Man gets 60 months in prison in pot case

A 32-year-old man who fled from authorities in Newport Beach aboard a sailboat stuffed with marijuana was sentenced to 60 months in prison last week.

Nickolas Leivas had 90 bales of pot almost filling the cabin of a 30-foot boat when the Coast Guard stopped him near the Newport Harbor in 2013, according to a affidavit filed in federal court.

The document describes the sailboat fleeing from a Coast Guard vessel by weaving between moorings and then beaching on the south side of Balboa Island in the middle of the night.

Leivas and another man, who isn’t identified in the affidavit, jumped from the boat and ran through the neighborhood, avoiding capture, according to the document.

But Leivas left behind his wallet, the affidavit said.

Officials said they found it and his phone alongside almost 2,200 pounds of marijuana in the cabin.

They used the wallet’s contents, including a credit card with Leivas’ name on it, to identify him as a suspect, according to the affidavit.

A Balboa Island resident also picked Leivas out of a photo lineup, identifying him as a man he saw running through an alley the night of the chase, court documents state.

Officials arrested Leivas in March last year, and, this month, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute the marijuana found on the boat, according to court records.

A federal judge in Orange County Friday sentenced him to the 60-month term and five years probation after his release.