A 67-year-old James City County man is facing a felony distribution of marijuana charge after police say he picked up a package containing more than five pounds of the plant Wednesday from a Seasons Trace home.
A criminal complaint filed in Williamsburg-James City County District Court against Tien V. Chu of Spring East in Seasons Trace says the U.S. Postal Service reported to police a package of marijuana was being sent to his address through the mail. Agents from the Tri-Rivers Narcotics Task Force — a group of law enforcement officers from across the area — made a controlled delivery of the package to Chu’s address, though nobody answered the door.
Those officers then staked out the parking lot for about 90 minutes until they saw a blue Cadillac drive up to the area of the home. A man got out of the car, retrieved the package, placed it in his car and drove away, according to the complaint.
Officers then initiated a traffic stop as the car exited Spring East. Chu then told the officers he was picking up the package and was going to deliver it to an unknown person in Williamsburg, according to the complaint. He also told them how he got the package, how he got paid and how he was instructed to deliver the marijuana, however that information was not contained in the complaint.
Should he be convicted of felony distribution of more than five pounds of marijuana, Chu faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison. State code allows for him to receive a sentence of up to 30 years.
Spring East features several apartment homes and is located at the front of the Seasons Trace subdivision near the intersection of Season’s Trace and Longhill Road.
