'Ice' shipper gets 16-year prison term
A 27-year-old Honolulu man was sentenced Monday to 16 years in prison for his key role in bringing pounds of methamphetamine to the islands from Las Vegas.
Brandon Yamamoto plead guilty in December and admitted that he received 20 pounds of ice from 2004 until September 2005.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Candace Kelly said this is considered a large amount and that Yamamoto played one of the bigger roles in this six-man conspiracy. Another person -- a "fairly minor player" -- received 30 months in jail, Kelly said.
Throughout the conspiracy, one would mail "pound quantities" of methamphetamine to Hawaii from Las Vegas. In return, others mailed back cash obtained from the drugs. At least one of them used the U.S. Postal Service to mail the cash, Kelly said.
Yamamoto received more jail time because he was on probation during the conspiracy. His state offenses included breaking into a car, driving a stolen car and terroristic threatening, court records show.