One of four individuals who was on board a yacht in which an illegal substance was allegedly found Tuesday during a search by Customs officers was officially charged yesterday in District Court.
However, thirty-year old Daniel Santelli —during his initial appearance yesterday— waived his preliminary examination and his case is bound over to High Court, where he is scheduled to appear today for arraignment.
Santelli, whose bail was reduced yesterday from $25,000 to $20,000 and remains in custody, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance —marijuana— a felony punishable by a mandatory term of imprisonment of not less than five nor more than 10 years, a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $20,000 or both, according to the complaint.
According to a court affidavit, police responded on the afternoon of July 20 to a report by Customs about “drugs” found on board the sailboat ‘Wai-O-Tira’ docked at the main dock, where all four crew members were being processed.
A custom’s officer informed police that while conducting a routine search with Drug Detector Dog Grace on board the vessel, Grace showed a lot of interest and was “alerting” inside the crew’s cabin, the affidavit states.
A secondary search was conducted and Customs found two zip- loc bags containing a green leafy substance underneath a bed inside a cabin occupied by another crew member, who denied any knowledge of the drugs, the affidavit alleges.
The vessel’s captain was asked if he had any knowledge of the illegal drug and he said no. However, Santelli admitted that the drugs were his, the affidavit further alleges.
According to the government’s case, the search continued inside the cabin occupied by Santelli and when another zip-loc bag containing a green leafy substance was found Santelli, again, admitted that the drugs were his.
The green leafy substances were tested using the Duquenois Levine Field Test Kit and they yielded a positive result of marijuana, the affidavit states.
After being transported to the police station for further investigation, the defendant was advised of his Miranda Rights and Santelli indicated that he understood his rights and then provided a verbal statement.
“Santelli said he owns the marijuana that was found on board the vessel. He indicated that he got the marijuana from New Zealand as gifts from friends,” the affidavit alleges, adding that Santelli also stated that he and his ex-girl friend —who was also on board the vessel— “were the only people who smoked marijuana during the trip.”
Santelli is an Italian citizen and it was unclear yesterday if the government had made contact with the nearest Italian consulate about the arrest of one of its citizens.
