This St. Petersburg Times (http://www.sptimes.com) article should read, "INNOCENT Pilot gets 15 years on drug charges." Here is the article that came out after the sentencing. Kay Lee 

Pilot gets 15 years on drug charges
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/06/03/Citrus/Pilot_gets_15_years_o.shtml
By COLLEEN JENKINS
Published June 3, 2004

INVERNESS - Pilot Vernon Williams first caught authorities' attention when the U.S. Air Force spied his plane off course and headed toward the Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant just weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

But it was his cargo that really drew notice: 65 pounds of professionally packed marijuana.
On Wednesday, Circuit Judge Ric A. Howard said, despite Williams' previously clean record, the drugs couldn't go ignored. He sentenced the 55-year-old Melbourne man to 15 years in prison for drug trafficking.

Williams' lawyers already are appealing his April conviction by a Citrus County jury.
Williams' family and lawyers think the drugs belonged to his passenger, Brian Hagen, 26. The two men were flying from Pensacola to Louisiana on Oct. 23, 2001, when they ventured over the Gulf of Mexico in Williams' Piper Arrow.

After the Air Force ordered the plane to land in Crystal River, Williams allowed authorities to search it. They found a loaded .40-caliber handgun in Williams' bag and large shrink-wrapped bags of marijuana in the back of the plane.

Hagen also was arrested but the charges against him were soon dropped, court records show. He has a history of drug arrests, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records, and is currently serving a 10-year prison term for an unrelated case.

During the hearing Wednesday, California defense attorney Mark McBride appealed to Howard for a lenient sentence. He noted the only blemish on Williams' record was a 1992 misdemeanor battery charge in St. Lucie, which never was prosecuted.

Howard promised he wouldn't consider that old arrest in his deliberation.

Williams' family and friends, including his mother, ex-wife and former in-laws, traveled from around Florida to vouch for the man they said could be described in one word: honest.

They said Williams had built a pool business from scratch, overseeing 30 to 50 pool projects at a time. When he borrowed money, he paid it back. When he asked for a favor, he always returned the courtesy.

The man they knew was dependable and decent, they said.

"He hates drug dealers," said Diana Williams, his ex-wife. "He always has."

Of greatest concern to those close to Williams is his poor health. They told the judge Williams suffered from severe diabetes, which has weakened his sight and balance.

In jail, McBride said, his blood sugar has fluctuated to the point that it could cause brain damage.

"That's a serious issue," he said.

Assistant State Attorney Richard Buxman reminded the judge that the crime required Williams to spend at least three years in prison.

Howard went further. Williams will serve the mandatory three-year minimum sentence, plus at least 85 percent of the remaining 12 years.

The judge also denied McBride's motion to set a bond, which would have allowed Williams to be released from jail while his attorneys appeal the case.

-Colleen Jenkins can be reached at 860-7303 or cjenkins@sptimes.com  

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VERNON WILLIAMS HOME PAGE
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SUSPECTED CASES OF FLORIDA INNOCENCE
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