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The420Guy
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A Sonoma County judge on Friday freed a convicted smuggler who was
involved in one of Santa Rosa's largest marijuana seizures, saying the
man redeemed himself with environmental work in Mexico over the past
dozen years.
Craig Click Caughlan disappeared soon after being caught with 340 pounds
of processed marijuana in a barn on Hall Road west of Santa Rosa in
January 1990.
He was arrested trying to re-enter the country at Los Angeles
International Airport earlier this year and subsequently pleaded guilty
to possession of marijuana for sale.
Prosecutors said Caughlan, now 55, should be sent to state prison for
three years. But Judge Elliot Lee Daum instead sentenced him to 145 days
in county jail, fined him $5,000 and placed him on three years probation.
He already has served 145 days and was freed Friday.
Caughlan apologized in court, and his attorneys cited his work cleaning
rivers and beaches around Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Arguing for a prison term, Deputy District Attorney Alexander "Bud"
McMahon said the 1990 marijuana seizure was the largest such cache he's
ever heard about in Sonoma County.
According to the state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, Caughlan was a
key figure in a drug smuggling ring that brought marijuana and cocaine
into the United States from Mexico.
He had been under investigation for two years before the 1990 bust,
McMahon said.
Agents said the smugglers operated in several Western states, bringing
drugs by private plane into small airports.
But Caughlan wasn't arrested at the scene. A one-time resident of Mill
Valley, he fled to Mexico, where he's been living ever since, authorities
said.
Caughlan started a woodworking business in Puerto Vallarta and founded a
nonprofit environmental organization that sponsors annual clean-ups of
local rivers and beaches.
Caughlan works with schools and the Mexican government to promote clean
water programs.
Caughlan's attorney, Kenneth Wine, said his client didn't know he was
wanted in Sonoma County and wasn't trying to flee when he moved to
Mexico.
Authorities never arrested anyone else in connection with the alleged
smuggling ring and Caughlan wasn't charged with conspiracy. He pleaded
guilty last month to possession of marijuana for sale.
On Friday, McMahon said Caughlan should be sentenced to three years in
state prison, arguing he was a major drug trafficker who was driven by
greed. "He was the kingpin of a very sophisticated operation," McMahon
said.
But Wine said it would do no good to send his client to prison because he
now is a model citizen. "He's devoted himself to his community," Wine
said.
Caughlan told Daum he was sorry for smuggling the marijuana, and said he
wasn't part of a larger organization but acted on his own.
Daum said he was impressed by reports of Caughlan's work in Mexico.
"You've turned things around," the judge said.
You can reach Staff Writer Steve Hart at 568-5312 or
shart@pressdemocrat.com.
Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2002
By STEVE HART
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
involved in one of Santa Rosa's largest marijuana seizures, saying the
man redeemed himself with environmental work in Mexico over the past
dozen years.
Craig Click Caughlan disappeared soon after being caught with 340 pounds
of processed marijuana in a barn on Hall Road west of Santa Rosa in
January 1990.
He was arrested trying to re-enter the country at Los Angeles
International Airport earlier this year and subsequently pleaded guilty
to possession of marijuana for sale.
Prosecutors said Caughlan, now 55, should be sent to state prison for
three years. But Judge Elliot Lee Daum instead sentenced him to 145 days
in county jail, fined him $5,000 and placed him on three years probation.
He already has served 145 days and was freed Friday.
Caughlan apologized in court, and his attorneys cited his work cleaning
rivers and beaches around Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Arguing for a prison term, Deputy District Attorney Alexander "Bud"
McMahon said the 1990 marijuana seizure was the largest such cache he's
ever heard about in Sonoma County.
According to the state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, Caughlan was a
key figure in a drug smuggling ring that brought marijuana and cocaine
into the United States from Mexico.
He had been under investigation for two years before the 1990 bust,
McMahon said.
Agents said the smugglers operated in several Western states, bringing
drugs by private plane into small airports.
But Caughlan wasn't arrested at the scene. A one-time resident of Mill
Valley, he fled to Mexico, where he's been living ever since, authorities
said.
Caughlan started a woodworking business in Puerto Vallarta and founded a
nonprofit environmental organization that sponsors annual clean-ups of
local rivers and beaches.
Caughlan works with schools and the Mexican government to promote clean
water programs.
Caughlan's attorney, Kenneth Wine, said his client didn't know he was
wanted in Sonoma County and wasn't trying to flee when he moved to
Mexico.
Authorities never arrested anyone else in connection with the alleged
smuggling ring and Caughlan wasn't charged with conspiracy. He pleaded
guilty last month to possession of marijuana for sale.
On Friday, McMahon said Caughlan should be sentenced to three years in
state prison, arguing he was a major drug trafficker who was driven by
greed. "He was the kingpin of a very sophisticated operation," McMahon
said.
But Wine said it would do no good to send his client to prison because he
now is a model citizen. "He's devoted himself to his community," Wine
said.
Caughlan told Daum he was sorry for smuggling the marijuana, and said he
wasn't part of a larger organization but acted on his own.
Daum said he was impressed by reports of Caughlan's work in Mexico.
"You've turned things around," the judge said.
You can reach Staff Writer Steve Hart at 568-5312 or
shart@pressdemocrat.com.
Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2002
By STEVE HART
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
