A New Mexico man caught near Hope, Ark., with three kilograms of powder cocaine near the end of 2014 pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday afternoon.
Coleman Tuton appeared before U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey in Texarkana for a change of plea hearing with Federal Public Defender Tiffany Fields. Tuton entered a plea of guilty to the lone count in an indictment handed down in January 2015 accusing him of possession of cocaine with the intent to deliver in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas.
Hickey told Tuton the offense is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $1 million. Tuton will return to court for formal sentencing once a pre-sentence report, including a recommendation for punishment under federal guidelines, is received by the court.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Wulff recited a factual basis for Tuton's plea at the hearing. Tuton was arrested by an Arkansas state trooper Nov. 6, 2014, near Hope. Tuton was one of only four passengers riding a large Tornado bus the driver said was traveling from South Texas to Milwaukee, Wis., according to Wulff and a federal criminal complaint. But the passenger manifest said the bus was actually headed to Chicago.
The trooper, who pulled the bus over for following a tractor-trailer too closely, thought it strange that the bus was making the long trip with so few riders and acquired the driver's permission to search. In the luggage compartment, the trooper noticed a bag that appeared to have a false compartment. A name tag under the suspicious suitcase identified it as Tuton's. Once the trooper realized the bag had an owner riding on the bus, he called for a police canine unit. The drug dog Hemi gave a "profound alert" to the presence of illegal substances.
The trooper's suspicion of Tuton increased after speaking with him.
"Tuton was the only passenger on the bus who appeared nervous," the complaint said.
Tuton told the trooper he was traveling to Chicago to drive one of two cars bought at an auto auction there to Mexico, but Tuton didn't have any paperwork for the cars. Tuton said a friend would be driving the other car and that he was buying a $120 plane ticket for the friend's return trip home.
When asked why he wasn't flying to Chicago, Tuton told the trooper he couldn't afford a plane ticket. Tuton said his bus ticket cost $192.
"Tuton could not explain how he could afford the bus ticket, but not the plane ticket, which was cheaper," the complaint said.
A police canine alerted officers to the presence of drugs in Tuton's black suitcase. More than 3 kilograms of cocaine were found inside the bag's false bottom.
Tuton told investigators that he was being paid $3,000 to transport the drugs and that he'd made the trip before for the same fee. Tuton said that a need for cash motivated his decision to become a drug courier. The New Mexico native regularly crossed the U.S.- Mexico border for work. In 2013 he was approached by two men who asked if he would transport drugs. Tuton said he initially declined, but money concerns led him to reconsider the offer months later.
Tuton remains in federal custody.