Surgeon General’s Son Convicted of Selling Cocaine
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The 28-year-old son of Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders was convicted Monday of selling $275 worth of cocaine to an undercover officer last summer.
Deputy Prosecutor Chris Palmer said he will seek at least 10 years in prison for Kevin Elders at sentencing Aug. 29.
The offense is punishable by a term of up to life in prison.
Circuit Judge John Plegge ruled in the non-jury trial that Elders had failed to prove entrapment.
Elders had claimed that an acquaintance who set up the drug deal had threatened to expose Elders’ drug habit and embarrass his mother during her Senate confirmation hearings unless Elders obtained cocaine for him.
The surgeon general also testified briefly that she and her family had been subjected to open opposition when President Clinton nominated her for the job.
Her husband, Oliver, was also in Little Rock for the trial.
Kevin Elders was convicted of selling one-eighth ounce of cocaine to the undercover officer and the acquaintance.
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