[Sativa]

A federal judge declared a mistrial Tuesday when a jury was unable to decide if a Seattle man is guilty of drug charges. The case started in 2004 when a traffic stop near Glendive netted almost 30 pounds of high-quality marijuana bound for Minnesota.

Jurors told U.S District Judge Richard Cebull they were hopelessly deadlocked on whether Thanh Song Vo possessed marijuana with intent to distribute. The jury deliberated about four hours in the two-day trial that began Monday.

Whether Vo is retried will be decided by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Rostad said Vo and his co-defendant, Cong Thanh Chau, were drug smugglers on a run from Seattle to St. Cloud, Minn., when a Montana Highway Patrol officer pulled over their rental car on June 29, 2004, after a bad lane change. The officer was going to write Chau a warning but ended up taking the car because neither man was the person who had rented the vehicle from Avis in Seattle.

The officer also thought the men appeared nervous and noted that Vo was sweating profusely, Rostad said. The men flew back to Seattle that day, and law enforcement found a large cardboard box containing marijuana in the trunk. The pot was packaged in vacuum-sealed bags and wrapped in black plastic garbage bags. Chau's fingerprints were found on the bags.

The marijuana, Rostad said, was high-quality marijuana known as B.C. bud, which is grown in British Columbia and on the West Coast. Unlike other marijuana that has stems and leaves, B.C. bud marijuana consists only of large buds of the plant.

In June 2004, a pound of B.C. bud was selling on the street for between $3,000 and $5,000, making the stash worth about $150,000, an agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration testified.

Vo testified he was a passenger in the car driven by Chau and knew nothing about the marijuana in the trunk. When questioned by officers with the Montana Highway Patrol, Vo said he was traveling with Chau to visit Chau's brother in North Dakota. He also denied he was sweating from nerves or that he was shaking when talking to the officers. He said he was hot and was wiping his face.

When Chau told him later there was marijuana in the trunk, Vo said, "I was so angry that I punched him in his face."

Chau told a different story. Chau, also of Seattle, pleaded guilty earlier and was sentenced to two years in prison for possessing marijuana with intent to distribute. Testifying for the government, Chau said he has known Vo since 1995 and that they have been roommates. Chau met the supplier, identified as Mr. Tran, and Tran eventually agreed to let Chau make a drug run for him.

Chau said Vo also knew Tran and that Vo came along because it was a long drive to Minnesota. They were to make $200 a pound, or $6,000 each, for the delivery, he said. Chau also told the jury he thought Vo knew about the marijuana. When stopped by the trooper, Chau told the officer they were going to visit his mother in Minnesota. He admitted later that his mother lives in Seattle and that he has no brother.

On questioning by federal defender Mark Werner, Chau insisted Vo knew about the marijuana and denied that the two of them fought later.

Werner told the jury that Chau was the man in charge and was the one who picked up and loaded the marijuana from Tran. Vo "didn't know he was being used," he said.

Rostad called both Chau and Vo smugglers - "two smugglers who didn't get their stories straight."



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Source: Billingsgazette.com
Author: CLAIR JOHNSON
Contact: BillingsGazette.com ::
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Website: BillingsGazette.com :: Pot case left unresolved by jury