Crime Without Consequence - Drug runners go free (No prosecution for illegal alien dealers in AZ)

ABC 15 ^ | 8-2-07 | Lisa Fletcher

[Bladerunnuh]

And therein lies one of our country's dirty little secrets: Mexican drug runners getting a free pass back to Mexico if they're caught with less than a quarter-ton of pot.

Cochise County attorney Ed Rheinheimer spells it out. "If a seizure is made of an amount less than 500 pounds, the case doesn't get prosecuted."

You read that right.

Drug runners doing business without punishment.

But don't blame the county attorneys.

Remember: These are federal cases and should be federally prosecuted.

But guess what?

They don't get prosecuted by the feds and now, they don't get prosecuted by guys like Ed Rheinheimer, either.

"Since 2003 we stopped prosecuting federal referrals because of a lack of resources."

Until 2003 Rheinheimer's office handled about 150-of these federal cases a year.

Quantities of pot annually with a street value as high as 60-million bucks.

But his county, like others, didn't have the money, prosecutors, jail space or court-appointed attorneys to keep up with a federal referral literally every other day.

"When the marijuana ends up in a middle school

[Bladerunnuh]

Just wrap a suitcase nuke in 400 pounds of pot and walk it across. I bet you could even get a border guard to help you carry it (because it would be heavy and the desert is very warm I understand)

[goldstategop]

U.S Attorney Johnny Sutton made it clear the WOD shouldn't be taken seriously by making a drug runner his chief witness against two Border Patrol agents naive enough to take the WOD more seriously than the U.S government.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[vetsvette]

“Drug runners doing business without punishment.”

They don’t have the time to fool with these guys, they’re busy prosecuting Border Patrol agents.

You need to get your priorities straight!

[squidly]

IOW, I should travel to Mexico and run dope north to AZ, while leaving my ID in Mexico. Sounds like a safe and lucrative business.

[VOA]

bump

[Vigilanteman]

Looks like we have a simple solution to running the risk of huge fines and jail terms by trafficing in drugs— just hire illegal aliens to do it.

[B4Ranch]

Next time around I am going to vote to legalize pot.

Yes, it’s wrong and I know it, but I am not going to help make these wetback drug runners into millionaires!

[Old North State]

Less than a quarter ton, personal use?

[vetsvette]

“Next time around I am going to vote to legalize pot.”

I’m with you except that I’d legalize all drugs — and pardon every single non-violent drug offender in jail.

Drugs are involved in something over 75% of all U.S. crime — and the “drug war” is laughable at best. You would have thought that after Prohibition introduced large scale organized crime to America, we might have learned something.

But, then, fast learners don’t usually become politicians.

[B4Ranch]

I don’t care what the potheads want to do with it. They can stuff it where the sun don’t shine for all I care.

[RC2]

This is cool.............If I get caught with less than 500 pounds.......they’ll just let me go home? Cool.

[VOA]

Cochise County attorney Ed Rheinheimer spells it out. "If a seizure is
made of an amount less than 500 pounds, the case doesn't get prosecuted."

If there sane people in Hollywood, they'd make film titled "499 Pounds"
about this Bravo Sierra.

[txdoda]

and pardon every single non-violent drug offender in jail.

at least the one's doing time for 'pot possession'.....what a joke, (again) it's the 'mexican's only' that don't get prosecuted.

[txdoda]

If I get caught with less than 500 pounds.......they’ll just let me go home? Cool

Maybe...but the feds seem to be discriminating....it's 'mexicans only' that are not prosecuted.

(wonder how this applies to those with their 'dual citizenship'??)

[txdoda]

Just wrap a suitcase nuke in 400 pounds of pot and walk it across.

Yep, while our BP is busy handing out the "free passes" to the mexican pot smugglers.

[Travis McGee]

I’m speechless at this. Traitor Sutton jails the Border Patrol agents for stopping a drug runner....I guess that is a big no-no. The drugs must get through!

[Guenevere]

bttt

[stephenjohnbanker]

Twilight Zone !

[gubamyster]

ping

[TKDietz]

They do at least confiscate the drugs, which hurts drug cartels a lot more than losing some expendable runners. I’m a public defender and I end up representing quite a few drug mules. I’ve handled thousands of pounds worth of pot cases. We’re a long way from the Mexican border and these cases are actually prosecuted where I work. The mules never have any money. Most even have clean records. I was over in the jail today talking with nothing but drug mule clients all caught with more than a 100 pounds of weed. A couple of clients I have in the jail right now were caught with about half a ton in a load of fruit they were hauling. All of these guys will end up spending several years in prison. It doesn’t make any difference though. As far as the people who own these drugs are concerned, these mules are expendable. The people who own the drugs can always find people who need to earn a few grand who will transport their drugs for them. Drug mules are a dime a dozen. This weed costs almost nothing in Mexico but the farther they transport it into the interior of this country the more expensive it becomes. They expect to lose a few loads. It doesn’t hurt them much, but it hurts them more than losing drug mules. I don’t believe it’s customary for them to pay the mules much more than expenses up front, and if the mules do get caught they are on their own. The people that actually own the drugs don’t tend to do things like post bond money and hire these mules lawyers. They just replace them. We spend a lot of money prosecuting and defending and incarcerating mules, but it does nothing to stop or even slow down the flow of drugs. It’s a waste of time. I don’t know about just letting them go, but a lot of times I wonder why we don’t just tell them to come up with several thousand bucks and let them go like a lot of other places do. At least the county would be getting some benefit from that. If it were up to me we’d just legalize and regulate pot and then the guys transporting it would be no different then the guy driving the Budweiser truck, not that there is just a huge difference in what they are doing today.