St. Lucie County Resident Sentenced To Prison For Drug Smuggling
MIAMI, FL. - Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division, Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE), Homeland Security (HSI), Miami Field Office, Randy Donnelson, Director of Air Operations, U.S. Customs and Border (CBP), Miami Field Office, and Robert L. Crowder, Sheriff, Martin County Sheriff’s Office, announce yesterday’s sentencing of defendant Timothy Edward Dawson, 44, of Port Saint Lucie. U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez sentenced Dawson to 168 months imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release.
According to Court records, on September 4, 2010, members of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit received information regarding a vessel from the Bahamas possibly containing illegal narcotics approaching the St. Lucie Inlet from the Bahamas. Deputies located the vessel, a 1984 Wellcraft center console boat, approximately two miles off the coast of Martin County. As Deputies were attempting to board the vessel, Timothy Dawson, the operator of the vessel, threw two weighted dive bags overboard. Deputies immediately marked the location and activated the Sheriff’s Office Dive Team. Dive Team members responded to the scene but were unable to locate the bags at that time. Timothy Dawson was arrested for resisting arrest without violence and tampering with evidence. The vessel was taken as evidence.
On September 5, 2010, Dive Team members returned to the ocean location and retrieved two dive bags. Each bag was weighted with a 40 pound weight tied by a length of rope to the bag. The bags contained more than 30 pounds of cocaine and more than 39 pounds of marijuana, both with a combined street value of approximately $1.2 million. Timothy Dawson was federally charged with possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.
