Magistrate Denies Bail for Drug Suspect

Daniel James Fowlie, accused of running an enormous marijuana smuggling ring from a secluded ranch in southeastern Orange County, was denied bail Tuesday after a federal magistrate concluded he was dangerous and an escape risk.

Fowlie, 57, appeared briefly before U.S. Magistrate Ronald R. Rose and pleaded not guilty to 26 felony charges, including money laundering, income tax evasion and conspiracy to smuggle 53,000 pounds of marijuana into the United States.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Sanford Feldman asked Rose to deny bail, arguing, among other things, that Fowlie had fought his extradition from Baja California for three years and was engaged in drug trafficking in Mexico just before his arrest in April, 1987. Feldman did not elaborate on details of the alleged narcotics activities.

Fowlie’s defense lawyer, James Riddet, did not challenge the government’s motion to deny bail. After Tuesday’s hearing, Riddet declined to comment on the case.

Dressed in dark blue pants and a light blue shirt, Fowlie sat passively in court during his arraignment. When the court clerk asked him whether his name was in fact Daniel James Fowlie, he said only, “I guess it is.”

Fowlie is being held at the U.S. Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. If convicted on all counts, he could face a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $2-million fine.

Rose set a trial date of Aug. 28 before U.S. District Judge J. Spencer Letts and a status conference for Monday.

Investigators suspect that Fowlie operated one of the largest marijuana smuggling operations in the United States from 1982 to 1986, using rented warehouses in Orange County and Rancho del Rio, a 213-acre property straddling the Orange and Riverside county border. So far six people, including Fowlie’s two sons, have been convicted on drug charges.

The 32-page indictment and other court records also allege that Fowlie laundered millions of dollars in drug sale profits through shell corporations in the Netherlands, Costa Rica and Panama.

Defense lawyers and Fowlie have called the case greatly exaggerated and the result of self-serving statements by convicted drug dealers who fabricated stories to avoid lengthy jail sentences.

Fowlie was arrested in 1987 in Puerto Escondido, a small coastal resort about 250 miles south of Acapulco. After his incarceration, he mounted a three-year fight from a La Paz prison to halt his extradition to the United States.

Mexican authorities in La Paz finally turned Fowlie over to FBI and U.S. Customs Service agents on July 2 apparently after he had exhausted his appeals. He was then flown to John Wayne Airport aboard a U.S. government plane.