The former owner of the Mission Bay Sportcenter was sentenced Wednesday(July 29) to three years in jail for running a methamphetamine ring out of the lockers of the building.
Jason Morgan Boone, 42, of San Diego, didn’t say anything before San Diego Superior Court Judge Timothy Walsh sentenced him with his wife and his parents watching from the audience.
Boone will spend three years in county jail as the crime is not considered violent and so he is spared going to prison. Walsh ordered a 6-year term, with three years to be on mandatory supervision with the sheriff’s department after he serves three years.
Boone’s attorney, David Baker, told Walsh that Boone is no longer the owner of Sportcenter where methamphetamine was found during the June, 2013 drug raid. Boone was the only person arrested from Sportcenter, while seven others were prosecuted as drug couriers.
Boone’s projected release date is Jan. 1, 2017, according to the sheriff’s department. He received credits for 52 days spent in jail and was fined $8,044. Walsh denied probation. Baker said Boone got a job at age 15 at Mission Bay Sportcenter and it was devastating to become the owner and then lose it. He said Boone got involved with methamphetamine and went down “a dark path,” which Baker added, that “it’s something he’s ashamed of.”
“He used his business skills to make a methamphetamine business,” said Baker. “Good people sometimes do bad things…He’s truly sorry.”
Deputy District Attorney Jorge Del Portillo said Boone “abused his authority” at Sportcenter and every person arrested in the drug operation got methamphetamine from Boone himself. “He is the leader of this operation,” said Del Portillo.
The drug couriers used the words “the beach” when referring to the Sportcenter, at 1010 Santa Clara Place, according to court records.
Walsh noted “this was not a one time, two time transaction, but an ongoing enterprise.” The judge said it was dangerous since children were present in the building, not far from where meth was stored in lockers.
“He induced others to participate,” said Walsh.
Walsh said there were five pounds of meth seized the day of the raid, with 1 ½ pounds found in Boone’s garage, along with a pound of marijuana. One half pound was found in the trunk of Boone’s Porshe, and some in the front seat of the vehicle.
Boone surrendered to jail on July 13. He pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of methamphetamine for sale, and one count of selling the drug. Boone was the last person to be sentenced. One other received the same sentence as Boone, while the others received jail terms of two years or less.