Hawaii Jury Finds California Man Guilty Of Methamphetamine Trafficking
HONOLULU - A federal jury found a California man guilty last week of smuggling methamphetamine into Hawaii. After a three day trial, Roman Gabriel Contreras, 44, of Ontario, California, was convicted of attempting to distribute more than 500 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine in Kauai on March 24, 2015.
Florence T. Nakakuni, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said the evidence presented at trial showed Contreras, utilizing a false name, flew to Lihue from Los Angeles International Airport on March 24, 2015 with three plastic containers containing pure methamphetamine hidden in his checked baggage, discovered after Drug Enforcement (DEA) agents executed a search warrant on his bags. Evidence also showed that Contreras attempted to avoid a DEA agent and Kauai Police Department Officers after arriving in Lihue.
Contreras, who has a prior felony drug conviction for promoting methamphetamine, faces up to life in prison, with a mandatory minimum 20-year term of imprisonment when he is sentenced by District Judge Derrick K. Watson on October 21.
