NEVADA FOCUS: Turning up the heat on Vegas meth cooks

LAS VEGAS - Clark County Assistant District Attorney Leon Simon was sorting through criminal files about a year ago when one case caught his eye.

A Las Vegas man had been arrested three times on drug charges but had been released on bail each time.

The charges against Sean Lawrence Meehan were serious and involved large amounts of methamphetamine, a powerful synthetic drug made by combining common cold remedies with other chemicals.

As Simon looked deeper into Meehan's file, he found a history of guns, drugs, arrests and bail bonds.

The man known by police as one of the top methamphetamine ''cooks'' in Clark County was staying in business despite numerous busts.

''It occurred to me that something was wrong,'' Simon said. ''This guy kept getting arrested and making bail. It seemed to me he was playing games with the system.''

The game ended when U.S. District Court Judge Lloyd George sentenced the 28-year-old Meehan to 16 years in a federal prison.

The May 19 sentence followed an agreement with federal prosecutors in which Meehan pleaded guilty to two charges - possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and possession of a firearm during the course of a drug crime - in exchange for the dismissal of nine other similar charges.

Meehan is the latest in a growing number of accused drug offenders whose cases are being filed in federal court in Las Vegas after starting in the state court system.

Though the majority of drug crimes are still going through District Court, a select few are finding their way to federal court after the formation of an ad-hoc task force.

Made up of officials from the U.S. attorney's office, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Metro Police, the task force targets meth makers like Meehan who have a history of dodging punishment.

Since its formation in May 1999, the task force has resulted in 22 federal indictments in cases that otherwise would have been prosecuted in District Court.

Meehan was the seventh person convicted in federal court as a result of the task force's efforts.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom O'Connell of Las Vegas said there are several advantages to moving some drug cases from state to federal court. First, those accused in federal court of a drug crime rarely are allowed to post bail, O'Connell said.

''The presumption is they are a flight risk,'' he said. ''Ninety-five percent of the cases result in pretrial detention and bail is denied.''

O'Connell also said federal law carries stiffer penalties for convicted drug dealers. Someone convicted of possessing five grams of methamphetamine in federal court faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, he said. The minimum sentence for possessing 50 grams is 10 years.

Nevada law does not provide similar mandatory minimum sentences for drug convictions, O'Connell said.

Federal law also precludes any early parole, O'Connell said. Previous drug-related arrests and convictions can add significant time to a sentence in federal court. And if a gun is used during a drug-related crime, federal law requires a mandatory five-year sentence to be served consecutively with the drug sentence.

''It's a way to remove the most violent and dangerous criminals from society for an extended period of time,'' O'Connell said.

With a county jail already well overpopulated, District Attorney Stewart Bell said District Court judges have to set bail in all but the most serious of crimes. Built to house about 800 inmates, the Clark County Detention Center holds up to 2,300, Bell said.

As a result, most drug dealers charged in state court are allowed to post bail, he said.

''We can only keep the worst of the worst,'' Bell said.

The difference in caseloads between state and federal prosecutors also means cases filed in U.S. District Court get more time and attention, Bell said. Prosecutors in his office handle hundreds of cases a year, Bell said, while the caseload is lighter at the U.S. attorney's office.

The new task force was borne of frustration by local police and prosecutors.

''There were people we had five, six or seven cases on, and they continued to walk and walk and walk,'' said Metro Lt. Steve Gammell, who supervises a narcotics unit. ''We just can't get them out of our hair by going to state court.''

Gammell's frustration at the revolving door in state court is compounded by the growth of methamphetamine as the largest drug problem in Las Vegas.

In 1995 Metro narcotics officers were called to investigate 50 crime scenes where methamphetamines were being made, most often in garages, hotel rooms and storage units dubbed meth ''labs'' because of the chemical processing that goes into making the drug.

By the end of last year, that number had grown to 362 labs - almost one a day. Gammell said his squad now spends about 70 percent of its time working meth cases.

But Gammell said the real frustration came when officers noticed they were arresting the same people over and over again.

For example, Meehan has been a ''thorn in the side'' of Metro officers for nearly two years, Gammell said.

Officers first encountered the former Texan in October 1998 while working an undercover drug investigation. Meehan was fingered as the money man by two men arrested while trying to buy a large amount of pseudoephedrine, the cold medicine which, when combined with other chemicals, makes methamphetamine.

Meehan was questioned, but police found no other evidence and he was not arrested.

That changed two months later, on Dec. 30, 1999, when Metro officers used an informant to buy drugs from Meehan.

After getting a search warrant, police found Meehan, a teen-age girl and over 1,000 grams of meth inside his apartment, according to court records. They also confiscated nearly 500 grams of marijuana, more than $2,000 cash, a shotgun and a revolver.

In Meehan's Chevrolet Corvette, officers found 1,150 bottles of pseudoephedrine.

Meehan was arrested, but released on bail.

In February of last year, Meehan's name came up again in a Metro squad room when detectives learned of a man matching his description operating a meth lab out of a ''desert compound'' near Interstate 15 and Hollywood Boulevard.

After surveying the area, police moved in on Feb. 13., 1999. Meehan spotted the officers and fled in a car, leading police on a chase that reached speeds of 110 mph on U.S. Highway 95. The pursuit ended at Sunset Station in Henderson, where Meehan tried to blend in with the crowd but was spotted and arrested.

Inside Meehan's car police found 466 grams of meth, according to court records. Officers also found more than 2,000 grams of meth strewn along the highway that Meehan had tossed from the speeding car.

Meehan went to jail, but was again released on bail.

And it wouldn't be long before Metro and Meehan crossed paths again.

On May 6, 1999, detectives served a search warrant at Meehan's residence, this time finding 37 grams of meth, chemicals and lab materials used to make the drug. Officers also found 14 grams of marijuana, $24,000 cash and receipts for new furniture and electronics.

A week later, Meehan posted bail of $23,000 and was released from jail a third time.

It was that third case that caught Simon's attention.

''It just seemed he was on a merry-go-round,'' Simon said.

Simon said he conferred with Bell about Meehan's case, then called the Metro narcotics unit. Federal prosecutors soon stepped in, and Meehan was indicted by a grand jury on 11 drug-related charges.

Meehan's attorney, Leo Flangas, described his client as a ''model citizen'' who took a wrong turn. Flangas said there was a good chance Meehan could have received a lighter sentence constructed around drug treatment had the case stayed in state court.

''Judges in the federal system aren't given the ability to have discretion,'' Flangas said. ''Here's a case where he's never been sentenced before, and he's going to do 16 years. We have to look at it as a society. Do we want to warehouse him or try some rehabilitation.''

Gammell said Meehan and the others who've seen their cases go to federal court had plenty of chances to clean up their act.

''You've got to look at the history of these people,'' Gammell said. ''These are multiple, multiple offenders. They've had their chance, and they continue to cook (meth) and they continue to be a problem. Now, boom, they are going to the big time.''

Judge George noted at sentencing that Meehan graduated in the top 10 percent of his high school class and showed real promise in his early adulthood.

But the judge said he had no choice in sentencing Meehan to 16 years in a federal prison.

''He's out of circulation now,'' O'Connell said.