A methamphetamine mule busted while hauling drugs through Mohave County was given a ten year prison sentence on July 10. Manuel Tolano, 42, was also ordered to pay fines, fees and surcharges totaling more than $43,000.
The defendant’s mother asked Mohave County Superior Court Judge Derek Carlisle for mercy, saying the family relies upon Tolano.
“There’s nothing like a mother’s love for her son but look at his record,” countered Deputy County Attorney Bob Moon. The veteran prosecutor said Tolano’s lengthy legal history is littered with misdemeanor and felony convictions.
DPS officers seized 23.5 pounds of methamphetamine from a vehicle being driven by Tolano that was stopped on Interstate 15, about six miles south of the Utah border in December, 2016. The drugs were found stashed in a spare tire.
“23 pounds of meth is a very large amount even if targeted for outside Mohave County,” Judge Carlisle said.
It had been indicated that Tolano and his passenger were transporting the drugs to Minnesota. Local charges are still pending against the co-defendant who is in custody on other matters in the state of Colorado.
