Castle Rock Man Pleads Guilty To Sending Marijuana Thorugh The U.S. Mail

Defendant also received over $100,000 in cash through the U.S. Mail in return

DENVER – Brian Daniel Evins, age 42, of Castle Rock, Colorado, pled guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn to three counts of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and Denver U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Adam P. Behnen announced.  Evins, appeared at the change of plea on April 30, 2015 before Judge Blackburn.  He was at that hearing free on bond.  Evins was originally indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on February 9, 2015. 

According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on April 2, 2014, a U.S. Postal Inspector came across a suspicious mailing that may have contained narcotics or narcotic proceeds.  The first package in question came from Missouri, and contained U.S. currency.  The package was sent to a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA) mailbox and was addressed to an individual from Lone Tree, Colorado.  Further investigation revealed that the person who rented the CMRA mailbox used fake identification. 

Inspectors conducted surveillance of the CMRA mailbox.  They saw an individual driving a grey Honda Pilot come into the CMRA, pick up several packages from the CMRA mailbox, and return to his car.  Inspectors traced the car to an individual named Brian Daniel Evins, of Castle Rock, Colorado.  A review of Evins’ driver’s license revealed that he was the same individual who entered the CMRA and claimed parcels from the CMRA mailbox.  At one point he also claimed one parcel of what appeared to be U.S. Currency that was too large to fit in his mailbox. 

As the investigation continued, the Inspectors found Evins mailing parcels of marijuana from a handful of post offices in South Metro Denver during the Summer and Fall of 2014.  Further, he continued to pick up parcels that appeared to be U.S. currency from his CMRA mailbox.  As a result, Inspectors decided to contact him while he was collecting his mail at the mailbox. 

During that contact it was determined that Evins sent via U.S. Mail over 100 outbound packages containing marijuana to various locations across the country.  Further, he received over 100 inbound money parcels containing several hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.S. currency.  Inspectors then conducted a search of Evins’ apartment.  That search resulted in recovering 580 grams of bagged marijuana, 800 grams of marijuana extract/hash oil, 5,480 grams of marijuana edibles, for a total weight of 6,860 grams of marijuana.  A search of his vehicle resulted in finding an additional 78 grams of liquid marijuana.  He had previously mailed two additional packages that were seized by law enforcement.  Those packages contained 3,654 grams of marijuana.  In total, Inspectors learned that Evins sent 11,026 grams of marijuana.  Law enforcement also had seized during the investigation over $53,000 of U.S. currency which was the proceeds from his illegal narcotics transactions.  That money was forfeited to the government as part of the defendant’s plea agreement.

“As the Department of Justice has made clear, stopping the interstate transportation of marijuana is a federal priority,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh.  “When drug traffickers use the U.S. mail to violate federal drug laws, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will team up with our local, state and federal partners to hold violators accountable.”

“The defendant’s use of the U.S. Mail to send marijuana is illegal and is evidenced by his recent guilty plea to federal charges for  intent to distribute”  said Adam P. Behnen, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Denver Division.   “Although some states have recently passed laws allowing their residents to possess small amounts of marijuana, it is a violation of federal statute to use the U.S. Mail to ship any and all illegal drugs.”

The defendant pled guilty to three counts of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute.  He faces not more than 20 years in federal prison, and up to a $1,000,000 fine per count.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Evins is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kurt Bohn.