Drug War Pressures Sylmar Trial, Defense Says

The Bush Administration’s war on drugs is pressuring prosecutors to gain convictions at any cost against six men arrested in connection with the record cocaine seizure at a Sylmar warehouse, defense attorneys charged in final arguments as the case went to the jury Wednesday.

“There is a drug war going on in this country,” attorney Marlene Gerdts told jurors in federal court in Los Angeles. “There is pressure put on prosecutors . . . to get a conviction. . . . There are a lot of careers at stake here.”

Government investigators view the trial as a landmark prosecution in the international war on drug trafficking, not only because of the amount of cocaine seized--21.4 tons--but because the government sees the case as a rare opportunity to penetrate the transportation apparatus of the Colombian drug cartels.

The United States has charged defendants with operating a family-run cocaine trafficking organization, which stockpiled tons of cocaine at a warehouse in the San Fernando Valley community of Sylmar. The cache was discovered during a raid 13 months ago by federal and local agents.

Five of the six defendants are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute narcotics. They are: Carlos Tapia Ponce, 69, a former Mexican customs official; his son, Hector Tapia Anchondo, 38; two of Carlos Tapia’s sons-in-law, James Romero McTague, 42, of El Paso, and Jose Ignacio Monroy, 37; and Fernando Castillon, 32. A sixth defendant, Miguel Chavez, 34, is charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

The defendants, who have been denied bail and incarcerated in the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, have declared their innocence. All face 10 years to life in prison if convicted.

Three of the defendants--Carlos Tapia, McTague and Monroy--told investigators shortly after their arrests that they were participating in cocaine trafficking, according to Drug Enforcement Administration reports filed with the court. Their attorneys, however, argued the DEA and local police used coercive tactics to gain the admissions.