That information came to IND Monthly from Lance Dyer of Bremen, Ga. Dyer is involved in the federal case as a witness, and as the father of 14-year-old Dakota Dyer — so far, the only confirmed victim of “Mr. Miyagi.” Dyer contacted IND Monthly Tuesday afternoon, saying he was just informed by a federal agent that Joshua Espinoza and Boyd Anthony Barrow, both of Georgia, had pleaded guilty around 1 p.m.
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| Joshua Espinoza |
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| Boyd Anthony Barrow |
IND Monthly left voice mails and sent emails to Collin Simms, the lead prosecutor in the case, and Mona Hardwick, the communications director for U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley’s office. As of this morning’s deadline, neither Simms nor Hardwick had responded.
Barrow and Espinoza owned and operated Pinnacle Products, based out of Marieta, Ga. They represent the tie between Curious Goods and NutraGenomics, the Atlanta-based company operated by Drew Green and Tommy Malone Jr.
Green and Malone, also from Georgia, pleaded guilty in September. According to court documents, Barrow and Espinoza obtained a range of synthetic chemical substances from NutraGenomics. Barrow and Espinoza mixed those chemicals with various herbal blends to make their line of Mr. Miyagi products; synthetic marijuana advertised as a non-ingestible air-freshener or “Potpourri.”
“The dominos are starting to fall,” says Dyer, who is awaiting his chance to give a victim impact statement during the January sentencing hearings for Green and Malone.
“They’re getting scared,” he says. “Four have now fallen, and that only leaves one more guy here in Atlanta, one in Florida, and the three from Lafayette.”
The five remaining defendants include Dan Francis of Atlanta, Ga., Alexander Derrick Reece of Gainesville, Fla., Curious Goods owner Richard Buswell of Lafayette, Carencro attorney and Buswell’s business partner Barry Domingue, and Lafayette criminal defense 
attorney Daniel Stanford.
Stanford has been the subject of IND Monthly’s previous coverage of the conspiracy. He confirmed Dyer's information on Barrow and Espinoza's guilty pleas, and says he has no plans to follow their lead.
Stanford’s text messaged response: "TRIAL!!!! NO COMPROMISE OR PLEAS. I DID NOTHING ILLEGAL!!!!"
That will require waiting for about eight months, as the trial for Stanford and the four remaining co-defendants will not get under way until at least mid-July.
Though IND Monthly has yet to receive an official copy of Barrow and Espinoza's plea agreement, if it is the same as the one signed by Green and Malone in September, for which copies are available, that means they will only be charged with one count of distribution as opposed to the 17 counts of conspiracy included in the original grand jury indictment. And according to the deal signed by Green and Malone, that includes cooperating in the federal government's case against the remaining defendants.
Click here, here, here and here to read more of IND Monthly's coverage of the ongoing case.
JUNE 16 This story in the Advocate tells us that the state Department of Education is taking a look at the Course Choice program. They're doing that because the legislature (probably responding to reporting by Tom Aswell, who does not work for the Advocate) ordered them to make sure that these private companies aren't signing six-year-olds up for high school Latin classes without their parents' knowledge or consent.
JUNE 17 Columnist James Gill writes about the recent complaint of death row inmates at Angola: it's hot as you-know-what in their cells, with the heat index topping 120 for months. Since we're not executing people anymore (Gill opines) then we should probably officially end the practice of putting people on death row. The prisoners, by the way, are not asking for cool breezes: they only ask for clean water and a temp that doesn't top 88.
JUNE 17 Here's blogger Ian McGibboney's take on the Baton Rouge plan to give bus tickets to homeless people who have a home with family who live far away. Taken from one point of view, it could be a good solution for some people. But McGibboney raises some good points here, including this one: Why not improve opportunities for everybody in Baton Rouge so these people can find the jobs they came to BR for?
JUNE 17 Picayune columnist Jarvis DeBerry talks here about the Zimmerman trial, but the real topic is the concept of a black man being more dangerous, somehow, than a white man in a fight. It is an interesting discussion, and one that may enlighten people who think that racism doesn't exist because nobody's keeping black folks from eating at the Woolworth lunch counter.
JUNE 17 Here's an interesting column from Baton Rouge Business Report's publisher, Rolfe McCollister, about anger against the government. It's brewing because of recent revelations about the IRS and the GSA, he says. It's readable, not just for the subject, but because of McCollister's collection of sources: Huffington Post, National Review and Wikipedia. That's a combo you don't see every day.
JUNE 17 In this American Press post, Jim Beam talks about the high school diploma track that lets kids who aren't interested in university get what they want and need out of high school. The diplomas get kids ready for technical school, Beam explains, and then he goes on to give some of the numbers. Some of these numbers might really surprise people who think technical school is second best. And, Beam adds, a college diploma does not guarantee anybody a job.
JUNE 17 The Washington Post reports here that OSHA is going to investigate the explosion that occurred last week in Donaldsonville, shortly after the other fatal accident in Geismar. As soon as the site is safe, State Police will be pulling out of the Donaldsonville plant to make way for OSHA investigators, the story reports. (Hey, here's an idea: why don't they go a couple miles down the road and figure out what happened when that massive sinkhole started sucking up land.)
JUNE 17 Robert Mann writes about the LSU Board of Supervisors in this post, taking a look at the many ways board members have served Gov. Jindal and not their university or their students. The board members are esteemed members of their fields, but can't seem to do anything but say "yes" to Jindal, regardless of the cost to LSU, Mann opines.
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