Newport Beach Woman Pleads Guilty in Boston to Drug Charge
A Newport Beach woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Friday to the charge of intent to distribute drugs.
Constance L. Clayton, 43, could be sentenced to life in prison for her role in what federal officials called the largest single methamphetamine arrest in New England.
Clayton was arrested March 10 at Logan International Airport in Boston on suspicion of transporting about 10 kilograms of methamphetamine estimated to be worth about $2.5 million, authorities said.
Clayton, who has spent seven months in federal custody, entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Judge William G. Young. The judge ordered that her plea agreement negotiated with the federal government remain under court seal.
The drug charge carries a minimum mandatory 10-year sentence, but Clayton’s attorney, Eric A. Chase, said he hopes to persuade the judge to issue a lighter sentence.
Clayton was arrested after flying to Boston from Ontario, Calif., via Dallas. She had just grabbed two bags from a luggage carousel when agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Massachusetts state police approached her and asked to search her bags.
The agents found the illegal drug in one of Clayton’s bags after she consented to the search, federal officials said.
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