Pubdate: Sat, 06 Apr 2002 Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA) Copyright: 2002 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.uniontrib.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386 Author: Greg Moran Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) COURT AT FRONT LINE OF DRUG WAR Ever-Rising Number Of 'Mules' Processed CHULA VISTA -- They file into the courtroom, their faces forlorn, wrists handcuffed, heads bowed. It is just after 1:30 p.m. in the South Bay superior courtroom of Judge William S. Cannon, and another day in the unique court is about to begin. In the drug war there are the generals, the Arellano Felixes, the Pablo Escobars. There are lieutenants, corporals, lowly soldiers. And then there are the small fry, the mules. Like Jose Tomas Aquero Medrano, Miguel Bermudes, Francisco Ibarra and Cirilio Lopez Morales, who were brought before Cannon last month. Since 1995, under an agreement with federal prosecutors, thousands of small-time smugglers who have been caught by customs agents at the international border in San Ysidro have been handed over to local prosecutors, who brought charges in state court. What started with a handful of cases - about 200 in its first year, according to the District Attorney's Office - has turned into close to 2,000 prosecutions per year. They now account for between 35 percent and 40 percent of all felony case filings in the South Bay courthouse here, according to supervising Judge Jesus Rodriguez. South Bay is the smallest of the county's five courts. Previously, these small-time smugglers were prosecuted by the federal government as misdemeanors - a veritable slap on the wrist. Some simply were not prosecuted as the federal officials turned their attention to bigger cases with bigger drug loads - trying to catch a bigger fish. Then, seven years ago county prosecutors agreed to take smaller cases that fit certain guidelines. Most cases involve marijuana smuggling, although some also involve small amounts of cocaine, said Deputy District Attorney David Greenberg, the chief of his office's South Bay branch. Prosecutions involve loads of 220 pounds or less, and only focus on first-time offenders. Greater amounts of drugs or smugglers with a previous record are handled by federal prosecutors, said Greenberg. Under the guidelines of the agreement between the county and the federal government, the cases must have a connection to San Diego County. For instance, the car the drugs were found in must be registered in San Diego, the smuggler must live here, or the drugs must be destined for delivery in the county. The crush of cases is handled expeditiously. About 95 percent of all defendants plead guilty at their first court appearance, and are sentenced two weeks later, said Greenberg. "The huge majority of these cases, they are simply sentencing cases," he said. "There is really no defense." In most other felonies in which defendants plead guilty it takes at least a month to process a case. The average amount of drugs confiscated is 50 to 60 pounds, said Rodriguez. While that may sound large, it is small compared to the flood of drugs authorities say is crossing over the border. Typically, defendants have been recruited to drive a car across the border, leave it at a designated location and collect $500. They often are used by large operators to probe the border defenses, or even to try to distract agents while other operatives attempt to smuggle in a much larger load. "They are the mules, and they are not major dealers," said Rodriguez. Greenberg said instead of small smugglers getting hit only with a misdemeanor, at worst, when processed by federal authorities, they now face harsher penalties. All cases are filed as felonies, which can never be reduced in the future by a judge. Non-citizens are deported and excluded from entering the country again. "We want to make sure we don't let people smuggle drugs in here on a smaller level without any consequences," said Greenberg. Sentences can vary, however, and often are tied to the amount of drugs found. Frequently, defense lawyers say privately, defendants are sentenced to one day in jail for each pound of marijuana. Rodriguez, however, said this formula is only a "guideline" for judges who handle the calendar. The maximum penalty can be two years in state prison, but most are sentenced to far less, in a process that is so seamless the court processing might take only a few minutes. On the day when Medrano and the three other defendants appeared in court, Cannon took less than 10 minutes to hand out four sentences: 68 days in jail for Medrano, 51 days for Ibarra, 99 days for Bermudes and 180 days for Morales. For handling the cases the federal government budgets about $1 million for prosecutors in San Diego and Imperial counties. Neither the Public Defender's Office, which rotates one deputy each four months to handle all the cases, nor the courts receive any federal funds. It costs the courts about $200,000 per year to handle the cases, said Rodriguez. And there appears to be no let-up. This year officials are projecting filing in excess of 2,000 cases in the South Bay court. The only time the flow of smugglers eased was after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when security along the border was heightened and tightened to extraordinary high levels. Rodriguez said the case load all but dried up. That soon ended, however, and the calendar began to grow again. "It was nice while it lasted," Rodriguez said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl