ELYRIA — Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski sentenced Kareem “Kill” Tucker to 25 years in prison Monday for a July 2010 kidnapping and home invasion.
Kareem “Kill” Tucker tells Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski that he expects to be released from custody during his sentencing Monday. (CT photo by Bruce Bishop.)
Tucker, 26, had been offered three years in prison during pretrial negotiations to resolve the charges he faces in that case and three other unrelated criminal cases, Betleski said. The other cases remain pending.
Tucker defended himself during his trial last week after firing defense attorney Kenneth Lieux, who was supposed to advise him during the trial.
In documents filed with the court and during court appearances, Tucker has argued that he cannot face legal sanctions for the events that led to the criminal charges against him because he doesn’t have a contract with the state of Ohio. Tucker has said that the Uniform Commercial Code bars him from being prosecuted.
In addition, he has said that he is a Moor, which entitles him to diplomatic immunity. He also has argued that the court system should operate under maritime law because Betleski has a gold-fringed American flag in his courtroom.
The judge has routinely rejected those arguments and did so again during Monday’s hearing when Tucker again raised the issues.
“I waive all the benefits,” Tucker said after Betleski told him how long he would spend in prison. “I do not agree to do no 25 years.”
At another point in the hearing, Tucker asked the judge to zero out his account and said he was appointing Betleski as his trustee, a position the judge refused to accept.
Assistant County Prosecutor Donna Freeman had asked Betleski to impose the maximum sentence in the case, which the judge said would have been 45 years behind bars.
According to prosecutors, police and witnesses in the case, Tucker, Ivan Brooks and Delno Clayton kidnapped Calvin Parker, stripped him down to his underwear, bound him with duct tape and forced him into the trunk of a car.
Clayton and Tucker then went to the apartment Parker shared with his girlfriend, Shamika Hisle, and held her and three children at gunpoint for several hours while they ransacked the residence. They eventually left after Parker gave them the combination to a safe where he kept drugs and about $4,000 in cash.
Brooks received four years in prison after pleading guilty. Clayton also has pled guilty in the case and had been scheduled to get four years as well, but failed to appear for his sentencing hearing and will receive a longer sentence when he is captured, the judge said.
Betleski said he imposed a severe sentence in Tucker’s case because Tucker has a criminal record and the facts of the case make it one of the most heinous crimes of its type he’s encountered during his time as a judge.
Betleski also had harsh words for the man he believe is responsible for Tucker’s decision to argue that he is immune from prosecution because of commercial law and Moorish diplomatic immunity.
That man, whom Betleski did not name, is King Ayettey Zubaidah, the leader of STAND, a court watchdog organization.
Betleski said Zubaidah, who wasn’t in court Monday, has given bad advice to Tucker and other criminal defendants, resulting in many of them receiving lengthy prison sentences.
“If I gave advice as bad as him, I would not show up at my client’s sentencing either,” Betleski said.
Afterward, Zubaidah denied that he has given legal advice to anyone. He said that he and other blacks are the victims of a racist criminal justice system and that without entering into a contract with the government no one can be subjected to criminal charges or incarceration.
Zubaidah said only God can judge people for their actions.
“It’s not for a man to judge another man,” he said.
The Lorain County Bar Association sought and received an interim cease-and-desist order last year against Zubaidah that bars him from the unauthorized practice of law, something Zubaidah denies he has done.
Chris Cook, the Lorain attorney who is handling the case for the bar association, said Monday that the case is still pending before the Supreme Court, but there have been discussions about resolving it without a hearing.
Isa 30:1- Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
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