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Whitney Houston
marijuana report
to prosecutor

The police are expected to
wrap up the case by the
end of this week

By Rod Thompson
Star-Bulletin

KAILUA-KONA -- A police report on singer Whitney Houston's alleged possession of marijuana at the Kona airport should be ready for the prosecutor's office by the end of the week, according to Lt. Robert Hickcox.

On Jan. 11, airport security personnel found about half an ounce of marijuana in a cloth handbag, allegedly Houston's.

She allegedly abandoned the purse and boarded a plane before police could be summoned.

Witnesses questioned by police believed the purse belonged to Houston, but there was no identification in it, Hickcox said.

Items in the purse still must be tested for fingerprints, and the substance in it must be shown to be marijuana, he said.

While waiting for those reports, police will forward witness statements, he said.

The report does not contain a recommendation regarding prosecution.

If prosecuted, Houston would be subject to a petty misdemeanor charge punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. But Gov. Ben Cayetano would have to extradite her from the mainland, which is unlikely, Prosecutor Jay Kimura said.

A court also could order Houston to return, then find her in contempt if she didn't do so. That would subject her to arrest if she ever came to Hawaii again.

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Man caught with drugs
at airport gets life term

Star-Bulletin staff

A man with two prior felony drug convictions was sentenced to life imprisonment for bringing methamphetamine into Honolulu a year ago.

U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway yesterday sentenced Christopher Jose Cisneros to a life term without possibility of parole after the defendant pleaded guilty.

Cisneros, 31, a Mexican citizen, reserved the right to appeal Mollway's denial of his claim that the drug was found as the result of an illegal search.

U.S. Attorney Steven Alm said Cisneros had concealed about 74 grams of methamphetamine in his underwear on a Feb. 12, 1999, flight from Los Angeles.

Alm said federal law mandated the life sentence because of prior drug-trafficking convictions in California. Cisneros was convicted in 1987 for possession of heroin for sale, and in 1993 for importation of more than three pounds of cocaine.

Mollway found that the convictions established that illegal drug trafficking was Cisneros' primary means of support.

His arrest followed investigation by the Honolulu Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.