Defense witnesses deny buying synthetic drugs from Evansdale woman

Each of the seven witnesses who testified Wednesday in federal court in Cedar Rapids denied purchasing "Mr. Nice Guy," "Diablo," "Blue" or any other synthetic drug from Mary Ramos, who is on trial for distributing and selling the drugs.

They knew Ramos as their "Avon lady" or their friend who sold them Avon, Sensy and Tupperware products. Many had been friends with Ramos for 20 years but none had been offered any of the synthetic marijuana or bath salts sold at the I-wireless store in Cedar Rapids, which Ramos managed. They admitted to receiving deliveries at "all hours," outside of Ramos' working hours at the store, but it was always for beauty products and other accessories.  

Ramos, 52, of Evansdale is charged in U.S. District Court with distribution of a controlled substance XLR-11, distribution of a controlled substance analogue Alpha-PVP, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance XLR-11, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance analogue Alpha-PVP and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to a criminal complaint.

Ramos, who managed the I-Wireless store, 1551 First Ave SE, in Cedar Rapids, is accused of knowingly distributing and possessing XLR11, commonly known as synthetic marijuana or K2, according to a criminal complaint. The incidents occurred May 28, June 19 and June 26, 2013.

The defense rested before noon and Ramos didn't take the stand. On Tuesday, her attorney told the court she would testify.

The jury started deliberations after 3 p.m. and will continue Thursday.

Dora Huezo of Davenport testified she had known Ramos for more than 30 years. Ramos lived in the Quad City area for a number of years. She said Ramos started out selling Avon to Huezo's mother. Huezo usually buys Avon and Tupperware and Ramos sometimes delivers her orders to her workplace - many times after 10 p.m.

All the witnesses were asked if Ramos delivered their items, and at what time of day. because the prosecution presented testimony during the trial about how drug traffickers or dealers operated: Making deliveries during late hours.

On cross examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Chatham asked Huezo if she ever purchased bath salts from Ramos and how much she paid.

Huezo said she would buy Avon bath salts and the cost depended on a sale, but the most she paid was $9.99.

Jurors on Tuesday heard an audio recording of a controlled buy where Ramos met a woman working as a confidential informant for police in Waterloo and sold her bath salts, which contained a controlled substance (analogue) and is usually smoked or snorted for a "high," for $50 and synthetic marijuana for $25.

Brian Becker of Cedar Rapids testified he accompanied Ramos on some of her deliveries to customers, but he said the products were from Avon and Sensy. He said it wasn't unusual that Ramos would deliver the items to her customers at various hours of the day. He had been with on deliveries at 10:30 a.m. and 11 p.m.

Chatham asked if he recognized the packages of Blue.

"No. Most of the products were usually bagged up in her car when I was with her," Becker said.

Cindy Williams of Davenport said she had purchased Avon products from Ramos for over 20 years.

Mike Lahammer, Ramos' attorney, asked her if she knew Ramos had a gun.

Williams said she saw it on Facebook.

"I saw it on Facebook," Williams said. "She had pictures of herself at a firing range - doing target (practice)."  

In other testimony, Mike Hare, IRS special agent, testified as a rebuttal witness about the cash register tapes seized in a search June 26, 2013 at the I-wireless store, which was raided as part of a national synthetic enforcement operation.

Hare was asked to identify if there were any transactions for $25, $50, or $75 on June 20, 21 or 22, 2013.

In the audio recording of the controlled buy June 19, 2013, Ramos charged the informant $75. The prosecution was also attempting to show Ramos hadn't ran that sale through the store.

Hare said none were on the register tapes for June 20 and 21. There were some on June 22, but tax was added four transactions so they weren't even amounts.

On cross, Lahammer had Hare identify if there were any transactions between $48 and $60.

Hare identified several items in that range on each of the days. Most of the purchases were for cellphone minutes and texting but some were just listed as accessories.