Lawyers Work to Free Yacht Captain Detained in Mexico

As a young ship captain from Orange County lay stricken in a hospital bed and overwhelmed by trauma, his lawyers scrambled Thursday to file legal proceedings to keep him out of prison while he awaits trial on a charge of illegally transporting guns into Mexico.

At the same time in the United States, supporters of Scott McClung of Laguna Beach began a concerted effort to find a solution to the case by appealing to the Mexican government and by soliciting the help of political leaders.

Sara Schantz, spokeswoman for Mariners South Coast Church, a nondenominational Christian church McClung attends in Irvine, said parishioners have made telephone calls to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico and the Mexican embassy in Washington expressing their concern.

At the request of the family, Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) sent a letter via fax to U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow in Mexico City asking for updates on the situation.

Lawyers for McClung said they have appealed the judge’s decision finding probable cause that the 35-year-old captain had clandestinely introduced five guns into the country and must stand trial.

In his ruling Wednesday night, Judge Fidel Villanueva withdrew the weapons charges against McClung’s 71-year-old father, Eugene McClung, and the ship’s first mate, Noah Bailey, and released them from custody--thus confronting the younger McClung with the reality of returning to jail alone.

The dark-haired and intense veteran mariner, who had already missed some doses of prescribed medication for a stress-related ailment, collapsed in the judge’s office before he could be taken back to the town jail.

‘It Just Slaps You Down’

He was under medication and resting Thursday in a clinic in town, under police guard but supported by visiting relatives and crew members. Lawyers said he would need to stay in the clinic for a few days, though the attorney general was checking with doctors on when he could be transferred to prison.

Red-eyed and distraught, Eugene McClung and his wife, Mozelle, 73, said they had abandoned plans to continue on the ship’s maiden voyage, and would remain in Mexico as long as it takes to win their son’s freedom.

“My wife and I will stay until Scott is released,” Eugene McClung said. “We’re not going to desert him.”

Their ship, named Rapture, was en route from Florida to California via the Panama Canal when it made an unplanned emergency stop at the tourist mecca of Cozumel on Aug. 10. The McClungs say they carried weapons aboard, as they have done over the years without incident on voyages to Mexico and elsewhere, for protection at sea.

“You can see how sad we are that a young man who dedicated his life to helping others is now being treated by other people this way,” Mozelle McClung said. “He just always had a desire to help make things better. I think that’s why this hits him harder. When you’ve done everything exactly right and this happens, it just slaps you down.”

Eugene McClung said the 145-foot-long ship--custom-built for religious mission trips and biology adventure tours for up to 150 young people--would depart with a skeleton crew within a day or two after provisions were obtained and a few more basic repairs completed.

“We’d rather face the pirates in the Caribbean than continue to face the pirates here in Cozumel,” defense lawyer Alton Burkhalter of Irvine said.

The journey to California was planned as a big family bash, with nieces and nephews and grandchildren aboard. But all their passports were seized and held for more than a week before being returned at 1 a.m. Wednesday. Some family members left for home Thursday, including Eugene McClung’s son-in-law Gary Flood and grandson Shawn Flood, who live in Washington state.

Even though the charge is considered so serious that bail is not available, the attorneys were trying to obtain a separate federal court judgment, called an amparo, that would protect McClung from the judge’s order that he be imprisoned pending trial.

The case now comes down to a dispute over facts: The McClungs say that the crew did call port officials as soon as they arrived in Cozumel to come out and take down declarations about the two semiautomatic rifles and three shotguns aboard the ship for protection at sea; that the district attorney arrived and inspected the guns; and that he returned a while later with a police raiding party, pretending never to have been aboard before, and made the arrests.

Further, family lawyers contend that local prosecutor Claudio Sanchez Torres suggested that a $10,000 payment would sort out the problem but that local news accounts began appearing, which scuttled the prospects of a deal.

The prosecution maintained that the weapons were not declared and that Scott McClung, as captain, is responsible. Mexico has extremely strong gun-control laws and has repeatedly complained to the United States about the flood of U.S.-made weapons that are smuggled into Mexico each year--including the one used to kill presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio in 1994.

Sanchez said Thursday that he was too busy to give an interview on the matter. Before the judge’s decision, Sanchez said he was not allowed to discuss a case in progress.

In an interview Thursday in his small office, the judge said the case involved an apparent omission by the ship’s crew--failure to disclose that they were transporting weapons--rather than an overt act. And he added, “From the reports I had during the trial, they belong to a religious organization and they dedicate themselves to do good works.”

But he said he was satisfied that “the elements of the crime exist,” as set out in the law on firearms and explosives.

Eugene McClung, who was in another room of the small court building getting back his passport, responded with exasperation to the allegation that he hadn’t reported the weapons.

“We declared the guns as soon as they came on board,” he said. “We spoke by radio and asked to be able to declare the arms.”

Watching and Waiting

A representative of the U.S. State Department said they are monitoring the case but that it was not unusual to have U.S. citizens detained in Mexico for illegally taking weapons.

The State Department issued a statement on Aug. 3 warning people that the Mexican government strictly enforces its gun laws. “This has resulted in arrests, convictions and long prison sentences for U.S. citizens, even those who unintentionally crossed the border with firearms or ammunition in their possession,” the announcement said.

At any one time, there are approximately 400 U.S. citizens in detention in Mexico, according to the State Department.

At Mariners South Coast Church, Schantz said, “We are praying for his health and the emotional welfare of the family and the crew. They are all feeling pretty exhausted. It’s been a very stressful situation.”

The church has set up a hotline for parishioners to call for daily updates: (949) 854-7030, Ext. 500.

Times staff writer Lorenza Munoz contributed to this report.