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Man convicted for peddling ‘ice’
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Posted on Mar 30 2005
The U.S. District Court yesterday convicted a man who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine hydrochloride, commonly known as “ice.”
Chief judge Alex R. Munson set Jie Huang’s sentencing on June 27, 2005, after accepting the plea agreement reached between the defendant and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Conviction on the conspiracy charge entails a maximum penalty of 40 years imprisonment, $2 million fine and lifetime probation. It also entails a mandatory minimum prison term of five years.
The plea agreement, however, provided for a stipulated sentence ranging from 37 to 60 months.
Assisted by lawyer Robert Torres, Huang admitted to conspiracy to distribute at least five grams of ice.
More than a month ago, federal prosecutor Timothy Moran lodged the conspiracy and four counts of drug distribution charges against Huang, who was accused of engaging in the illegal trade from May to September in 2004.
Moran said the defendant distributed ice with quantities ranging from 1.3-1.6 grams at least four times on June 1 and 15, July 21, and Sept. 22 last year.
In another federal drug case, the court allowed the release of the $10,000 bail posted on behalf of Zhu Lian Kun, who was convicted by a jury on three counts of drug distribution charges last December.
Federal prosecutors had accused Zhu of peddling ice on at least three occasions in 2003. The amount of ice involved in each transaction ranged from less than a gram to 9.7 grams.
Zhu’s attorney, F. Matthew Smith, said that his client has been in federal custody since Dec. 9, 2004. The court imposed 78-month prison terms on Zhu last March 16.
“Such custody eliminates the need for this court to continue to hold the $10,000 that was posted by Mr. Zhu’s sister as bail for Mr. Zhu,” Smith said.
