United States v. Pipkins

378 F.3d 1281, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 15860, 2004 WL 1717660
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedAugust 2, 2004
DocketNo. 02-14306
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 378 F.3d 1281 (United States v. Pipkins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Pipkins, 378 F.3d 1281, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 15860, 2004 WL 1717660 (11th Cir. 2004).

Opinion

COX, Circuit Judge:

I. INTRODUCTION

In November of 2001, police arrested fifteen Atlanta pimps. A grand jury subsequently returned a 265-count indictment naming these fifteen pimps, involving conduct spanning from 1997 to November, 2001. Thirteen of the pimps named in the indictment pleaded guilty. Only two — Defendants Charles Floyd Pipkins and Andrew Moore (“the Defendants”) — proceeded to trial. The evidence at trial demonstrated that Pipkins and Moore prostituted juvenile females— at least one of whom was as young as 12 — from at least 1997 until their arrest in late 2001. The Defendants were convicted of conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d), to violate the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), and of violations of a host of other criminal statutes. They appeal.

Pipkins and Moore raise a number of issues. Most noteworthy is whether the evidence supports the jury’s finding that they agreed to participate in an enterprise that met the statutory definition of a RICO enterprise. We affirm the Defendants’ convictions and sentences.

[1285]*1285II. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Defendant Pipkins (known as “Sir Charles”) and Defendant Moore (known as “Batman”) were pimps who operated in southwest Atlanta in an area around Metropolitan Avenue (formerly called Stewart Avenue) known as the “track.”1

To persuade underage females to prostitute for them, the Defendants (and other pimps charged in the indictment) presented a vision of ostentatious living, promising fame and fortune. Pimps perpetrated this myth with their own flamboyant dress, flashy jewelry, and exotic, expensive cars. To support this apparently extravagant lifestyle, each pimp kept a stable of prostitutes with a well-defined pecking order. At the top of each pimp’s organization was his “bottom girl,” a trusted and experienced prostitute or female associate. Next in the pimp’s chain of command was a “wife-in-law,” a prostitute with supervisory duties similar to those of the bottom girl. A pimp’s bottom girl or wife-in-law often worked the track in his stead, running interference for and collecting money from the pimp’s other prostitutes. The bottom girl also looked after the pimp’s affairs if the pimp was out of town, incarcerated, or otherwise unavailable.

The pimps also recognized a hierarchy among their own. “Popcorn pimps,” “wanna-bes,” and “hustlers” were the least respected, newer pimps. A “guerilla pimp” (as other pimps and prostitutes considered Moore) primarily used violence and intimidation to control his prostitutes. Others were regarded as “finesse pimps,” who excelled in the psychological trickery needed to deceive juvenile females and to retain their services. Finally, “players” (apparently, in this case, Pipkins) were successful, established pimps who were well-respected within the pimp brotherhood.

Both pimps and prostitutes generally referred to their activities as “the game.” To the pimps, an important component of the game was domination of their females through endless promises and mentally sapping wordplay, physical violence, and financial control. The pimps created a system in which their prostitutes were incapable of supporting themselves or escaping their reliance on the pimp. A prostitute lived either in her pimp’s home or in a room at a motel or boarding house paid for by the pimp. The pimp provided clothes for his prostitute, as well as money for the prostitute to fix her hair and nails. The pimp also provided condoms to the prostitute, or money to buy condoms. Also, the pimp frequently used threats of violence to control his prostitutes, or rewarded his prostitutes with drugs for meeting monetary goals. Other times, a pimp dispensed drugs to a prostitute to ensure that she was able to function through the night and into the early morning hours.

The pimping subculture in Atlanta operated under a set of rules, presented in the video called Really Really Pimpin’ in Da South. This videotape was made in Atlanta by Pipkins and Carlos Glover, a business associate. Really Really Pimpin’ in Da South featured prominent Atlanta pimps, including Pipkins, explaining the rules of the game. This video, along with its companion piece, Pimps Up Hoes Down, outlined the pimp code of conduct, and was repeatedly shown to new pimps and prostitutes alike to concisely explain what was expected of a prostitute. The origin of Pimps Up Hoes Down is unknown. In essence, these videos taught that prostitutes were required to perform [1286]*1286sexual acts, known as “tricks” or “dates,” for money. Prostitutes turned tricks in adult clubs, in parking lots, on mattresses behind local businesses, in cars, in motel rooms, or in rooming houses. A prostitute charged $30 to $80 for each trick, and was required to turn over all of this money to her pimp. Some pimps gave their prostitutes a “quota” to earn over $1,000 a night.

Despite the pimps best efforts to subjugate their prostitutes, the rules allowed a prostitute to move from one pimp to another by “choosing.” This was accomplished by the prostitute making her intentions known to the new pimp, and then presenting the new pimp with money, a practice known as “breaking bread.” The new pimp would then “serve” the former pimp by notifying him that the prostitute had entered his fold. The former pimp was bound to honor the prostitute’s decision to choose her new pimp. A prostitute who frequently moved from pimp to pimp was known as a “Choosey Susie.” And, a prostitute might “bounce” from pimp to pimp by moving among different pimps without paying for the privilege of choosing.

Choosing another pimp was not without risk for the prostitute. A prostitute could be punished for merely looking at another pimp; this was considered “reckless eyeballing.” Owner pimps apparently were afraid that if their prostitutes were sufficiently impressed with another pimp’s vehicle, clothes, and manner, she might choose a new pimp.

Other rules governed a prostitute’s conduct. She was required to surrender all of the money from her dates; if she did not, she would be guilty of “cuffing.” She was also required to unquestioningly obey her pimp and treat him with respect; if she did not, she was “out of pocket.” At the whim of her pimp, a prostitute was obligated to have sexual intercourse with him, another pimp, or even another prostitute.

The pimps sometimes brutally enforced these rules. Prostitutes endured beatings with belts, baseball bats, or “pimp sticks” (two coat hangers wrapped together). The pimps also punished their prostitutes by kicking them, punching them, forcing them to lay naked on the floor and then have sex with another prostitute while others watched, or “trunking” them by locking them in the trunk of a car to teach them a lesson.

The pimps did not service only the Metropolitan Avenue clientele. For example, Pipkins branched out on the Internet, forming a web-based escort service which allowed customers to select a particular prostitute from pictures posted on a website. Also, pimps sometimes sent their prostitutes to Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta because patrons paid a premium for prostitutes in that neighborhood. Pip-kins entertained members of a municipal police force at his home on at least one occasion, where they engaged in sexual intercourse with his prostitutes.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Doe v. McCoy
N.D. Georgia, 2024
Andrew Moore v. B. Birkholz
C.D. California, 2022
Rosalba Cisneros v. Petland, Inc.
972 F.3d 1204 (Eleventh Circuit, 2020)
Trinell King v. Ricky Pridmore
961 F.3d 1135 (Eleventh Circuit, 2020)
United States v. Cristobal Velasquez
881 F.3d 314 (Fifth Circuit, 2018)
United States v. Baston
818 F.3d 651 (Eleventh Circuit, 2016)
United States v. Robert Brandon Bilus
626 F. App'x 856 (Eleventh Circuit, 2015)
State of Minnesota v. Larry Darnell Lakes
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2015
United States v. Omar Weise
606 F. App'x 981 (Eleventh Circuit, 2015)
United States v. Carlos Andres Monsalve
342 F. App'x 451 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
United States v. Djoumessi
538 F.3d 547 (Sixth Circuit, 2008)
Garcia v. Vanguard Car Rental USA, Inc.
540 F.3d 1242 (Eleventh Circuit, 2008)
United States v. Nascimento
491 F.3d 25 (First Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Mark Madison
477 F.3d 1312 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Justin Evans
476 F.3d 1176 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Vincent Williams
203 F. App'x 976 (Eleventh Circuit, 2006)
United States v. Wayne Robert Banks
190 F. App'x 825 (Eleventh Circuit, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
378 F.3d 1281, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 15860, 2004 WL 1717660, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-pipkins-ca11-2004.