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Mastermind of SLO County cocaine ring sentenced to prison

July 21, 2017

Chase Michael Hansen

The Morro Bay man convicted of masterminding the largest cocaine trafficking organization in the recent history of San Luis Obispo County received a prison sentence of 18 years and eight months. However, he may be eligible for parole after just five years, due in part to his status as a “nonviolent” offender. [Tribune]

Chase Hanson, 26, was arrested in Aug. 2015 amid a sweep in which authorities rounded up members of a local cocaine trafficking ring. Detectives confiscated cocaine, handguns, semi-automatic rifles and ammunition during the operation. Hanson’s illicit business distributed cocaine in SLO County, as well as in surrounding counties, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office.

Prosecutors argued Hanson ran an extensive operation and purchased a specialty phone that cannot be wiretapped. But, while Hanson was in SLO County Jail, investigators intercepted a phone call on which Hanson tried giving away his business to someone else while he served his sentence.

Last month, a San Luis Obispo jury convicted Hanson of nine of 10 charges he faced, including drug and weapons offenses. The weapons convictions include possession of assault rifles and high-capacity magazines.

Nonetheless, Hanson will receive automatic half credit for his sentence. Likewise, Hanson is eligible for parole in five years in accordance with Prop. 57, said Deputy District Attorney Lee Cunningham.

Prop. 57, which California voters passed passed last November, grants early parole to “nonviolent” offenders. Cunningham said Hanson’s case is an example of why Prop. 57 is bad for public safety.


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You know Matthew,one of the symptoms of cocaine abuse is paranoia… you might want to slow down before you start uttering outlandish accusations about local cops, unless you have proof.

Are you staying up all night monitoring our local beaches?


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People are so misinformed on reality it’s absurd. The mythology of the tough law enforcement fighting the dirty drug dealer needs to end. Make sure to read the last paragraph so you get up to speed on what’s really going on.


I’m still waiting to hear what he actually did wrong. The guns they picked up were from a variety of households and most did not even belong to the individuals involved. The police are drawing you a picture from miscellaneous things they put together that were not directly related. You’re all so upset that a nonviolent person who was providing a product to customers who were making their own decisions. Should someone jail a restaurant owner because his customers get fat and develop heart disease, the #1 killer by far in this country? Excessive food is LITERALLY far more dangerous than drug use.


What REALLY is going on is that Parkinson was probably upset that these kids were cutting into the business of the cartel he deals with. What do you think those panga boats are about folks, delivering weed? Wake up. The bales of weed on those boats are just containers for heroin,cocaine, and meth being delivered by the Sinaloa cartel under federal protection and coordinated with local law enforcement. The moment the heroin and coke are offloaded, the feds call in the boat to the Sheriff who rides out to save the day aka pick up any patsies left behind, cash that is left behind for payoffs, and haul off the boat and bales of what is essentially hay. Don’t believe me?


http://world.time.com/2014/01/14/dea-boosted-mexican-drug-cartel/


The article is mistaken though, the arrangement is ongoing. Look at the spread of the cartel, even on the west coast.


http://www.businessinsider.com/dea-maps-of-mexican-cartels-in-the-us-2016-12


Wake up out of your slumbers


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I love the irony. Weapons convictions included assault weapons and high capacity magazines but he gets a Cush sentence because of being a nonviolent offender.


Good god.


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Go easy on him… he’s a clean-cut white dude with no facial tatts. He must be a good guy.


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“…while Hanson was in SLO County Jail, investigators intercepted a phone call on which Hanson tried giving away his business to someone else while he served his sentence.”


Why are jailed, suspected criminals allowed to keep their cells phones while in a jail cell?


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Their not! Pure and simple! But they do have access to pay phones. There is at least one in every “dayroom” (a common area where a person can come out of his or her cell and watch TV, take a shower, eat the meals and use a phone). Let me make this clear; it is not a pay phone in the normal sense, it doesn’t take coins. You go through an operator (human or robo) and the call is made “collect” with the person taking the call given the option to accept the call and pay the toll.


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One more thing… The call wasn’t intercepted in a traditional sense, it may have been monitored and certainly was recorded. With the charges Mr. Hansen was facing and the assertion by law enforcement and prosecutors that he was some sort of “mastermind” ALL of his calls were recorded and more than likely monitored. Not much of a “mastermind” if he was stupid enough to make a call as described. He should have gotten a “stupidity enhancement” as well…


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