Fisherman Gets Boat and Pot Back : Officials Return Pinch of Marijuana Along With Vessel

A San Diego fisherman whose 44-foot boat was seized by the Coast Guard in May, when less than a quarter-ounce of marijuana was found on board, has had both the vessel--and the marijuana--returned to him.

Steve Jacobelly’s boat, Lococo Bros., was confiscated May 18 by U.S. Coast Guard officers who boarded the vessel while Jacobelly and a crew member were netting for shark near San Clemente Island. Searching the entire boat, the officers scraped together less than a quarter-ounce of marijuana seeds, stems and debris, and pronounced the boat the property of the U.S. government, according to Jacobelly’s attorney, Marc Geller.

Drug charges against Jacobelly were eventually dropped, and the boat was returned to him June 30. Jacobelly was not fined, but agreed to pay $2,000 for storage costs, and is now back at sea, Geller said.

However, before the boat was returned, Geller made arrangements with Customs for the return of Jacobelly’s personal belongings. The fisherman, often at sea for periods of a month or more, was eager to retrieve his clothing, ledgers and other items, Geller said. He got them back, along with a cardboard box containing 11 plastic bags holding small amounts of marijuana, each sealed with red tape and marked “Evidence,” Geller said.

“I think it was an honest mistake on their part,” said Geller, “and I think they were very embarrassed about it.” Geller said he had received a call from Customs asking him to return the marijuana, but added that he had promised not to publicly discuss the arrangements agreed upon.

U.S. Customs officials were not available to be interviewed Monday afternoon. Coast Guard public affairs officers did not return phone calls Monday, and other Coast Guard officials were unavailable for comment.

Reflecting on the curious episode, Geller said: “I think justice was done in a strange way in this case. If they had a little more foresight right from the beginning, they might not have taken the boat in the first place.”

Geller said Jacobelly denies the marijuana was his, and said he had no idea there were traces of the drug aboard. Jacobelly later told Geller that he learned from investigators that the boat was known to have been used for smuggling drugs before Jacobelly purchased it two years ago. “He wasn’t aware of that, so he did not take any special effort to clean the boat, because he never knew there was marijuana on it at any time,” Geller said.

Geller said that, in 15 years of law practice, he has never seen a case prosecuted for such a small amount of contraband, and he said he didn’t think the U.S. attorney’s office would have been able to prove it was a usable amount of marijuana.