Joseph Carlton Meek Sentencing Transcript

2:15-cr-00633-RMG Date Filed 06/06/16 Entry Number 74 Page 1 of 32
1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
2 CHARLESTON DIVISION
3
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA :
4 :
vs. :
5 :
JOSEPH CARLTON MEEK : 2:15 - CR - 633
6
8 Plea in the above-captioned matter held Friday,
9 April 29, 2016, commencing at 1:13 p.m., before the
10 Honorable Richard M. Gergel, in the United States
11 Courthouse, Courtroom VI, 85 Broad Street, Charleston,
12 South Carolina, 29401.
13
14
APPEARANCES:
15
NATHAN S. WILLIAMS, ESQUIRE and
16 JULIUS N. RICHARDSON, ESQUIRE, Office of the
U.S. Attorney, P.O. Box 978, Charleston, SC,
17 appeared for the Government.
18 DEBORAH B. BARBIER, ESQ., 1811 Pickens Street,

Columbia, SC, appeared for defendant.
19
20
21
22
REPORTED BY DEBRA L. POTOCKI, RMR, RDR, CRR
23 Official Court Reporter for the U.S. District Court
P.O. Box 835
24 Charleston, SC 29402
843/723-2208
25
2
1 MR. RICHARDSON: United States versus Joseph Meek,
2 Criminal No. 2:15-633. We're here for a guilty plea hearing,
3 Your Honor.
4 THE COURT: Very good.
5 Good afternoon, Miss Barbier.
6 MS. BARBIER: Good afternoon, Your Honor.
7 THE COURT: I want to confirm that your client wishes
8 to change his plea from not guilty to guilty, pursuant to a
9 plea agreement. Is that correct?
10 MS. BARBIER: That is correct, Your Honor.
11 THE COURT: Miss Ravenel, let's swear the defendant.
12 (Defendant was duly sworn.)
13 THE COURT: Good afternoon, Mr. Meek.
14 THE DEFENDANT: Good afternoon, Judge.
15 THE COURT: I want to confirm that you wish to change
16 your plea from a plea of not guilty to guilty today. Is that
17 correct, sir?
18 THE DEFENDANT: That's correct, Your Honor.
19 THE COURT: I want to first confirm that I've been
20 provided a proposed plea agreement; I want to confirm that is
21 Mr. Meek's signature.
22 THE DEFENDANT: That's my signature, sir.
24 Mr. Meek, let me talk to you a little bit about what we're
25 going to be doing here today.

3
1 Before I can accept your plea of guilty, I need to satisfy
2 myself that you understand your legal rights, that your plea
3 is free and voluntary, it's an informed plea, and that you
4 are, in fact, guilty of the charge for which you are pleading.
5 So I am going to be asking you a series of questions. If I
6 ask you a question you do not understand, would you ask me to
7 rephrase it?
8 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
9 THE COURT: And to the extent I ask you a question
10 that you would like to ask your attorney for advice before you
11 answer it, you just let me know that and I will let you do
12 that. Okay?
13 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
14 THE COURT: Now, we started this process off by you
15 staying an oath to tell the truth, correct?
16 THE DEFENDANT: Correct.
17 THE COURT: And you understand your obligation to
18 answer my questions honestly, is that fair?
19 THE DEFENDANT: That's fair.
20 THE COURT: And you understand that should you answer
21 a question falsely, you could face further prosecution for
22 perjury or making a false statement. Do you understand that?
23 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, Your Honor.
24 THE COURT: Now, Mr. Meek, how old are you?
25 THE DEFENDANT: Twenty-one.

4
1 THE COURT: How far did you go in school?
2 THE DEFENDANT: Tenth grade is the last grade I
3 completed.
4 THE COURT: Are you currently under the influence of
5 any drug, medication or alcoholic beverage?
6 THE DEFENDANT: No, sir, except for one of my
7 prescriptions.
8 THE COURT: And what's the nature of the
9 prescriptions you're on?
10 THE DEFENDANT: I'm just on ADHD medicine.
11 THE COURT: And is that interfering with your ability
12 to understand the proceedings here today?
13 THE DEFENDANT: No, sir.
14 THE COURT: Would you promise me that if you got
15 confused or didn't understand what was going on, you would let
16 me know that?
18 THE COURT: Very good. Have you ever been treated
19 for mental illness?
21 THE COURT: Tell me about that.
22 THE DEFENDANT: When I was younger I just went like
23 to the mental health, until I was in high school, and then I
24 stopped going.
25 THE COURT: Would you, again, to the extent anything

5
1 in which you didn't understand the proceedings, you'd let me
2 know that here today?
4 THE COURT: Have you ever been treated for addiction
5 to alcohol or narcotic drugs?
6 THE DEFENDANT: No, Your Honor.
7 THE COURT: Okay. Miss Barbier, do you have any
8 doubts as to the defendant's competence to plead?
9 MS. BARBIER: No, I don't, Your Honor. With respect
10 to the questions that you just asked Mr. Meek, he is currently
11 under the care of a psychiatrist. And he has previously been
12 seen by psychiatrists at Lexington County Mental Health, and
13 has received various diagnoses over the years.
14 I don't have any concerns that he is not competent to
15 answer your questions today or that it's interfering in any
16 way with his ability to understand the proceedings or answer
17 your questions.
18 THE COURT: And, Miss Barbier, to the extent we went
19 along, you changed your opinion, you would alert the Court to
20 that, would you not?
21 MS. BARBIER: I would, Your Honor.
22 THE COURT: Mr. Richardson, do you have any question
23 as to defendant's competence to plead?
24 MR. RICHARDSON: We do not, Your Honor.
25 THE COURT: I find the defendant is competent to

6
1 plead to these charges.
2 Now, Mr. Meek, have you had an ample opportunity to
3 discuss your case with your attorney?
5 THE COURT: Are you satisfied with her
6 representation?
8 THE COURT: Has she done everything you've asked her
9 do?
10 THE DEFENDANT: Everything, Your Honor.
11 THE COURT: Is there anything else you want her to do
12 before we proceed with your guilty plea this afternoon?
14 THE COURT: Let me talk with you just a bit about
15 your legal rights. Because obviously, by pleading guilty,
16 you're waiving certain rights, and I want you to do that
17 knowingly and intelligently, if that's what you want to do.
18 Do you understand that under the constitution and laws of
19 the United States, you are entitled to plead not guilty. You
20 understand that?
22 THE COURT: And do you also understand if you plead
23 not guilty, you're entitled to a trial by jury, correct?
25 THE COURT: Now, if you decide to plead not guilty,

7
1 and request a jury trial, you would be afforded a number of
2 legal rights in my courtroom. Let me highlight some of the
3 more important ones for you. You would have the right to
4 assistance of counsel at every stage of the criminal
5 proceeding. You would be presumed innocent, and the
6 Government would be required to prove you guilty by competent
7 evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, and you would not have to
8 prove that you were innocent.
9 The witnesses for the Government would have to come to
10 court and testify in your presence, and your attorney could
11 cross-examine the witnesses for the Government, object to
12 evidence offered by the Government, and offer evidence on your
13 behalf.
14 While you would have a right to testify, if you chose to
15 do so, you also have the right not to testify, and exercise
16 your constitutional right to silence. And if you elected to
17 do that, I would instruct the jury that no inference or
18 suggestion of guilt could be drawn from the fact that you had
19 exercised that right.
20 You would also have the right to issue subpoenas to compel
21 the attendance of witnesses or the production of documents in
22 your defense.
23 Now, Mr. Meek, do you understand these rights as I've just
24 explained them to you?

8
1 THE COURT: Do you understand that if you plead
2 guilty and I accept your plea, you will have to give up your
3 right to a jury trial and the other rights I have just listed
4 to you; there will be no trial, and I will enter a judgment of
5 guilty and sentence you on the basis of your guilty plea.
6 Do you understand that?
8 THE COURT: Do you also understand that if you plead
9 guilty, you will also have to give up your right not to
10 incriminate yourself, because I need to ask you sufficient
11 questions to satisfy myself that you are guilty as charged,
12 and you will have to acknowledge to me your guilt.
16 guilty and I accept your plea, you may be required to make
17 restitution to the victims of your acts, either by the payment
18 of money or in personal services as may be directed by this
19 Court.
23 guilty and I accept your plea, I'm obligated to impose a
24 special assessment upon you, which I believe in this case is
25 $100.
9
3 THE COURT: Do you understand that since the offense
4 you are pleading is a felony conviction, that if your plea is
5 accepted, you may be deprived of valuable civil rights, such
6 as the right to vote, hold public office, serve on a jury or
7 possess a firearm of any type.
10 THE COURT: Now, Mr. Meek, now that I've discussed
11 with you your rights, do you still wish to plead guilty?
13 THE COURT: Now, have you had a chance to review the
14 indictment, which is the written charge against you?
16 THE COURT: Let me review that with you. And have
17 you had a chance to review that with Miss Barbier? Have you
18 had a chance to review the charges with Miss Barbier?
20 THE COURT: Very good. Let me just walk through with
21 you the indictment. There are two counts to which you are
22 pleading under this plea agreement. The first one is
23 misprision of a felony. And it alleges that in or about
24 June 2015, in the District of South Carolina, you, having
25 knowledge of the actual commission of a felony, cognizable by

10
1 a court of the United States, and specific crimes of a Hate
2 Crimes Act under 18 U.S.C. Section 249, and the obstruction of
3 the Exercise of Religion Act under 18 United States Code 247,
4 committed by Dylann Storm Roof, and that -- and you concealed
5 your knowledge of that fact and did not, as soon as possible,
6 make known the same to some judge or other person in civil
7 authority under the United States.
8 Do you understand that charge of misprision of a felony?
10 THE COURT: And the second count is making a false
11 statement. And it alleges that on or about June 18, 2015, in
12 the District of South Carolina, that you willfully and
13 knowingly made and caused to be made materially false,
14 fictitious and fraudulent statements and representations in a
15 matter within the jurisdiction of a department or agency of
16 the United States, and that specifically was to an FBI agent.
17 And that you -- and the false statement is that you did not
18 know the specifics of Dylann Roof's plan to shoot individuals
19 on a Wednesday during Bible study at an AME Church in
20 Charleston, South Carolina; whereas, in truth and fact, you
21 did know those facts and your statements were false,
22 fictitious and fraudulent.
23 Now, do you understand that charge?
25 THE COURT: Now, to establish your guilt under first

11
1 count one, the misprision of a felony, the Government would
2 have to prove the following elements. That a felony had been
3 committed by another person, that you had knowledge of the
4 commission of that felony, that you failed to notify
5 authorities of that knowledge, and that you took an
6 affirmative act to conceal that crime.
7 And count two, the elements the Government would have to
8 prove regarding the false statement is that there was a
9 statement that was false, that was material, that you made the
10 statement knowingly and willfully, and it pertained to a
11 matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the
12 United States Government.
13 Now, do you understand the elements the Government would
14 have to prove to establish your guilt under those two counts?
16 THE COURT: Very good. I do find the defendant fully
17 comprehends and understands the nature of the charges against
18 him, and generally what elements the Government would have to
19 prove if a trial were held.
20 Now let me talk to you about the maximum potential
21 punishment under each of those. First count one, the
22 misprision of a felony, a maximum imprisonment of three years,
23 a fine of $250,000, supervised release up to one year, and a
24 special assessment of $100.
25 Count two, the making a false statement, the maximum

12
1 period of imprisonment is five years, a fine of $250,000,
2 supervised release up to three years, and a special assessment
3 of $100.
4 So actually I told you earlier your total special
5 assessment would be 100; it was actually $200 total, because
6 there are two counts.
7 Now, Mr. Meek, if you pled guilty, or if you are convicted
8 by a jury, then I have to determine your appropriate sentence.
9 In determining that sentence, I'm required to consider the
10 statutory factors set out in 18 United States Code 3553(a),
11 but also the advisory Sentencing Guidelines issued by the
12 United States Sentencing Commission.
13 Have you and your attorney talked about how these
14 statutory factors and Sentencing Guidelines may affect your
15 sentence?
17 THE COURT: Now, you understand that we will not,
18 today, be sentencing you; that will be at a later point. Do
19 you understand that, sir?
21 THE COURT: And you understand that the sentence
22 imposed by this Court -- that may be imposed by this Court,
23 may be different from any estimate your attorney may have
24 provided you. Do you understand that?

13
1 THE COURT: And do you understand that if the
2 sentence is more severe than you expected, you will still be
3 bound by your guilty plea and you will have no right to
4 withdraw it. Do you understand that?
6 THE COURT: Now, you understand under certain limited
7 circumstances you're going to have a right to appeal, but that
8 that right to appeal has been partially waived. Do you
9 understand that?
11 THE COURT: Now, we will, when we go through the plea
12 agreement, we will get into specifics about that. And I will
13 turn to that in a moment.
14 Now, do you realize that if you plead guilty and I accept
15 your plea, and if there is a period of incarceration, that it
16 will be followed by a period of supervised release. Do you
17 understand that?
19 THE COURT: And do you understand if you're placed on
20 supervised release, that there are certain standards of
21 behavior you must maintain. Correct?
23 THE COURT: And you understand that should you
24 violate those standards of behavior, you could be returned to
25 prison. You understand that?

14
2 THE COURT: Okay. Now, Mr. Meek, are you pleading
3 guilty of your own free will because you are guilty?
5 THE COURT: Has anyone threatened you or forced you
6 in any way to plead guilty?
8 THE COURT: Has anyone promised you a specific jail
9 sentence?
11 THE COURT: There is a proposed plea agreement. And
12 I'm going to ask the assistant United States Attorney,
13 Mr. Richardson, to summarize in open court the terms of that
14 plea agreement. I want you to listen very carefully, because
15 I'm going to come back to you and ask you, is that consistent
16 with your understanding of your plea agreement. So listen
17 carefully.
18 Mr. Richardson?
19 MR. RICHARDSON: Thank you, Your Honor.
20 Paragraph one recounts, as Your Honor just went through,
21 the charges to which he is agreeing to plead guilty to, the
22 elements of each of those offenses, and the maximum penalty.
23 Paragraph two addresses the manner in which any monetary
24 penalties imposed by the Court are to be addressed.
25 Paragraph three reflects the defendant's understanding

15
1 that he must comply with state laws, as well as any bond. And
2 that if he fails to comply with any of the provisions of the
3 plea agreement, that the Government's obligations will be
4 void.
5 Paragraph four reflects the defendant's agreement to be
6 fully truthful and forthright, and the circumstances
7 surrounding his required cooperation.
8 Paragraph five, Your Honor, reflects his agreement to
9 submit to a polygraph examination and pass it to the
10 Government's satisfaction, if requested.
11 Paragraph six reflects the circumstances under which
12 self-incriminating information could be used against Mr. Meek
13 in any future proceeding.
14 Paragraph seven reflects that if the defendant cooperates,
15 and that the Government deems that cooperation to be -- having
16 provided substantial assistance in the investigation or
17 prosecution of another person, that the Government agrees to
18 move or ask this court to take that into account at his
19 sentencing.
20 Paragraph eight reflects, as Your Honor went over earlier
21 with him, that the defendant has met with his attorney and is
22 satisfied with her representation.
23 Paragraph nine, as Your Honor mentioned briefly, reflects
24 the defendant's understanding of his rights to contest his
25 conviction --
16
1 THE COURT: I want you to publish here that terms of
2 paragraph nine, if you might, sir.
3 MR. RICHARDSON: I anticipated; I will, Your Honor.
4 Paragraph nine reads: The defendant is aware that 18
5 U.S.C. Section 3742 and 28 U.S.C. Section 2255 afford every
6 defendant certain rights to contest a conviction and/or
7 sentence. Acknowledging those rights, the defendant, in
8 exchange for the concessions made by the Government in this
9 plea agreement, waives the right to contest either conviction
10 or the sentence in any direct appeal or other postconviction
11 action, including proceedings under 28 U.S.C. Section 2255.
12 This waiver does not apply to claims of ineffective assistance
13 of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, or future changes in the
14 law that affect the defendant's sentence.
15 This agreement does not affect the rights or obligations
16 of the Government as set forth in 18 U.S.C. Section 3742(b),
17 nor does it limit the Government in its comments or responses
18 to any post sentencing matters.
19 THE COURT: Let me just briefly -- we'll come back to
20 the plea agreement in just a minute.
21 Mr. Meek, I want to make sure you understand, because this
22 is an important waiver of a legal right, that you would be
23 waiving your right to appeal or to pursue postconviction
24 relief, other than in three narrow circumstances. First, if
25 there was prosecutorial misconduct; secondly, if there was

17
1 ineffective assistance of your counsel; or third, there was a
2 change in the law affecting your sentence. Other than that,
3 you would be waiving that right.
4 Do you understand that, sir?
7 Mr. Richardson, please continue to paragraph ten.
8 MR. RICHARDSON: Thank you, Your Honor.
9 Paragraph ten reflects the defendant's waiver of certain
10 rights under the Freedom of Information Act.
11 Paragraph 11 reflects that the parties agree that this
12 plea agreement contains the entire agreement.
13 And then on the last page, which is page ten, this is
14 signed by Joseph Meek, as Your Honor confirmed earlier, along
15 with his counsel and the Government.
16 THE COURT: Mr. Richardson, if you'll look on page
17 one, it refers, in paragraph one, to the misprision of a
18 felony, and it refers to it as 18 U.S.C. Section 3. Isn't it,
19 in fact, Section 4?
20 MR. RICHARDSON: It is, Your Honor.
21 THE COURT: Let's mark that change on the -- I
22 believe I have the original here. Let me hand it and let's
23 make it -- correct that change.
24 MR. RICHARDSON: Yes, Your Honor.
25 (Brief interruption in proceedings.)

18
1 THE COURT: Okay. Mr. Meek, you've heard the summary
2 provided by the assistant United States Attorney concerning
3 the amended plea agreement. Is that consistent with your
4 understanding of the plea agreement?
6 THE COURT: Very good. I'm now going to ask the
7 assistant United States Attorney to summarize the evidence the
8 Government would offer against you at a trial of this matter.
9 Now, Mr. Meek, this is a very important part of this
10 proceeding. I want you to listen very carefully. And I'm
11 going to come back to you and ask you, do you dispute any of
12 the facts that have been asserted, and if so, what specific
13 facts those are.
14 So, Mr. Richardson, let's take it slow.
15 MR. RICHARDSON: Yes, Your Honor. Through a variety
16 of different types of evidence, the Government, at a trial of
17 Mr. Meek, would prove that on June the 17th, 2015, Dylann
18 Storm Roof, motivated by racial hatred, opened fire with a
19 Glock .45 caliber pistol, as he sat in a Bible study at
20 Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston,
21 executing nine parishioners, and traumatizing the surviving
22 victims.
23 Prior to June the 17th, Roof told Joseph Meek that he was
24 going to shoot people at an AME church in Charleston. That he
25 was going to do so at a Bible study, that he was going to do

19
1 so on a Wednesday night. He told Mr. Meek that he, Roof, had
2 visited the church before and learned about the Bible study.
3 That he had been planning the attack for more than six months.
4 He told Mr. Meek that he was going to use a fanny pack to
5 carry the gun and magazines with him. And that he intended to
6 start a race war by doing so. Finally, Mr. Roof told Mr. Meek
7 that after the attack, that Mr. Roof was going to kill
8 himself.
9 Upon learning, on the night of the 17th, of the attack at
10 Mother Emanuel in Charleston, Meek told others that he knew
11 Roof had committed the attack. Yet, despite the fact that law
12 enforcement continued to frantically search for the identity
13 of the shooter and to locate Mr. Roof, Meek did not call law
14 enforcement that night. Instead, Meek told others not to
15 contact the police with the information about Roof.
16 THE COURT: Did others indicate their intention to do
17 that, to him?
18 MR. RICHARDSON: Yes, Your Honor, but that
19 conversation occurred, most cleanly, on the morning of
20 June 18th, which I'm about to describe.
21 THE COURT: Okay.
22 MR. RICHARDSON: On the morning of June the 18th, one
23 of Mr. Meek's friends told Meek that they had to do something
24 and report Roof as being the shooter. In response, Mr. Meek
25 then told the friend to not contact the police.

20
1 Despite that instruction, the friend called an FBI tip
2 line anyway, informing the FBI that Roof had committed the
3 offense.
4 That friend then contacted Mr. Meek. And only then
5 learning that the friend had already contacted law
6 enforcement, and a photograph of Roof had been distributed,
7 only at that point did Meek then call law enforcement himself.
8 Later, on June the 18th, Meek was interviewed by a special
9 agent with the FBI. During that interview Mr. Meek denied
10 advance knowledge of any details of Roof's plans, and claimed
11 that Roof had not spoken of a target of his attack.
12 On June the 20th the FBI agents again interviewed
13 Mr. Meek. While Meek at first continued to deny advance
14 knowledge of Mr. Roof's plans, Meek ultimately admitted that
15 he had lied to the FBI agents, and detailed the information
16 that Roof had told Meek in advance, including that Roof was
17 going to shoot people at an AME church in Charleston, that he
18 was going to do so on Wednesday night Bible study, that he had
19 visited the church and learned about the Bible study, that
20 he'd been planning it for more than six months, that he had a
21 lot of magazines for his pistol, that he was going to use a
22 fanny pack, and that Roof was doing this in order to start a
23 race war, because no one else would do it.
24 And finally, Your Honor, he also explained that Mr. Roof
25 had indicated that he was going to kill himself after the

21
1 shooting.
2 THE COURT: Okay. Mr. Meek, you have heard the
3 summary provided by the assistant United States Attorney. Do
4 you dispute any of those facts?
6 THE COURT: Let me have you articulate in your own
7 words for me, first of all, your awareness of Mr. Roof's plans
8 prior to that night. What did you know?
9 THE DEFENDANT: Well, he told me while he was talking
10 the week before it happened, I didn't know of it until it
11 actually happened.
12 THE COURT: Well, the week before it happened, what
13 did he tell you about his plan?
14 THE DEFENDANT: That he was going to go down to
15 Charleston and do what he did.
16 THE COURT: Did he tell you that he intended to go to
17 an AME church?
19 THE COURT: Did he tell you he had been scouting the
20 church?
22 THE COURT: Did he tell you he had a gun and he
23 intended to use it?
25 THE COURT: Did he tell you he had extra bullets so

22
1 he could kill as many people as possible?
2 THE DEFENDANT: There were no bullets at the time,
3 but there were clips.
4 THE COURT: Clips? Did he tell you he had clips?
6 THE COURT: And that he intended to shoot multiple
7 people?
9 THE COURT: Did he tell you it was going to be on a
10 Wednesday night?
12 THE COURT: Did he tell you it was going to be a
13 Bible study? At a Bible study?
15 THE COURT: Did he tell you he'd been planning this
16 for a number of months?
18 THE COURT: Now, on the night of the event, did you
19 know that it was Mr. Roof who had done this?
20 THE DEFENDANT: Well, since he had told me a week
21 before, I had in my mind that it was him.
22 THE COURT: You had a high degree of confidence it
23 was him?
25 THE COURT: And did you share that with anybody that
23
1 night?
3 THE COURT: Who did you report that to?
4 THE DEFENDANT: I didn't call law enforcement.
5 THE COURT: I know, but who did you tell? Did you
6 tell some friends that night?
8 THE COURT: Who were those friends?
9 THE DEFENDANT: Dalton Tyler, Lindsey Fry, Cassy
10 Mullseller, (phonetic) Chris -- I don't know his last name.
11 THE COURT: Y'all happened to be together that
12 evening?
14 THE COURT: Did any of them indicate that they -- did
15 you ask them then or did you tell them then not to report it
16 to anybody?
17 THE DEFENDANT: Well, I anticipated myself and just
18 saying I was going to wait until there was a picture to know
19 for sure.
20 THE COURT: Did you tell them that night or the next
21 morning that not to report it?
23 THE COURT: Did you tell them, first of all, that
24 night, not to report it?

24
1 THE COURT: And then the next morning, when your --
2 when one of the friends told you he was going to report it,
3 you encouraged him not to report it, is that correct?
5 THE COURT: You were seeking to conceal it, correct?
7 THE COURT: Now, let's talk about the statement to
8 the FBI agent. You were interviewed several days later by an
9 FBI agent?
11 THE COURT: And the first time, did you deny your
12 knowledge of the plan?
14 THE COURT: Did you know when you made that statement
15 that it was false?
17 THE COURT: Did you know that it was part of a
18 criminal investigation at that time?
20 THE COURT: And you knew you were being asked by an
21 FBI agent making that investigation, correct?
23 THE COURT: And you made that false statement
24 knowingly to him, did you not?

25
1 THE COURT: You intended to mislead him, did you not?
3 THE COURT: Okay. Mr. Richardson, are you satisfied
4 with those responses?
5 MR. RICHARDSON: I am, Your Honor.
6 THE COURT: Miss Barbier, anything you wish to add to
7 that?
8 MS. BARBIER: No, Your Honor.
9 THE COURT: Okay. It is the finding of the Court in
10 the matter of the United States versus Joseph Meek, that the
11 defendant is fully competent and capable of entering an
12 informed plea, that the defendant is aware of the nature of
13 the charges and the consequences of the plea, and that the
14 plea of guilty is a knowing and voluntary plea, supported by
15 an independent basis in fact, containing each of the essential
16 elements of the offense. The plea is, therefore, accepted,
17 and the defendant is now adjudged guilty of the offense.
18 Miss Ravenel will hand the guilty plea for Mr. Meek's
19 signature.
20 Mr. Meek, let me talk to you about the process from here.
21 A presentence report will be prepared by my probation
22 department. And it will provide me a fairly detailed
23 background on you, your personal history, family history, any
24 prior criminal history, and the facts relating to this
25 particular matter.
26
1 The probation officer will sit down with you; Miss Barbier
2 can join you for that. The probation officer does not work
3 for the prosecutor or for the defense. The probation officer
4 works for me. And it's to provide me the initial sentencing
5 information. We will then have a sentencing hearing at a
6 point in the future, at which point I will address the issue
7 of sentencing.
8 Now, Miss Barbier, are there further matters to come
9 before the court at this point from the defense?
10 MS. BARBIER: Your Honor, just a matter with respect
11 to bond, and I don't know if Your Honor wants to get into
12 that.
13 THE COURT: Does the Government oppose the
14 continuation of bond?
15 MR. RICHARDSON: We do not, Your Honor, we don't
16 think the facts have changed since the bond was set.
17 THE COURT: Mr. Meek, you understand that on bond
18 there are certain standards of behavior you must maintain.
19 You understand that, sir?
21 THE COURT: And now that you have pled guilty,
22 obviously it is even more important for you to maintain those
23 standards of behavior. And you're pledging to me you will do
24 that, correct?

27
1 THE COURT: You understand, should you violate those,
2 I would immediately revoke your bond and you would be
3 incarcerated. Do you understand that?
5 THE COURT: Okay. The bond will continue under the
6 same terms.
7 Are there further matters the defense needs to address at
8 this point?
9 MS. BARBIER: Just one matter, Your Honor. I've
10 discussed this with the Government. There is one condition of
11 his bond that we believe is no longer necessary, and has
12 worked a great hardship on Mr. Meek's family, and that is his
13 ability to communicate with his brothers. His two brothers
14 are on a list of people that he's to have no contact with.
15 And we would ask that that condition be lifted. The
16 Government has agreed to it and does not have an objection to
17 it.
18 THE COURT: Just for the record, I see you nodding,
19 Mr. Richardson, that that is correct?
20 MR. RICHARDSON: We have no objection to that change,
21 Your Honor.
22 THE COURT: Very good. Bond will be modified to
23 remove the brothers from the no contact list.
24 MS. BARBIER: Thank you, Your Honor.
25 THE COURT: Why don't you return to your seat at this

28
1 point.
2 Mr. Richardson, are there any victims who wish to be
3 heard?
4 MR. RICHARDSON: Your Honor, I believe that we do.
5 THE COURT: I'll be glad -- we're here to hear from
6 anyone who wishes to be heard.
7 MR. RICHARDSON: Beg the Court's indulgence, Your
8 Honor.
9 THE COURT: Take your time.
10 MR. RICHARDSON: Yes, we do have one.
11 THE COURT: Very good. If you could come to the
12 podium and state your name, please, sir.
13 MR. RICHARDSON: Your Honor, he is being assisted by
14 a sign language interpreter.
16 INTERPRETER: My name is Gary Washington. And I want
17 to talk about my mother. I was always with my mother in the
18 church, I always helped her, she was always with me. Every
19 day and weekly at the church she cleaned.
20 Now I want to talk about what happened, about what went
21 on, what happened in the church. I met my mother at the
22 church that day and I hugged her, I told her to be careful,
23 and then I left to go to work. I had no idea then until all
24 the police cars, and I knew something was going on. What in
25 the world.
29
1 Then when I was finished with work at 2:00 in the morning,
2 I arrived home and I turned on the news, and I couldn't
3 believe, downtown at my mom's church, I was shocked to see
4 what had happened. So I ran to the church, and everything was
5 blocked by the police. And I tried to contact to see if my
6 mother was all right, and I was told maybe not. And I felt
7 really bad.
8 And then I went back to the church and had to go to a
9 hotel. And I went in. Lots of people looked at me, and my
10 sister said I had to go into this room. And asked what was
11 wrong, and they said, "Your mother has died." And I was
12 shocked and I was so hurt and cried. I just wanted to know
13 why, who did this? And I mean, I never met this white boy
14 before. It was the first time that he would go into the
15 church, I just don't understand and I didn't like it.
16 You know, Mother was nice, Christians are supposed to go
17 to church. And then I had my family members here, if y'all
18 stand up. She went with my mother to church. She was a
19 Christian, and she goes too. My family. I just want you to
20 know how we feel.
21 I have no family, you know, it was always me with Mom. My
22 sisters go, but I'm deaf, so Mom was always with me. And I
23 don't have anyone to help me. I am miserable and I have
24 suffered. But I'm going to try to continue to work. But I
25 feel really bad.

30
1 So I'm glad that we have a lawyer to help us. And then
2 the Court case was postponed and I was angry about that.
3 So -- hold on a second -- something about 50 percent
4 cooperation here -- Anyway, it's made a mess in the family. I
5 don't like that. We used to cooperate, everything was nice, a
6 lot of respect and involved in the church. But now everything
7 has kind of fallen apart and everything has happened. And
8 then Dylann is in prison.
9 And, you know, so -- and people were complaining about
10 other things, and I told them just to calm down. And then
11 when I'm ready to go to court, I will go to court, because my
12 sisters have gone. And when my sisters were there and never
13 picked me up to take me. So this is the first time that I've
14 come here, and I'm happy that I am here, and I'm happy that
15 you're here in court.
16 I guess I'll take care of myself and take care of my
17 children and take care of my family and my nieces and nephews
18 and be sure that they're all right. And we're good. Anyway,
19 I love them all, still love church, we still go to the church
20 to pray, and I'll take care of myself. And thank you.
21 THE COURT: Thank you, sir. Any others like to
22 speak?
23 MR. RICHARDSON: Not at this time, Your Honor.
25 Anything further from the Government?

31
1 MR. RICHARDSON: Nothing, Your Honor.
2 THE COURT: Hearing is adjourned.
4 (Hearing adjourned at 1:48 p.m.)
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1 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATION
3 I, Debra L. Potocki, RMR, RDR, CRR, Official Court
4 Reporter for the United States District Court for the District
5 of South Carolina, hereby certify that the foregoing is a true
6 and correct transcript of the stenographically recorded above
7 proceedings.
10
S/Debra L. Potocki
11 _______________________________
12 Debra L. Potocki, RMR, RDR, CRR
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Joseph Carlton Meek Sentencing Transcript

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Joseph Carlton Meek Sentencing Transcript

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2:15-cr-00633-RMG Date Filed 06/06/16 Entry Number 74 Page 1 of 32

1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

8 Plea in the above-captioned matter held Friday,

9 April 29, 2016, commencing at 1:13 p.m., before the

10 Honorable Richard M. Gergel, in the United States

11 Courthouse, Courtroom VI, 85 Broad Street, Charleston,

12 South Carolina, 29401.

18 DEBORAH B. BARBIER, ESQ., 1811 Pickens Street,

1 MR. RICHARDSON: United States versus Joseph Meek,

2 Criminal No. 2:15-633. We're here for a guilty plea hearing,

4 THE COURT: Very good.

5 Good afternoon, Miss Barbier.

6 MS. BARBIER: Good afternoon, Your Honor.

7 THE COURT: I want to confirm that your client wishes

8 to change his plea from not guilty to guilty, pursuant to a

9 plea agreement. Is that correct?

10 MS. BARBIER: That is correct, Your Honor.

11 THE COURT: Miss Ravenel, let's swear the defendant.

12 (Defendant was duly sworn.)

13 THE COURT: Good afternoon, Mr. Meek.

14 THE DEFENDANT: Good afternoon, Judge.

15 THE COURT: I want to confirm that you wish to change

16 your plea from a plea of not guilty to guilty today. Is that

18 THE DEFENDANT: That's correct, Your Honor.

19 THE COURT: I want to first confirm that I've been

20 provided a proposed plea agreement; I want to confirm that is

21 Mr. Meek's signature.

22 THE DEFENDANT: That's my signature, sir.

23 THE COURT: Very good.

25 going to be doing here today.

1 Before I can accept your plea of guilty, I need to satisfy

3 is free and voluntary, it's an informed plea, and that you

5 So I am going to be asking you a series of questions. If I

6 ask you a question you do not understand, would you ask me to

8 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.

9 THE COURT: And to the extent I ask you a question

13 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.

14 THE COURT: Now, we started this process off by you

15 staying an oath to tell the truth, correct?

16 THE DEFENDANT: Correct.

17 THE COURT: And you understand your obligation to

18 answer my questions honestly, is that fair?

19 THE DEFENDANT: That's fair.

20 THE COURT: And you understand that should you answer

21 a question falsely, you could face further prosecution for

22 perjury or making a false statement. Do you understand that?

23 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, Your Honor.

24 THE COURT: Now, Mr. Meek, how old are you?

25 THE DEFENDANT: Twenty-one.

1 THE COURT: How far did you go in school?

2 THE DEFENDANT: Tenth grade is the last grade I

4 THE COURT: Are you currently under the influence of

5 any drug, medication or alcoholic beverage?

6 THE DEFENDANT: No, sir, except for one of my

8 THE COURT: And what's the nature of the

9 prescriptions you're on?

10 THE DEFENDANT: I'm just on ADHD medicine.

11 THE COURT: And is that interfering with your ability

12 to understand the proceedings here today?

13 THE DEFENDANT: No, sir.

14 THE COURT: Would you promise me that if you got

17 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, Your Honor.

18 THE COURT: Very good. Have you ever been treated