Prison drug case ending with whimper

A Pelican Bay State Prison drug smuggling case involving a former cook fizzled for the Del Norte County District Attorney’s Office.

DA Jon Alexander was hoping to connect an April 2010 arrest of former prison cook Patrick Colon, 31, to a grander drug smuggling scheme.

Colon was arrested after authorities performed a controlled delivery of an intercepted  package containing a small amount of methamphetamine and heroin from the San Fernando Valley intended for Colon’s home.

Additional defendants were named shortly after Colon’s arrest; two of them were Pelican Bay inmates and another one was an inmate’s girlfriend, who was suspected of sending the package.

A minimal amount of drugs and lack of evidence to connect all of the defendants to the case caused Alexander to offer plea deals that virtually amounted to probation terms for three defendants in the case and gave Colon immunity.

“In this business, you play the cards you’re dealt and sometimes you draw a pair of deuces,” said Alexander. “We did the best we could with what we had.”

Colon was originally charged with transportation of heroin and meth, possession of heroin for sale, bringing heroin into prison, possession of heroin and meth.

Those charges will be dismissed after sentences are imposed against the other defendants.

Former inmates William Harlow and Jose Contreras faced six counts of conspiracy relating to selling, transporting and possessing narcotics. Rachel Kritikos, Harlow’s girlfriend, also faced conspiracy charges.

Harlow pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of possessing methamphetamine on Jan. 12 and received a 180-day jail sentence, but also gained 177 days of credit for time served.

Contreras and Kritikos entered guilty pleas to lesser charges Thursday.

Contreras pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine and is likely to receive five years of probation with no additional jail time.

Kritikos pleaded guilty to a felony count of conspiracy to bring drugs into a prison.

They are set to be sentenced March 15.

“The evidentiary connection between Southern California and Pelican Bay never materialized and we exacted the best settlement possible,” said Alexander after the hearing. “We got everything we could out of Mr. Colon.”

Colon was granted immunity from the case in exchange for testimony against the other defendants.

Alexander opined that the time and resources it took to get the results and explore the possibility of a greater drug link were worth it.

“I didn’t get the result I wanted, but anytime I try to protect this county from the Klamath up to the Smith, it is worth it,” said Alexander. “That’s what this office does.”