Judge nixes plea accord for 2 in ‘ice’ case; 1 suspect faints

A female defendant in an “ice” trafficking case fainted in court yesterday afternoon shortly after Superior Court associate judge Joseph N. Camacho rejected a proposed plea agreement that she and a co-defendant entered with the government.

Lu Wei, a Chinese national, was brought by medics to the Commonwealth Health Center. Camacho proceeded with the hearing.

Wei and a male co-defendant, Yong Jie Chen, appeared before Camacho for a change of plea hearing.

The Office of the Attorney General had charged Wei and Chen each with trafficking of a controlled substance and illegal possession of a controlled substance for two incidents in January 2012.

Both agreed to plead guilty to illegal possession of a controlled substance as part of a plea deal.

The agreement recommends a one-year prison sentence with credit for time served and a fine of $1,000 in exchange for Wei’s cooperation with her co-defendant’s case.

For Chen, the plea agreement recommends a five-year prison term, all suspended except for 15 months, five years probation, and a $1,000 fine.

Wei appeared at the hearing with her counsel, assistant public defender Douglas Hartig. Chen came with court-appointed counsel, Robert T. Torres. Assistant attorney general Darren Robinson represented the government.

When Camacho announced his decision to reject the plea agreement for both defendants, Wei leaned back in her chair and started shaking and breathing heavily.

Camacho immediately told courtroom clerk Roxanne M. Weaver to call 911. After a few minutes, medics arrived in the courtroom. Court marshals and Department of Corrections officers helped the medics put Wei on a stretcher.

Camacho immediately called the court back to order and set the case for jury trial on June 18, 2012.

In rejecting the plea agreement, Camacho said the government suggests, among other things, that this is an appropriate disposition of the case because the defendants will be deported after serving their sentences.

Camacho disagreed. In his view, deportation carries little deterrent value to either the defendants or to others in the community.

“Moreover, because country conditions vary, deportation may carry more or less retributive value in each case-thus the court is reluctant to value deportation as a replacement for an appropriate jail sentence or fine,” Camacho said.

He said he considered the arguments of counsels, including the fact that defendants have no criminal record and the charge is based on possession of $200 worth of “ice”-a relatively small amount.

On the other hand, because the jail sentence imposed under the plea agreement would be one year for Wei and one year and three months for Chen and the Legislature contemplates much harsher penalties for this type of crime, Camacho said he questions the deterrent and retributive value of deportation.

“The court is not confident that this disposition serves the ends of justice,” he said.