A scooter operator who was found in possession of less than a gram of methamphetamine or “ice” at a sobriety checkpoint in Chalan Piao was sentenced yesterday to the full maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Fu Zhu Lin will serve the sentence day to day without the possibility of parole, probation, early release, work or weekend release, or any other similar program.
Lin, a Chinese national, was given credit for two days time served.
Assistant attorney general Margo Brown had recommended a sentence of four years in prison, with no parole. Lin's counsel, assistant public defender Daniel Guidotti, asked the court to impose a sentence of one year and a half.
Guidotti said Lin is a non-violent defendant with no prior criminal case. He added that the “ice” involved in this case is only a small quantity worth about $150.
In a bench trial on Tuesday, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho found Lin guilty of illegal possession of a controlled substance.
Lin testified that he was not aware it was “ice,” thinking it was some type of medicine for headache.
Camacho did not buy this, noting that Lin tried to hide the “ice” by passing it to his passenger, Mei Ying Qi.
Police officers seized a small baggie containing “ice” after one officer saw Lin passing the item to Qi during a sobriety checkpoint on Dec. 24, 2011.
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