FISHERMAN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR SMUGGLING COCAINE

Co-Defendants Receive Lesser Prison Terms

A fisherman who helped smuggle up to $48 million worth of cocaine in one
load into Southwest Florida was sentenced Monday to life in prison.

U.S. District Judge John Steele imposed the sentence after finding Jimmie
Lee Byrd, 59, of Homosassa to be a lifelong drug smuggler with at least
three prior convictions.

Byrd had nothing to say to Steele before receiving his life sentence.

"I think it's all been said," Byrd told the judge.

Steele also sentenced two of Byrd's co-defendants to lesser prison terms.

Byrd was found guilty in May by a federal jury in Fort Myers of helping to
smuggle more than 2 tons of cocaine the night of July 27-28, 2001 and
offloading the illegal cargo near Marco Island.

Byrd, skippering an ocean racing boat called Flu Bayou, met two Colombian
boats laden with the cocaine in the Gulf of Mexico, according to federal
prosecutors.

The episode capped Byrd's career as "a lifetime smuggler," Assistant U.S.
Attorney Jim Preston said.

Steele rejected a defense attorney's pleas for leniency for Byrd.

Among other things, the court could have shown mercy because Byrd helped
save two Colombians on another of the smuggling ships that had run out of
fuel. The two were being battered by high waves.

"These crewmen would have died at sea" had it not been for the "Good
Samaritan" act of Byrd, Assistant U.S. Public Defender Russell Rosenthal
said. He said the two repaid Byrd by testifying against him.

Byrd also deserved leniency because he has a bad heart, Rosenthal said.

Steele ruled that saving the lives of fellow smugglers didn't warrant any
leniency for Byrd.

The judge ruled that there was no showing of physical impairment to warrant
a sentence lesser than life in prison for Byrd.

"Good luck," Steele told Byrd as he was led from the courtroom.

Rosenthal said Byrd's case will be appealed.

Steele also sentenced co-defendant Darrel Taylor, 53, of Naples to 11 years
and three months in prison, Preston said.

Another co-defendant, Freddy Flint, 54, of Bokeelia was sentenced to three
years and 10 months in prison, the federal prosecutor said.

Two other co-defendants, brothers Robert Weeks, 55, and Forrest Weeks, 56,
both of Bokeelia, have pleaded guilty to cocaine charges and will be
sentenced in October, federal court records state.

Each man faces a sentence ranging from 20 years to life in prison, Preston said.