Informant in federal drug case lured by woman to his murder

(MSNBC / Washington Post) WASHINGTON – Andre Hayes’s phone rang one October afternoon, and a mysterious woman was on the line. She had called the wrong number, she told him. But she didn’t hang up. They bantered a bit. They flirted. She said he sounded nice.

Over the next week, they spoke or texted by cellphone more than 100 times. As he drove to meet her on Halloween night, they chatted for 29 straight minutes. And then, as he awaited their rendezvous in a dark suburban driveway, Hayes was shot dead.

Hayes, a slick dresser with a sharp wit, was described as a fun-loving guy who doted on his relatives and three daughters. But close friends said he also had a weakness: women.

Hayes, who lived in Clinton, sold drugs and held odd jobs. During the past 15 years, he had been arrested a few times on charges ranging from assault to drug possession. In January 2007, he was arrested on federal cocaine distribution charges in Virginia.

Soon, he was working out a deal with the Drug Enforcement Administration: He would help them arrest other dealers if they would recommend a lighter sentence for him. By September, he was telling DEA Agent Kendrah Johnson that he knew a guy named “Weldon” who sold marijuana, crack and heroin, according to notes taken by the agent and filed in court.

During the next 11 months, Hayes bought more than 150 grams of crack from “Weldon,” later identified as Weldon Gordon, in three deals — one in Maryland and two in the District, according to court papers filed by the DEA and federal prosecutors.

The woman, Tiffany Reaves, 30, of Upper Marlboro, has been indicted on a federal charge of conspiring to obstruct justice by killing a witness. The charge carries a potential sentence of death. Reaves’s boyfriend, Weldon Gordon, 31, has been indicted on federal drug charges tied to undercover purchases made by Hayes on behalf of federal investigators.

In other news, millions of Americans today will buy and sell alcohol, from 3.2% to 75.5% potency.  Nobody will be arrested for these transactions.  Nobody will be making deals with prosecutors to help arrest others for these transactions.  Nobody will compel their girlfriend to seduce those who help prosecutors.  And nobody will be murdered over these transactions or for helping prosecutors.