HONOLULU — A man convicted in a federal drug case involving six pounds of crystal methamphetamine mailed to Hawaii in a toaster was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison.
HONOLULU — A man convicted in a federal drug case involving six pounds of crystal methamphetamine mailed to Hawaii in a toaster was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison.
A jury in April convicted Allen Gorion, 32, of meth dealing and conspiracy charges. He and his co-defendant were arrested last year after picking up the package, which was mailed to Kapolei from North Hollywood, California.
Authorities intercepted the package, replaced most of the drugs with pseudo-meth and delivered it, using a U.S. postal inspector posing as a mail carrier. The drugs were hidden in a Black & Decker four-slice toaster oven, according to court documents.
In a bid for a lighter sentence, Gorion testified at Friday’s sentencing hearing that he thought he was helping someone move and didn’t realize there were drugs in his car. He denied touching the bag, even though special powder authorities put on the fake drugs was on his hands.
“I don’t find Mr. Gorion to be credible,” U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright said.
Co-defendant Leland Akau previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 ½ years in prison.
Gorion said he takes responsibility for his actions. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Roberts disagreed, saying “he took us to trial, he was fighting the case.”
Gorion testified that a man he knew to be involved with meth dealing bought him a plane ticket to California. When asked if the trip was for trafficking drugs, Gorion responded, “Might have been. … I didn’t know what was going on.”
Defense attorney Cliff Hunt asked psychologist Marvin Acklin to describe Gorion’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Gorion has a well-documented history of “severe” ADHD, Acklin said.
Hunt said Gorion has strong community support, gesturing to the courtroom gallery full of about two dozen relatives and friends. Hunt asked the judge to sentence Gorion to the mandatory minimum of 10 years. Gorion, who has four daughters, was going through a divorce, was depressed and suicidal when he linked up with a drug dealer and started smoking meth with him, Hunt said.
Roberts, the prosecutor, noted Gorion’s criminal history, which includes stealing a car and punching his spouse.
“I feel sorry for his daughters and family, also,” Roberts said, but added that doesn’t excuse Gorion’s actions involving a drug that has had a “horrendous” community impact.