Suspect Freed by Mistake Gets Five Years : Turning Self Back In Fails to Alter His Sentence in Cocaine Case

A key defendant in a record cocaine seizure who was mistakenly released from Los Angeles County Jail in June learned Monday that his turning himself back in made no difference in his sentence.

Carlos Palacios, 53, who had been held in lieu of $15-million bail in connection with a record Los Angeles haul of 556 pounds of cocaine last May, was sentenced to the maximum five years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Michael A. Tynan.

Palacios’ counsel, Jerry Newton, had sought leniency because Palacios, who was among 21 alleged members of a Pasadena-area drug ring arrested in the massive sweep, had voluntarily returned to jail a day after his accidental release.

“Send a message to others (released mistakenly),” Newton beseeched Tynan. “Obviously the county made a big mistake. . . . In essence, he has come back to a prison sentence.

“(Fleeing was) as complicated as taking a bus to Tijuana, a plane to Mexico City and flying on to Bogota. And he had a 24-hour head start.”

Tynan proceeded to praise Palacios--who pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to sell cocaine--for doing “the honorable thing.” But Tynan added that “in view of the massiveness (of the ring) . . . I just don’t think it would be appropriate.”

Palacios, who described himself as the manager of a South American maritime firm, was among four key defendants sentenced Monday to maximum five-year terms in the seizure of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $158 million. The others, who also pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy, were Colombian citizens Alvaro Acevedo, 50, and Jairo Santa Maria, 60, and Huntington Park electrician Jose Manuel Rosas, 38.

Charges against 11 of the suspects were dropped because of lack of evidence.

Tynan, agreeing with the prosecution, said Monday that he felt unduly constrained in passing sentence because state law provides a maximum five-year term for transporting cocaine into California, regardless of the amount.

“The sentencing scheme of this state is inadequate,” Tynan said.

Message to Dope Dealers

In arguing against leniency for Palacios, Deputy Dist. Atty. Chuck Horan said, “I’d rather give a message to dope dealers than to people who are released by mistake.

“There may have been (more than) honor involved,” he said. “His sister was still in custody, too, and he may have thought it might have made it harder on her.”

Horan added that the accidental release is not unprecedented.

“In view of the number of people processed, I hope it’s pretty unusual,” he said. “But it happens.”

Newton said Palacios first called him for advice just before his release on the morning of June 27.

“Mr. Palacios stated that he had tried to explain to the guards they were making a mistake,” Newton wrote in a memo to Tynan. “Mr. Palacios in fact spoke to no fewer than six deputy sheriffs, telling them he was not supposed to be released.”

“Over the telephone, (Newton) heard a deputy yell, ‘Get out of here!’ to Carlos. So, out of County Jail he walked.”

Palacios subsequently took a bus to Santa Monica, rented a motel room and telephoned his wife in Miami. He called Newton back the next morning and said he wanted to turn himself in.

“After counsel recovered from initial shock, he inquired why. Mr. Palacios’ simple answer was that it was the honorable thing to do.”

Palacios followed through, Newton said, even after being advised that his options were “leaving the U.S. on June 27, 1985, or waiting until after serving a five-year sentence and then being deported.”

“The moral of the story,” he added, “is that Mr. Palacios made a mistake.”