Distress Call Hoaxer Sentenced
The U.S. Coast Guard & U.S. Attorney Office announce sentencing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Former Coast Guard man Shane Coxon, 24, was sentenced for knowingly making a false distress call to the Coast Guard in July 2010, and was sentenced to time-served of approximately three and a half months imprisonment to be followed by two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay the U.S. Coast Guard more than $4,500 in restitution. Prior to the incident, Coxon was a petty officer second class in the Coast Guard, stationed at Sector Northern New England. On July 18, 2010, Coxon called the Coast Guard Sector Northern New England Command Center, provided a false name and reported a flare sighting off the coast of Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
Enviro Fugitive Caught
Sherman Smith, owner of Seawall Construction, a Seattle area marine construction company, was surrendered to the U.S. Marshall's Service in Tucson, Ariz., on April 1 by the Mexican Government. Smith had forfeited $20,000 bail when he failed to appear for trial in federal court in Washington State in May 1996 and had been living in Mexico. Smith was previously charged on Sept. 27, 1995, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle with violating the Clean Water Act. The charges arose from an oil spill that occurred when a tug sank in Puget Sound. Witnesses alleged that Smith had not properly maintained the tug and knew it was taking on water. Previously, in 1989, Smith had been convicted of pumping oily bilge water into Puget Sound.
Environmental Fugitive From Seattle Taken into Custody
Sherman Smith, owner of Seawall Construction, a Seattle area marine construction company, was surrendered to the U.S. Marshall's Service in Tucson, Ariz., on April 1 by the Mexican Government. Smith had forfeited $20,000 bail when he failed to appear for trial in federal court in Washington State in May 1996 and had been living in Mexico. Smith was previously charged on Sept. 27, 1995, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle with violating the Clean Water Act. The charges arose from an oil spill that occurred when a tug sank in Puget Sound. Witnesses alleged that Smith had not properly maintained the tug and knew it was taking on water. Previously, in 1989, Smith had been convicted of pumping oily bilge water into Puget Sound.
