Springfield man admits shipping pot in fake boulders
A Springfield man pleaded guilty Tuesday in Eugene federal court to one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana after shipping about $1 million worth of marijuana out of state, hidden in large Styrofoam rocks, prosecutors said.
“Illegal export continues to plague Oregon’s under regulated and insufficiently enforced state laws governing state-licensed marijuana. The extreme overproduction of marijuana in Oregon has prompted many individuals to seek out-of-state distribution opportunities to recoup the costs of both illegal and legal in-state production. Disrupting these interstate distribution channels remains a priority of our office,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
According to court documents, in September 2017, Springfield police began an investigation after being contacted by United Parcel Service regarding several packages Curtis Manzer, 37, shipped to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that had a strong marijuana odor.
UPS later confirmed that, in October 2017, Manzer sent several additional packages next-day air to Oklahoma City also believed to contain marijuana. During the same time period, several packages containing numerous stacks of cash bound in $1,000 increments were sent to Manzer’s home address in Springfield.
In November 2017, Springfield Police obtained a search warrant for all packages sent or received by Manzer via UPS.
Shortly thereafter, an officer was conducting surveillance at a UPS store in Springfield when he saw Manzer arrive in a pickup truck with “Curran’s Taxidermy” written on the side, prosecutors said. The officer observed Manzer bringing six packages into the store, which he dropped off for next-day shipment to Oklahoma. A Springfield Police K-9 unit responded to the scene and the dog alerted to the packages.
The Springfield Police officer executed a search warrant on the packages and located six large Styrofoam rocks containing 143 pounds of marijuana.
Manzer faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and a three-year term of supervised release. He is due to bel be sentenced on February 26, 2019 before U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken.
As part of the plea agreement, Manzer agrees to forfeit any criminally derived proceeds and property used to facilitate his crimes identified by the government prior to sentencing.
This case was investigated by the Springfield Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Gavin W. Bruce, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
