, 2018 that a sealed US arrest warrant was issued for Lovell. He and his co-conspirators were allegedly hoping to traffic the 624 kilogrammes of cocaine to the Netherlands via the Azores.
Lovell and Colombian Ricardo Ramirez were arrested along with a Surinamese national on October 25th, 2018, at the Norman Manley International Airport in Jamaica on drug trafficking charges.
