The alleged ringleader in a 2013 drug operation in Mission Bay pleaded guilty April 17 to three counts of possession of methamphetamine for sale and one count of selling methamphetamine.
Jason Morgan Boone, 42, of San Diego, was among nine arrested in June of 2013 following an undercover investigation with San Diego police and the Drug Enforcement Administration. He allegedly stored some of the methamphetamine in lockers at the Mission Bay Sportcenter, his former employer, and was the only Sportcenter employee to be linked to the charges. Most of the other defendants were drug couriers.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Timothy Walsh set sentencing for June 30. Boone remains free on $500,000 bond. Deputy District Attorney Jorge del Portillo said Boone faces a maximum sentence of six years in county jail. Del Portillo said probation is a possibility.
Boone is the last suspect to resolve his case. Everyone else has been sentenced to either jail terms or community service or been given credit for time served. Eleven months ago, Boone waived having a preliminary hearing and agreed to stand trial on 15 charges without the prosecution calling any witnesses.
Those other charges included transportation of meth, with many counts of possession of meth for sale and for actual meth sales. The other charges were dismissed by Walsh.
The sheriff’s department, the Maritime Task Force and the Office of Homeland Security were part of the investigation, started in 2012. The investigation involved wiretaps, and couriers used the word “beach” to refer to the Sportcenter, records say. — Neal Putnam