Opinion ID: 705158
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The case against Squires and Wright

Text: 20 Squires, a former Miami police officer, operated one of the organization's smuggling boats--the Becky Ann. Squires assisted the group during its first use of this boat smuggling marijuana into Destin. According to John Miller, Squires replaced Miller as Tico Rodriguez's right-hand man for at least two loads brought into Destin during 1984-85 to allow Miller to take a break from smuggling because of a drug use problem. 21 After this initial venture, the Becky Ann was given to Squires and one of his partners, another former Miami police officer--Danny Wright. Squires and Wright took the vessel to Ft. Myers, where they established and operated another off-load organization. At a house in Ft. Myers, Squires and Wright allowed the Rodriguez brothers and Controneo to off-load several of the group's other boats, including the Olives, Cachausa and the Sunflower. 22 During their active involvement in Ft. Myers, Squires and Wright made three separate attempts to run smuggling ventures with the Becky Ann. On the first attempt, they recruited John Rock and Hali McLaughlin to make a run to Belize. Rock brought the boat back with only a partial load--approximately 380 pounds of marijuana. Following the trip, Rock quit working for Squires and Wright because he did not like the boat. Squires and Wright thereafter recruited Williams Adams and Gary Powers to conduct two additional smuggling ventures, one on the Becky Ann and one on the Sunflower. 23 Additionally, several witnesses identified Squires as a reliable source of marijuana for Tico Rodriguez. Miller testified that Squires arranged for Rodriguez to receive approximately 1,000 pounds of marijuana stored in a warehouse located in South Florida between loads from the Becky Ann.