A federal jury in Fargo found two Twin Cities men guilty Wednesday of trying to smuggle 30 pounds of pot across the North Dakota border.
Linh Duc Hoang, 28, and Paramy Siharath, 22, were convicted on two counts: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to import.
Jurors needed less than two hours to reach their verdict Wednesday morning, leading defense attorneys to suggest their clients' race influenced the all-white jury.
Stephen Grigsby, a Minneapolis lawyer representing Hoang, said it was the quickest guilty verdict he's ever had for a case that relied on testimony from an admitted liar.
A third man arrested in the incident, Manitoba resident William Johnston, was offered special treatment if he testified.
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"I can only assume my client's being Asian played a part," Grigsby said. "It's inexplicable."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Chase dismissed the race argument and said the facts stood convincingly on their own.
"Their (Hoang and Siharath's) story was laughable," Chase said. "It was completely unbelievable."
Prosecutors said Hoang and Siharath drove from Minneapolis to Pembina Jan. 21 to pick up $60,000 worth of high-grade marijuana from Johnston. But Johnston was arrested at the border when police found the pot in his trunk's gas tank, and the transfer was never made.
Instead, Siharath and Hoang waited two hours at a gas station -- where a border agent saw them -- and returned home.
When later questioned, Hoang told police he and Siharath had driven to Pembina to re-register Hoang's girlfriend's BMW from Canadian to U.S. authority. They said they were to meet Johnston and pick up a document, which was found in Johnston's truck during the arrest.
But the cover story just didn't make sense, Chase said. Siharath and Hoang drove six hours one way to pick up papers they could have had faxed to them in Minneapolis. And if they really wanted the papers, they could have driven another two miles from the gas station to look for Johnston.
Siharath and Hoang are scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 14.
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Johnston, who has pleaded guilty to the same counts as his co-conspirators, will be sentenced Aug. 13. The charges carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Forster at (701) 241-5538
