SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A 68-year-old San Antonio man whose life prison sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama is back in jail after authorities say he crashed his car into another vehicle while fleeing from officers following a drug deal.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad on Friday ordered Robert Gill held without bail pending a Feb. 16 hearing.
Gill was arrested in 1990, convicted and sentenced to life for cocaine and heroin distribution conspiracy. While in prison, he studied law and petitioned the president for a second chance. Obama commuted Gill’s sentence in 2015, making him one of about 1,700 federal inmates commuted by Obama as part of a campaign to give relief to nonviolent offenders.
He’d been working as a paralegal at a San Antonio law firm, according to the San Antonio Express-News (http://bit.ly/2kGO0W0 ).
Gill now is charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
Federal court records showed that hours after he met with a federal probation officer on Thursday, Gill bought 1 kilogram of cocaine, about 2 pounds. He’d been under surveillance since last month after authorities received information that he’d become involved in illegal drugs.
After an exchange in a parking lot where he received a black backpack, a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy attempted to pull him over and he fled at high speed, according to court records.
The documents say he collided with another vehicle and tried to flee again but was stopped by other officers. Cocaine was found in the backpack and he told authorities he planned to sell it, according to the court records.
“I’m so disappointed to hear that he got arrested again,” said Ronald Schmidt, a lawyer who had represented Gill. “We all have free will, and apparently, he made a bad decision again and he’s going to have to suffer the consequences again. That’s unfortunate.”
If convicted, Gill now faces between five and 40 years in prison.
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Information from: San Antonio Express-News, http://www.mysanantonio.com
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