Man Pleads Guilty in 21-Ton Cocaine Case

A defendant in one of the nation’s largest cocaine busts, in which 21.4 tons of cocaine were seized from a Sylmar warehouse, pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of drug possession as part of a plea agreement.

James P. Walsh Jr., an assistant U.S. attorney and one of the prosecutors in the case, said Miguel Chavez, a Mexican citizen living in Panorama City, agreed to plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine.

Walsh said Chavez agreed to the plea to avoid a second trial, after a jury deadlocked on his case on a greater charge of possessing 20 kilograms of cocaine, which could have carried a 10-year prison sentence. The lesser charge carries a probable sentence of five years.

A drug ring based at the Sylmar warehouse was broken up Sept. 28, 1989, during a raid by a federal and state task force. Government investigators later estimated that about 77 tons of cocaine had been distributed from the location in the months before the raid.

Federal officials said Chavez’s role in the drug sales involved transporting cocaine by car. Chavez told authorities he did not know how much cocaine he was transporting.

Three men have already been convicted in connection with the cocaine seizure and two of them have been sentenced to life in prison.

Jury selection is expected to begin this week for three other defendants: Hector Tapia Anchondo and Hugo Fernandez Castillon, on whose cases the jury also deadlocked, and Gilbert Mendoza.

Another defendant, Alejandro Herrera, is a fugitive.