Navy 'sailor of the year' charged in ice case

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

A Pearl Harbor petty officer who was named her unit's sailor of the year in 2003 has been charged with manufacturing, distributing and using methamphetamine at her Navy home.

Personnelman 1st Class Theresa A. Moss was one of three people arrested July 15 at her home at Radford Terrace. Jimmy Yasay, Moss' civilian husband, and civilian Faleu Liilii were indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts each of manufacturing and maintaining a meth lab at the home.

Moss, who is going through military court proceedings, was charged with violating three articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In addition to the drug charges, Moss is accused of being absent without leave and "creating a substantial risk of harm to human life while manufacturing methamphetamine," according to Navy documents.

Moss remains in custody on Ford Island, said Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis. Now that she is charged, the next step in the military justice process is a review of the charges at a pretrial investigation hearing to determine whether to refer the charges to a court-martial.

In an affidavit filed July 16 in U.S. District Court, the three suspects admitted to federal investigators that they manufactured methamphetamine, or ice, at the home. Agents used a search warrant and recovered ice-producing ingredients and equipment, the affidavit said.

Moss' arrest has baffled her family, who described her as a "responsible young lady her entire life." John Kilian, an uncle in Portland, Ore., said Moss' problems seemed to have begun after she married in March.

"She had informed the military sometime previously that her husband was doing something with drugs because she would come home and see the kitchen set up differently ... and there was an odd smell in the house," Kilian said in an e-mail. "What did her husband have to do with this 180-degree change in Terry's situation?"

Kilian, a dentist, said Moss' mother works as a dental assistant in his office. He said the family is puzzled, especially since Moss has received numerous awards.

Last year, Moss was named Sailor of the Year of the Personnel Support Detachment, where she was assigned at Pearl Harbor. During her 12 years in the Navy, Moss received the Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal five times and two Good Conduct Medals, according to the Navy Times newspaper.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8025.