The bench trial of Ollie Schuster, the addressee of a box in which 39.9 pounds of crystal methamphetamine were found on July 26 last year began Thursday in the High Court.
Schuster is facing one count of unlawful possession of controlled substances, methamphetamine, with intent to distribute, and one count of unlawful possession of controlled substances, methamphetamine.
Schuster who was a security officer for the LBJ Hospital at the time, has been incarcerated since her arrest last July.
Prosecuting the case are Assistant Attorneys General Alex Theohares, Faustina Filimona and Sara Charpentier.
Assistant Public Defender Stanislaw Krawieski is representing Schuster.
Assistant Attorney General Theohares said in opening statements that the government will present testimony from several witnesses including customs officers who discovered, inspected and reported the methamphetamine that was found in the box as well as federal authorities who took custody of the methamphetamine and tested it.
“These testimonies will provide a thorough account of what happened that day and present the factual basis for the government’s charges against the defendant,” he said.
Defense Attorney Krawieski said at most the evidence that the government would provide would show that customs officers made his client an “unwilling blind mule and now a scape goat.” He said while the name of the sender of the box would be mentioned there would not be any testimony linking Schuster to the sender. He asked the judges to pay attention to who all of “the actors” in the case are, customs officers “who orchestrated the scheme” that has led to his client being charged. He said at no point was his client linked to those involved.
According to the defense attorney when he considers this case he thinks of his sister, going to the Post Office to pick up a package. She is asked by the authorities about the contents and she says she doesn’t know. But they charged her.
He said it wasn’t unusual for someone to receive a surprise package,
For example during Covid-19 he received two boxes which he wasn’t expecting, and they turned out to contain chocolate cakes from his brother and mother for his birthday.
The first prosecution witness to take the stand was former customs officer Faafotutupu Fano who opened the box that was addressed to Ms Schuster for inspection. He said the box was a Home Depot box , which had clothes at the top and underneath was a second box, covered in a black plastic bag. Inside the second box were about 38 vacuum sealed packages. Upon cutting open one of the sealed package , he found a white crystalline substance, which based on his training in drugs detectio,n he suspected was crystal methamphetamine.
He said he asked Ms Schuster before opening the big box what was inside and she said clothes and candy. Before opening the second box he asked her again about the contents and she said she didn’t know. After opening one of the vacuum sealed packages, he asked Ms Schuster again if she knew the contents, and she answered no.
He said Schuster acted normally when the contents of the vacuum sealed package he cut up were revealed to be drugs.
Presiding in the bench trial are Acting Associate Judge Elvis Patea and Associate Judges Faamausili Pomele and Paepae Faiai.
