Penn’s Father Pleads Not Guilty in Drug Case

Thomas Penn, the father of Sagon Penn, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he conspired to manufacture and distribute cocaine.

Penn, 50, of Logan Heights, was ordered held without bail until a detention hearing, which is set for Friday.

Sagon Penn was twice acquitted of charges stemming from a police shooting that left one officer dead and another officer and a civilian wounded.

Hearing Requested

Assistant U. S. Atty. Edward Allard III requested the detention hearing for Thomas Penn and five co-defendants, saying they are a danger to the community and a flight risk.

Thomas Penn is also charged with distributing cocaine within 1,000 feet of an elementary school.

One co-defendant is Carlton (Smitty) Smith Jr., 48, who testified in Sagon Penn’s two trials as a defense witness. He lived near the shooting site in Encanto.

The six were arrested Friday, but the investigation into the case began seven months ago, Allard said, adding, “It’s a very significant operation.”

A federal grand jury indictment, which was unsealed Tuesday, charges that, on Oct. 18, Thomas Penn introduced co-defendant Clyde Spears, 35, to an undercover agent who bought $4,500 worth of cocaine from Spears. The indictment says that, on Nov. 21, Penn was paid $5,400 by the agent for 9 ounces of cocaine, which was delivered to Penn by co-defendant Chris Wright, 22, of San Diego.

The other men charged with Penn also pleaded not guilty: James Harris, 55, and Sammy Tryon, 47, both of San Diego. Five people remain fugitives in the case, including three men whose names are listed in the indictment as “John Doe.”

Raphael Crawford, 21, and Gwendolyn Womack, 30, both of San Diego, also are co-defendants but have not been arrested.

Courtroom Packed

The courtroom was packed with friends of the Penn family and reporters, but Sagon Penn, who turned 27 Monday, did not attend.

Sagon Penn was acquitted of murder, manslaughter, assault and other charges in the death of Officer Thomas Riggs and the wounding of Officer Donovan Jacobs and civilian ride-along Sarah Pina-Ruiz.

Penn’s attorney, Milton Silverman, argued successfully in trials in 1986 and 1987 that Penn was beaten and subjected to racial slurs by Jacobs and acted in self-defense after the routine traffic stop was made.