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One
of the men accused of trying to smuggle $1.5 million in Ecstasy
pills across the border in Massena has been acquitted on all drug
charges.
51-year-old Silas Benedict of Cornwall Island was in U.S. District
Court in Syracuse Friday, where a jury found him innocent on a bevy
of drug sale and possession charges.
The
arrest happened July 1 at the Massena port of entry when Customs and
Border Protection officers searched a vehicle being driven by
54-year-old Mitchell M. David. The search revealed the pickup truck
was harboring 50 sandwich bags containing about 50,000 star-shaped
Ecstasy tablets. Each pill carries a street value of about $30.
David
pleaded guilty last Tuesday to conspiracy to possess with intent to
distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to
distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to import a controlled
substance and importation of a controlled substance. His sentencing
is scheduled for June 11.
Benedict was represented by Lake Placid attorney Brian Barrett, who
said a jury of seven women and five men spent approximately five
hours deliberating before finding the defendant innocent.
Barrett told the Watertown Daily Times the acquittal was a result of
a lack of evidence.
“The
jury was brilliant,” he told the newspaper.
-Chris Morris, 2-9-10 |