Money, drugs and 'a living hell' for Seattle crack dealer

At 41, “Diamond” Dwight Weems “encapsulates the epitome of the damned.”

That’s how the career cocaine dealer’s attorney put it as Weems prepared to face judgment in his most recent heavyweight drug bust.

Weems was still fairly fresh from prison in February when police arrived at his Renton Highlands home looking for drugs and money. They found plenty of both – a Kent police officer involved in the investigation recalled finding quart-size baggies of crack cocaine and a 30-pound bag of cash, one of several money piles found in the suburban house.

Drug dealing had been good to Weems. Except when it landed him in prison. Which, it turns out, was most of the time.

At 17, he was sentenced to two years in custody after he was caught selling two crack rocks for $40. He’s been racking up stiffer sentences since.

Since his 14th birthday, Weems has enjoyed six years as a free man. Even then, he claims to have been lost to drug addiction for much of it.

“My life has been a living hell from my time of birth,” Weems said in a letter to the federal judge in Seattle tasked with sending him back to prison.

“I don’t know my sons nor my daughter because I have been locked up all of their lives,” the Seattle native continued. “My grandson was born a couple of weeks ago, and I will not be able to get to know him because of my actions.”

Federal prosecutors asked that Weems be sentenced to 18 years in prison, his longest term yet and something of a break for the career offender. Weems has requested the minimum sentence – 15 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik split the difference Friday, sentencing Weems to 16 years in prison. The judge requested Weems be placed at the federal prison in Sheridan, Oregon, the closest such facility to Seattle. 

In a memo to Lasnik, defense attorney Peter Mazzone argued Weems deserved what little leniency was available under the law. By the time Weems serves the sentence, he will have spent 37 years in prison exclusively for drug crimes.

Mazzone said his client's crimes were driven in part by a rough upbringing. Weems started smoking marijuana at age 9 and was on the street three years later.

“Not all people are dealt the same hand in life,” Mazzone said in court papers. “And some simply lose their way in trying to deal with the hand they’ve been given. Mr. Weems is one of those people.”

Weems was on probation for his prior crimes in February when he and his girlfriend, Mozell Frazier-Dubois, were caught running a large drug ring out of their home.

As prosecutors describe it, Weems was selling small quantities of drugs to many, many people.

Investigators raiding the home seized a large amount of crack cocaine – much of it was still in “cookies” and had not been broken up for sale – as well as heroin and powder cocaine packaged for sale.  More than two pounds of marijuana was recovered, as was $404,842 in cash.

All told, investigators recovered 14 pounds of cocaine and 3½ pounds of heroin. Weems and Frazier-Dubois had a collection of designer clothes and Gucci bags, as well as three guns. Body armor was recovered from the home, as was a receipt for a $29,000 Rolex watch.

Writing the court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Becker described the defense request for a 15-year prison term as “wholly inappropriate” given Weems’ history.

By age 12, Weems was living on the streets, using drugs and dealing to pay his way. According to his attorney’s account, he was born to a single, drug-addicted mother. He doesn’t know who his father is.

Weems was a regular in the criminal justice system by age 15. Having already served a two-year term in juvenile detention, Weems was sentenced to 6½ years in prison at age 20 after he was caught with less than an ounce of cocaine.

Two federal drug convictions followed. Weems did poorly while on probation and had difficulty finding work, due in part to his priors. The employers that would hire him paid far less than his drug business.

Becker noted that Weems appeared to be running an “enormously profitable” drug ring by the time investigators intervened.

“There appears to be little short of incarceration that this court can do to curb the defendant’s appetite for funding his extravagant lifestyle with criminal activity instead of legitimate employment,” the federal prosecutor told the court.

Becker went on to note that Weems’ guns and drugs were in a home that also included Frazier-Dubois’ child. Frazier-Dubois has pleaded guilty to related offenses and is expected to be sentenced in coming weeks.

Mazzone noted that Weems – who does not appear to have ever been convicted of a violent crime – will have served far more time in prison than most murderers by the time he is released.

Weems remains jailed pending his sentencing hearing at U.S. District Court in Seattle.

Seattlepi.com reporter Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.