Major LSD Criminals Sentenced

[Væ§ølis]

Pickard and Apperson were linked to the Largest LSD Lab Seizure in DEA History

http://www.dea.gov/pubs/states/newsrel/sanfran112403_008.jpg

William J. Renton, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the St. Louis Division, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and United States Attorney Eric Melgren announced today that William Leonard Pickard, 58, Mill Valley, California, and Clyde Apperson, 48, Sunnyvale, California, were sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Richard D. Rogers. Pickard was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Apperson was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment without parole.

Melgren said that Pickard and Apperson were found guilty on March 31, 2003, following an eleven week jury trial of one count of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute more than 10 grams of LSD from August 1999 through November 2000 and one count of possession with the intent to distribute more than 10 grams of LSD on November 6, 2000.

Melgren stated that according to court testimony, this was the single largest seizure of an operable LSD lab in the history of the Drug Enforcement Administration. DEA agents seized approximately 41.3 kilograms (90.86 pounds) of LSD, approximately 97.5 kilograms (214.5 pounds) of lysergic acid, a precursor to LSD, approximately 23.6 kilograms (51.92 pounds) of iso-LSD, a by-product from the manufacture of LSD and 19 kilograms (41.8 pounds) of ergocristine, a precursor to LSD with the ability to create an additional 12.4 kilograms (27.28 pounds of LSD.

Further trial evidence established that in the history of DEA there have only been four seizures of complete LSD labs and three of these seizures involved Pickard and Apperson including a lab in Mountainview, California in 1998, a lab in Oregon in 1996, and this lab in Wamego, Kansas.

Melgren said that according to court testimony, on October 31, 2000, DEA agents conducted a search of a silo site near Wamego, Kansas, and found a LSD lab packed in storage boxes. On November 6, 2000, Pickard and Apperson were moving the illegal lab when they were stopped by the Kansas Highway Patrol. Apperson was arrested driving the rental truck containing the lab. Pickard, who was driving a Buick LeSabre, fled on foot and was arrested the next day at a farm outside Wamego. Fourteen canisters of a chemical required to produce LSD valued at over $1,000,000 were found at the missile silo. According to court testimony, Pickard and Apperson previously manufactured LSD in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where every five weeks the lab produced about 2.2 pounds of LSD, approximately 10 million doses that cost less than one cent a dose to produce and would sell for as much as $10 a dose. According to court testimony, the LSD was shipped to California and later to Europe for distribution.

Melgren commended the excellent work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA Task Force, and Kansas Highway Patrol with special recognition to Special Agent Karl Nichols, DEA, Special Agent Roger Hanzlik, DEA Task Force, Ralph Sorrell, Leavenworth Police Department/DEA Task Force, and O.C.D.E.T.F. in this investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Hough in this prosecution. O.C.D.E.T.F., Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, is a Congressionally funded task force with multi-agency federal, state and local members dedicated to investigating and prosecuting large-scale narcotics and money laundering cases nationally.

http://www.dea.gov/pubs/states/newsrel/sanfran112403_005.jpg
The site of the LSD lab was a former missile silo.

"Our nation's war on drugs is not limited to major metropolitan areas or border states. Manufacturers and traffickers of illegal drugs are increasingly moving to less populated areas in an attempt to avoid detection," Melgren said. "This case clearly demonstrates that moving such illegal activity to Kansas is a mistake. Due to the cooperative efforts of our federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, they will be caught. Due to the commitment of my office, they will be aggressively prosecuted. Due to Kansans' common sense and respect for the law, those who are guilty of such activity will be convicted. And due to the federal sentencing guidelines, they will be sentenced to significant time in prison. The message from this case is clear: drug dealers and manufacturers may not consider Kansas a place where they may get away with their illegal activies.

http://www.dea.gov/pubs/states/newsrel/sanfran112403_003.jpg
During the case, agents seized highly sophisticated chemical glassware required to manufacture LSD.

DEA Special Agent in Charge William J. Renton, Jr. stated, "the sentencing of William Pickard and Clyde Apperson brings to conclusion their significant role in the international production and distribution of LSD. These defendants were proven, by overwhelming evidence, to be responsible for the illicit manufacture of the majority of the LSD sold in this nation. The proof of the significance of these prosecutions and convictions lies in the fact that LSD availability in the United States was reduced by 95 % in the two years following their arrest. The Drug Enforcement Administration is proud to have led this historic investigation, and to have had the close cooperation of our partners in state and local law enforcement. I congratulate U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren and his staff for the outstanding prosecution conducted in this matter."

http://www.dea.gov/pubs/states/newsrel/sanfran112403_004.jpg
The decontamination process following the seizure of the LSD lab.

article source Drug Enforcement Agency website (http://www.dea.gov/)

Additional Reading: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...&type=printable (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/06/10/MN170988.DTL&type=printable)

[TheDoors6028]

NO!!! this story makes me sad. :(

[drdªv€]

OMFG, thats enough to keep a fair sized town trippin' for fucking years!! B)

[Christopher]

That's a damn shame. No wonder you guys haven't been able to get acid.
Yay america! Land of the free....

[twentyPASTfour]

funny how they look like desent people, and not some multiple felon comlumbian with scars on his right cheek.

[thomasKMFDM]

Pickard was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Apperson was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment without parole.
It may just be me but I see something HORRIBLY wrong in sentencing sometime to life for any crime not involving violence. But then again, I think anyone who makes LSD should be praised rather than demonized and penalized.

[Thrift Nine]

Indeed, I feel terrible for them. ::Shakes fist at the DEA::

[HeadOnAStick]

That is absolutely fucking revolting...

That article is stomach-churning to use exactly the right word. For me at least.

Hopefully we still have some devoted hippies in Canada somewhere.. Hiding.. I'll find 'em.

-Head

[Ventrex HBr]

Words really can't express the sorrow I feel not only for the obvious waste, but (more importantly) also the fates awaiting the men in question. I too see something inherently wrong with sentencing the poor guy to life. Even something wrong with the 30 years the other fellow got.

[twentyPASTfour]

they consider the risk that some people might die from the substance there dealing to be some type of manslaughter, or so they tell me

[black1abel]

isn't it very hard to OD on acid?

[numberonejuggalo]

yes, you would need more lsd than you could probably ever afford to physically od on it..however, you could do stupid shit and/or freak out and thus die, but i don't think most ppl would. esp not if they had a sitter like they ought to

[C20H25N3O]

what bullshit, ok I said it. But I knew this was coming. Actualy I thought I herd something a bout this a few weeks ago, probably not.

[HeadOnAStick]

Maybe you had a precognitive dream of a horrible article being written to devestate the drug-using community.

-Head

[pr0zac]

Wow. I want to say something sympathetic, or intelligent, or optimistic but honestly I can't think of anything that doesn't sound pathetic in light of this. Hope for better for good people in the future...

-zac

[C20H25N3O]

Originally posted by HeadOnAStick@Jan 14 2004, 10:11 PM
Maybe you had a precognitive dream of a horrible article being written to devestate the drug-using community.

-Head
that sounds about right. I have tons of dreams but have trouble recalling them.

[Vo2x]

I saw a man get charged for hacking up his wife and scattering her remains across the state I live in and get only 30 years WITH PAROLE. I cannot believe that they would get Life and 30 years without parole. Drug laws in the US are in sad need of readjustment at the least. Acid is already hard to get here as it is in this area and I'm sure this is going to help the price and availability. Tose two guys have some serious time ahead of them.

[Vo2x]

http://www.freepickard.org/

[Trippster]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!. no wonder why there is no good acid in Washington (skagit valley)




I salute those men in there quest!

[ashtar7]

Leonard Pickard looks like he has his third eye nearly escaping through his skin.

[DarkStar]

And, this, my friends, is why there has been little to no LSD since the late 90's and what there is costs $10 a hit and up. Now we know why, no more complaining. I feel terrible for these men. In my honetown some drunk bitch ran over and killed 2 teenagers, she got 1 year, parole and license suspension. :flame:

[Magnus_Grey]

Thats what he gets for getting caught 3 times for the manufacture of a scedual 1 drug in 5 years. I sympathize, but please take into account that his sentence reflects his poor judgement.

-Bryan

[Paralysis]

I've KNOWN why there's been no LSD for a while because of this. I've been waiting forever to hear what happened to Pickard. The beast has been forever silenced.

:(

[levomethorphan]

Originally posted by twentyPASTfour@Jan 14 2004, 08:39 PM
they consider the risk that some people might die from the substance there dealing to be some type of manslaughter, or so they tell me
Distributing a controlled dangerous substance that results in death or serious injury is a distinct charge under Federal law. From the report, such a charge was not present. They were charged with plain old conspiracy to distribute more than 10 grams of LSD, an offense which carries a minimum penalty of 10 years without parole and a maximum penalty of life without parole. Although his sentences were legal, I think the judge was a real hardass to give them 30 and life, he was only obligated to give them 10.

Even if they were charged with causing death or serious injury, the penalty would be 20 years minimum, life maximum, so it probably wouldn't have made a difference.

These guys should really appeal their sentence, though. The sentence guideline for 400 pounds of LSD (which is approximately what they were charged with) is only about 15 to 20 years.

[druggedupdork]

why be reactive, and conplain and wallow in despair, when what we really should do is be proactive, and break these heros out of jail! seriously!. or protest in front of their prison, or hold all of congress hostage and make a trade off or something...common people lets fix this world.....realizes cia is hacking into my computer right now.....ok sory, ill be a depressed tool for you too cia, just please dont cut off my cable...please?

[_Swey_]

:flame: That sux its already hard enough to find lsd in Florida. The only thing i have done is DXM LSA from morning glory but that always makes me really sick :puke: . It's a damn shame to waste all that lsd :nono:

[intersin]

Good luck and fair wishes to his wife and kids, for they are the true victims of this unfair and unjust trail that the DEA had put together. To the winners? Haha, you're winnings are going to be more adulterated products that will be passed on as LSD since now the demand will rise. Crooked dealers will sell anything to get a sizable profit that will come in the next few years. The will cause more deaths then what lives they "think" they saved from such a horrible drug that LSD is. Thank you Mr. DEA for killing more kids, they deserve it.

[AmbientDistortion]

Well that sucks. I read about Mr. Pickard in the Rolling Stone about a year ago. Seems that one of the chemical cleanup guys got about 1200 hits worth of LSD on his skin somehow. So instead of going by the anti-trainwreck guidelines that every responsible user (not abuser) knows, they took him to a hospital in their cars, guarding him with guns, and giving him MORE drugs (like valium and thorazine) Shit, it IS hard to physically O.D. on pure LSD alone, but I guess the governement has somehow established that a third of the people who take acid have a lethal allergic reaction to it. So for every three hits of acid you get caught selling, its a count of involuntary manslaughter.Which is like, 3-5 years in Idaho I think...Oh well, the drought will be over soon...all I need to do is get my biochemistry degree, start my own country off the coast of Anarctica and cook it up by the ton. Until then, let us fight for humanity's right to do what it wants with it's conciousness.

[Ilike2trip_DoU?]

that sucks so bad. damn. acid is still around but u just to to look harder. i wonder how long they were making that shit for and how much money they made?? i mean how much would the acid costs if u were lucky enough to buy it from THEM??

[EvS]

Originally posted by AmbientDistortion@Jan 17 2004, 10:05 AM
Shit, it IS hard to physically O.D. on pure LSD alone, but I guess the governement has somehow established that a third of the people who take acid have a lethal allergic reaction to it. So for every three hits of acid you get caught selling, its a count of involuntary manslaughter.Which is like, 3-5 years in Idaho I think...
What the fuck? That sounds like bullshit..

[Magnus_Grey]

That manslaughter thing is a urban legend. Unfortuantly there are may other nasty things they can charge you with that will put you away for years. The moral of this story is simple. Dont get caught. If you get caught once, don't get caught again.

-Bryan

[Supernaut]

Originally posted by levomethorphan@Jan 15 2004, 07:29 PM

These guys should really appeal their sentence, though. The sentence guideline for 400 pounds of LSD (which is approximately what they were charged with) is only about 15 to 20 years.
damn....
400 pounds of LSD is about (at 75 micrograms/hit) 2.4 billion hits that nobody will ever get to take, aside from that cleanup dude who go 1,200 on his skin. What a tragedy. It is kind of sad that our whole country has been depending on these 2 guys to manufacture virtually all our LSD...

[Magnus_Grey]

They had 10 grams of LSD and as far as I know there is no specific charge for creating 100's of lbs of it.

-Bryan

[Infected Method]

From his site...

An appeal is now in process to reverse the decision. Please return to this site for more updates