Community Corner
Culver City Pot Smuggler Receives Probation
Charles "Smoke" Hicks was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $2,000 in fines for his part in a scheme to bribe ex-TSA agents at LAX to smuggle marijuana onto a plane.
An admitted drug courier was sentenced Monday to five years probation and ordered to pay $2,000 in fines for scheming to bribe ex- Transportation Security Administration agents at Los Angeles International Airport to help smuggle marijuana onto a flight.
Charles "Smoke" Hicks, 24, of Culver City, acknowledged in a plea agreement working with Millage J. Peaks IV, a retired Los Angeles city fire chief's son, who promised to pay $500 for each suitcase containing marijuana that cleared security at LAX, according to prosecutors.
A second admitted pot courier, Andrew "Drew" Welter, 25, of Fontana, is expected to be sentenced April 8.
Find out what's happening in Culver Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Peaks, 25, admitted bribing former TSA employees Dianna Perez and Randy Littlefield to allow pounds of marijuana to pass undetected through the LAX screening process between November 2010 and October 2011.
The marijuana was being flown from Los Angeles to Boston, according to court papers.
Find out what's happening in Culver Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Peaks was sentenced to a year in federal prison and ordered to pay a $6,000 fine. Littlefield, 29, of Paramount, was sentenced to eight months behind bars, and also ordered to serve three years of supervised release. Perez is scheduled to be sentenced March 25.
Be sure to like Culver City Patch on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our free daily newsletter for email updates.
