Posted on: Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Two men on Big Island charged in drug case
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
Two Big Island men were charged yesterday with attempting to possess and distribute 6 pounds of methamphetamine as well as possessing several firearms, including a loaded semi-automatic assault rifle.
Ernest M. Esparza and Jose Angel Avitia-Quinones were charged in a criminal complaint filed yesterday in U.S. District Court. Each man was charged with one count of knowingly and intentionally attempting to possess and distribute at least 50 grams of methamphetamine, and of being an illegal drug user in possession of a firearm.
They were arrested Friday after postal inspectors intercepted a package in Fontana, Calif., that was addressed to Esparza's Kuleana Loop home in Hilo, according to an affidavit by postal inspector Cynthia Blank.
Blank said the parcel contained two tin cans with paper labels for "Juanita's-brand hominy grits." Each can had a soldered seam around it and appeared to have been cut in half.
The drugs apparently were placed in the cans, which were then sealed to avoid detection, Blank said.
Postal Service inspectors replaced the cans with two cans of coffee and sent them to Hawai'i. Also, an electronic beeper was placed in the parcel, Blank said.
On Friday afternoon, Blank, posing as a mail carrier, took the parcel to the Kuleana Loop address and Esparza signed for the package. Later that day, a Dodge Durango drove to Esparza's home, and when it left at about 9 p.m., authorities said the beeper signal was traced to that vehicle.
According to an affidavit:
Police stopped the SUV on a gravel road just off Macadamia Nut Road and the driver was identified as Avitia-Quinones. A search of the SUV recovered the parcel, a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Police returned to Esparza's home and found a loaded semi-automatic pistol in his Isuzu SUV. A search of his home uncovered $25,230 cash in a coffee can that had been soldered shut, $11,000 in cash in a bedroom, a loaded semi-automatic assault rifle, ammunition, and a soldering iron and wire spools.
