United States v. Paulette

HAMILTON, Circuit Judge.

Ayiko Paulette helped found the Waverly Crips street gang in East St. Louis, Illinois, during the late 1980s and early 1990s. By 2012 he and the gang were trafficking large amounts of drugs in the area. Before his luck ran out in 2014, Paulette was leading the gang and managing its drug trade. He even controlled the sale of illegal drugs in nearby Washington Park, Illinois, and had many people working for him. Things unraveled, though, after Paulette sold 105 grams of cocaine to an informant during two controlled buys in May 2014. Two months later, authorities were…