HILO — A 39-year-old Hilo man was sentenced last week in Honolulu to 15 years and eight months in a federal penitentiary for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five pounds of methamphetamine.
As part of a plea deal, U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor handed down the sentence May 26 to Lathan Laimana Rosa, who pleaded guilty to the charge in July. Rosa could have been sentenced to between 10 years and life in prison had he been found guilty at trial.
As part of his deal, Rosa’s sentence will run consecutive to a state prison term he’s serving for second-degree theft, a felony. According to the Department of Public Safety website, Rosa’s scheduled release date is May 1, 2019.
According to federal court documents, postal inspectors obtained a search warrant on July 21, 2016, for two priority mail envelopes sent from Las Vegas, one to Hilo, the other to Keaau, and both addressed to different phony names. Documents state the parcels collectively contained more than five pounds of crystal methamphetamine, or “ice.”
A postal inspector posing as a mail carrier delivered the first package to Rosa’s former workplace in Hilo and arrested Rosa and another individual who accepted the parcel for him, documents state.
Rosa also consented to a search of his Honda Accord and authorities found about $3,000 in cash in the car.
Rosa told agents he didn’t know how much meth was in each package but knew the parcels contained drug, and told authorities he had sent $20,000 as a partial payment for the amount of ice he was to receive. After receipt of the two parcels, Rosa was to send his co-defendant, Codi Alcon, $30,000, the remaining balance of the agreed-upon purchase price.
According to documents, Rosa told investigators, “I send money to Vegas and they send me dope.”
Alcon, 31, of Kaunakakai, Molokai, has also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute. She’s scheduled to be sentenced June 8 before Gillmor.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.