Arthur Brun told a judge that he led a meth drug trafficking ring on the island of Kaua’i while serving as a member of the county council. He said he did so to fund his meth addiction. Court documents detailed many accusations toward Brun, including requesting sexual favors as payment for drugs and conspiring with a gang leader.

“I got no excuse. I take full responsibility for it,” Brun said through a video stream from the Honolulu Federal Detention Center. “I’m guilty of all charges, your honor.”

Upon his arrest, Brun served on Kaua’i County’s council as vice-chair of the Public Safety and Human Services Committee. He was arrested in October 2019 after he assaulted a police lieutenant during a traffic stop. His term on the council ended while he was in jail without bond.

By pleading guilty and agreeing to a plea deal, Brun agreed to serve 15 years in prison. However, a judge will determine the length of his sentence. He and 11 co-defendants were arrested, with the majority of them also pleading guilty.

“Good people sometimes make bad mistakes,” said Brun’s attorney Rustam Barbee to the Associated Press. “Arthur Brun for most of his life has been a good person.”

Brun is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.

If the case went to trial, prosecutors would present evidence including wiretaps and testimony of undercover officers and cooperating witnesses, Assistant U.S. Attorney Micah Smith said.

The officer pulled over Brun after he got more than a pound of meth, Smith said. Brun sped off while the officer tried to remove the keys from the ignition.

Brun told U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson he threw the meth out the window so authorities wouldn’t find it.

He also said he tried to get a firearm and ammunition for a convicted felon.

Brun paid cash to purchase meth from a supplier on the U.S. mainland and the drugs were intercepted by authorities as they were being sent to Hawaii from California, Smith said.

Crystal meth, known locally as “batu” or “ice,” gained a stronghold across the islands long before becoming popular on the U.S. mainland. Mailing or shipping drugs to Hawaii became more common with increased airport security after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when it got more difficult to smuggle drugs through air travel.