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DETENTION ORDER 15.13

18 U.S.C. § 3142(i) Rev. 1/91

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

AT SEATTLE

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,

v. 

SHANE MENZEL,

Defendant.

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CASE NO.: 05-442M

DETENTION ORDER 

Offense charged:

Conspiracy to Import and Distribute Marijuana

Date of Detention Hearing: September 14, 2005

The Court, having conducted a detention hearing pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3142(f), and

based upon the factual findings and statement of reasons for detention hereafter set forth, finds

that no condition or combination of conditions which defendant can meet will reasonably assure

the appearance of defendant as required and the safety of other persons and the community.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR DETENTION

(1) Defendant and two co-defendants are charged with conspiring to import and

distribute marijuana from Canada to the United States. The Complaint alleges that on September

6, 2005, defendants McCluskey and Humphrey cleared a landing zone for a helicopter in a remote

area of Skagit County, Washington, and then drove separately to the area on September 7, 2005,

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DETENTION ORDER 15.13

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meeting a helicopter operated by defendant Shane Menzel. The Complaint further alleges that

vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana were off-loaded from the helicopter, at which time the three

individuals were arrested. This defendant is alleged to have reported that he participated in three

prior similar smuggles with Humphrey and McCluskey.

(2) The allegations of the Complaint depict a sophisticated marijuana smuggling

operation that required careful planning and co-ordination, and the utilization of a Robinson R-22

helicopter entering United States airspace without permission, flying at a low altitude in order to

avoid detection. The alleged admissions by defendant Menzel describe close involvement by all

three defendants in this on-going scheme. The AUSA proffers that federal agents had surveilled

a helicopter drop on five previous occasions, and that other landing areas had been cleared in the

vicinity as well. The access of defendants to the considerable resources necessary to carry out the

scheme, and the inference that other individuals, still at large, must necessarily have been involved

in the scheme, leads to the conclusion that the defendants pose a significant risk of flight as well

as a risk of danger.

(3) All three defendants are Canadian citizens, with significant ties to their communities

but no ties whatsoever to this District. Mr. Menzel is trained as a helicopter pilot. He has been

unemployed since approximately January of February 2005. 

(4) The AUSA argues that the quantity of marijuana involved in the conspiracy is in

excess of 100 kilograms, and therefore invokes the rebuttable presumption against defendant as

to both dangerousness and flight risk, under 18 U.S.C. §3142(e). However, the undersigned has

not assumed the application of the rebuttable presumption in considering the government’s motion

to detain the defendants. 

(5) The defendant poses a risk of nonappearance because he is not a United States

citizen, has no ties to this District, is unemployed, and is a licensed helicopter pilot. The

sophisticated nature of the alleged enterprise, including the utilization of a helicopter, also leads

to that to the conclusion that this defendant poses a risk of nonappearance as well as a risk of

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DETENTION ORDER 15.13

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danger.

(6) There does not appear to be any condition or combination of conditions that will

reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance at future Court hearings while addressing the danger

to other persons or the community.

It is therefore ORDERED:

(1) Defendant shall be detained pending trial and committed to the custody of the

Attorney General for confinement in a correction facility separate, to the extent

practicable, from persons awaiting or serving sentences or being held in custody

pending appeal;

(2) Defendant shall be afforded reasonable opportunity for private consultation with

counsel;

(3) On order of a court of the United States or on request of an attorney for the

Government, the person in charge of the corrections facility in which defendant is

confined shall deliver the defendant to a United States Marshal for the purpose of

an appearance in connection with a court proceeding; and

(4) The clerk shall direct copies of this Order to counsel for the United States, to

counsel for the defendant, to the United States Marshal, and to the United States

Pretrial Services Officer.

DATED this 15th day of September, 2005.

A

Mary Alice Theiler

United States Magistrate Judge 

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