Three Men Face Pot-Smuggling Charges Again

Three Santa Cruz men, arrested a year ago following a disputed seizure by Newport Beach police of 5 1/2 tons of marijuana, were charged in court Wednesday with drug smuggling.

It was the second time the men have been charged with the same crime. An earlier case was dismissed last year by a Harbor Municipal Court judge who said the police search was illegal.

Prosecutors said the marijuana, found baled like hay aboard a 45-foot ketch moored off a public pier, had a street value of $10 million to $12 million.

Richard William Nelson, 27, Victor Paul Lucini, 36, and David Paul Choy, 29, each were charged with four counts involving importing marijuana for sale.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas J. Borris, who is prosecuting the case, said each could be sentenced to a maximum of four years in prison if convicted on all four counts.

The three men, who were indicted last week by the Orange County Grand Jury, surrendered Wednesday morning before Orange County Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno. They were released after posting $10,000 bail each.

Their arraignments were continued to Feb. 19, when they are to enter pleas and a trial date is to be set.

Police Officer Chuck Freeman spotted the sailboat about 8:30 p.m. Jan. 21, 1985, at a public pier, where it is unlawful to dock for more than 20 minutes. Police have said that Freeman thought it odd that the ketch was riding extremely low in the water and, after the boat had remained moored for 40 minutes on the Balboa Peninsula jetty, he investigated.

Charges Dismissed Last Year

Harbor Municipal Judge Russell Bostrom dismissed charges against the suspects last year, saying the search of the boat and the seizure of marijuana aboard were unlawful. Bostrom said that when he saw the sign, which had information on how long a boat could be moored at the pier, it was too faded to be legible. When he ordered a photograph taken for evidence, he said, the city repainted the sign before a photographer arrived.

The grand jury, which was asked to investigate the case, last week found that there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Newport Beach employees in connection with the search or the sign painting.

Borris said Wednesday that there was never any concern over the “substantive evidence” in the case and that the district attorney’s office decided to wait until the grand jury’s decision before pursuing prosecution of the three men.