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Drug dealer in Malik Snell case is sentenced
A small-time drug dealer who testified three times against rogue Philadelphia police officer Malik Snell was sentenced yesterday to six years in prison.
Keith Robinson, 34, pleaded guilty in September to possessing 37 grams of crack cocaine with intent to distribute it.
With two previous drug convictions in 1997 and 2004, Robinson could have received 21 to 29 years behind bars if U.S. District Judge Jan Dubois had stuck to the federal sentencing guidelines.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo Tsao asked the judge for leniency.
"It's a complex case," Tsao said. "It is not your usual case of selling drugs."
Robinson sold cocaine to "not to live a lavish lifestyle but to provide for his six children," Tsao said.
Robinson kept the proceeds of his drug sales at an apartment in Pottstown.
Two Philadelphia men knew where Robinson stashed his cash. On December 16, 2007, Tyree Aimes and Stephen Gibson asked Snell to drive them to Pottstown because they thought they were less likely to be caught if a police officer was at the wheel.
Aimes, Gibson, and Snell broke into the apartment, ransacked it, and beat up one of the occupants. They did not find Robinson's cash.
Aimes and Gibson later pleaded guilty. Snell was tried three times, the first two trials ending in hung juries.
Snell was found guilty June 8 of conspiracy, attempted robbery, and a weapons offense in connection with the botched home invasion. He was also found guilty of taking $40,000 in cash from a South Philadelphia drug kingpin during a bogus police car stop.
Robinson testified at all of Snell's trials.
Yesterday, Robinson appeared contrite and apologized to the court and his family for his life in the drug underworld.
"I committed a crime and I take full responsibility," Robinson said as several family members looked on.
In addition to the six-year prison sentence, Robinson must serve five years of supervised release and pay a $500 fine.
Contact staff writer Sam Wood at 215-854-2796 or samwood@phillynews.com.
