Camp Pendleton Drug Bust Nets Marine, Two Others

Two purported gang members were arrested recently for peddling rock cocaine to an enlisted man at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base, military officials said Thursday.

The men, both allegedly members of the Crips street gang, and a Marine lance corporal were arrested the night of Aug. 18 after two guards spotted the drug transaction taking place at the School of Infantry, according to Camp Pendleton spokesman Lt. Patrick Gibbons.

A Naval Investigative Service investigation determined that the Marine, Robert J. Mosher, became acquainted with the gang members off the Marine base, in Oceanside.

The NIS investigation also concluded that the drug sale was an isolated incident, not part of a common problem on the base, Gibbons said.

Mosher is being held in the Camp Pendleton brig, charged with possession of drugs. The two civilians, Anthony Todd Johnson, 25, and Wesley Wade Hunter, 20, are being held in the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown San Diego, charged with possession and use of drugs.

Johnson, who listed an Inglewood address with jail authorities, is reportedly an Oceanside resident, according to Gibbons.

Hunter, who is unemployed and lives with his parents in Los Angeles, was arrested on Carmelo Drive in Oceanside in May. Court records show Hunter pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale in North County Superior Court on July 6, then was released on $5,000 bail. Hunter is awaiting sentencing, and could receive a maximum term of 5 years in state prison for the Oceanside offense.