Enough PCP to Keep Single User Continuously High for More than 140 Years
OAKLAND – LAWFUEL – Press Release Service – United States Attorney Kevin V. Ryan announced Julius M. Lige was convicted of possessing with intent to distribute more than 100 grams of phencyclidine (PCP) by a federal jury yesterday afternoon. The jury, after deliberating approximately 7 hours, found that on February 24, 2005, the defendant dropped off approximately 15 gallons of liquid PCP at a DHL facility in Oakland, California, for delivery to Washington, D.C. The guilty verdict followed a 3 day jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken. This conviction is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Evidence at trial showed that Mr. Julius M. Lige, 31, of Dublin, California, dropped off three boxes at a DHL facility in Oakland, California for delivery to Washington D.C. the following day. During trial, it was revealed that the defendant paid approximately $441 in cash to have the packages delivered, and later that night travelled to Washington D.C. in order to pick up the packages. DHL personnel, however, became suspicious of the packages, withheld shipment, and called law enforcement the following day. The packages were found to contain a total of approximately 15 gallons of liquid PCP, which according to expert testimony during trial was enough to make more than 75,000 PCP dipped cigarettes and had a street value of more than $750,000. Expert testimony also stated that the amount of PCP involved was enough to keep a single PCP user continuously high for more than 140 years.
Defendant was released in accordance with his pre-trial release conditions. The sentencing of Mr. Lige is scheduled for September 18, 2006, at 2:30 p.m. before Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland. The maximum statutory penalty for the sole count is life imprisonment and a fine of $2,000,000. There is a 10 year mandatory minimium sentence for distributing over 100 grams of PCP. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Alicia W. Fenrick and Shashi H.Kewalramani are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Margaret Glyer and Cynthia Daniel. The prosecution is the result of a nine month investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration
