U.S. Citizen sentenced to ten years in Ecuador for cocaine drug charges

themoreheadnews.com / Shayla Menville reported after several delayed hearings, an Ecuadorian court has sentenced Dennis Walling of Morehead to 10 years in prison for possession of cocaine. His story began when he flew to Ecuador last year for what he said was a job interview. He was arrested April 21 at the airport as he was leaving the country when drug dogs marked his suitcase. Walling and his family claim he was unknowingly used as a drug mule. While in Ecuador for that promised job interview, Dennis was moved to multiple hotels and broke his suitcase in the process. A new one was provided to him by the company, claiming to be AirServ International RAM. The suitcase was lined with three kilograms of cocaine. Nine months to the day of his arrest, on Jan. 21, Dennis and his family got news they were not expecting. He was found guilty and would be in an Ecuadorian prison for 10 years. His wife, Sarah, along with her family, had worked tirelessly to secure an attorney in Ecuador, Manuel Rizzo, who was able to get Walling’s charges reduced from trafficking to possession. During the delays in hearings, Sarah said that Dennis had opted to hire a new attorney. “He called me around 1:30 p.m. the day he went to court and told me he got 10 years,” said Sarah. “He is hoping that the judge will reverse the decision but he had to be sentenced in order to get a pardon.” Read Full Article

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