A 44-year-old woman who allegedly used a U.S. passport stolen from a car in Las Vegas to hide her identity and move methamphetamine and money between Hawaii and the mainland pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court.
Jillian Pecika, also known as “Mango,” was charged March 18 with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, according to federal court records. Pecika was initially charged by federal prosecutors May 14, 2024, with misuse of passport and aggravated identity theft.
Hawaii police and Homeland Security Investigations agents, who were aware she was wanted on a state warrant and the subject of an an ongoing investigation, caught her May 12 at the Kailua-Kona airport.
Pecika was indicted in May 2023 for using a friend’s driver’s license, driving without a license and insurance, and possession of a dangerous drug: methamphetamine.
As she tried to drive out of the airport, a Hawaii Police Department officer pulled her over and asked for her identification. Pecika allegedly handed the officer a U.S. passport.
“The photograph of the individual depicted in the passport, although somewhat similar to Pecika, did not depict Pecika,” according to an affidavit authored by an HSI agent.
A search of her belongings revealed a plane ticket from Las Vegas to Los Angeles with the name of the person whose passport was stolen. Her luggage was tagged with the same name.
Officers called the person who owned the passport, and they told police it was taken in 2022 when their car was broken into in Las Vegas.
According to court documents filed March 18, between May 2023 and May 2024, Pecika allegedly “knowingly and intentionally combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with at least one other person to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan D. Slack is prosecuting the case.
Pecika’s attorney, Michael Green, who brokered the plea deal, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that his client is “remorseful.”
“These drug cases basically start with greed. That’s how it starts. You don’t really think about what happens to the people who get their hands on what they are selling,” Green said. “She’s obviously come to terms with the damage she’s caused in the community. I truly think she is remorseful. There is a reckoning and a penalty to be paid.”
