Federal Medical Marijuana Cases - begun prior to 2012

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Pending Cases
In Prison
Sentenced, Released or Case Terminated
Died Pending Prosecution
Raided by DEA (partial list)
Forfeiture Cases

More Pending Cases
(also see Pending Cases from 2012-13)

• Orange County, Nov 1, 2007. DEA arrests Steele Smith, director of C-3 medical cannabis caregiver service. Indicted along with Theresa Smith, Alexander Valentine, and Dennis Lalonde on charges of cultivating 1,289 plants at various addresses. All but Theresa, who served five months, were in federal prison for nearly a year, including Valentine, a 21 year-old-patient with Elephant-man’s syndrome. All defendants face 10-year sentences. For the first time, a medical marijuana defense of sorts may be raised this federal case: in April 2010, Judge Cormac J. Carney ruled that if any defendant chooses to testify, they can testify as to the context of why they did what they did, even if it involves medical marijuana issues under state law; however the jury will still be instructed that any testimony involving medical marijuana will not be a defense. Trial has been continued countless times. Read more.

• Kern County, July 16, 2007. DEA raids Nature's Medicinal cannabis dispensary near Bakersfield, arresting two owners, David Chavez, Sr., 48 and David Chavez, Jr, 28, plus six employees: John Wyatt, 29, John Shanks, 59, Israel Cavazos, 34, Jonathan Chapman, 28, Timothy Doolittle, 39, and Jennifer Brown, 34. Records indicated the facility made over $9.6 million in sales over a 9-month period. The facility had been operating in compliance with local regulations and was paying taxes. Agents seized $50,000 in cash from the premises.

  On 2/17/2009 Doolittle was sentenced to 30 months as a "minor player." He was released on 09-18-2009. On May 10, 2011, Cavazos, who also faced 20 years, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years after pleading guilty. Wyatt and Chapman also pleaded guilty. Wyatt was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison and 3 years probation on May 31, and Chapman was sentenced to 37 months. Jennifer Brown was sentenced to a year in prison and John Shanks received a 1 year 8 month sentence. Chavez Jr. has pleaded and is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 3, 2012; his father is awaiting trial, with jury selection scheduled for November 2012.

  ISRAEL CAVAZOS 63545-097
  FCI LOMPOC
  3600 GUARD ROAD
  LOMPOC, CA 93436
  Release date: 06-27-2014

  JONATHAN M CHAPMAN 63546-097
  FCI PHOENIX
  37910 N 45TH AVE
  PHOENIX, AZ 85086
  Release date: 03-11-2014

  JOHN RICHARD SHANKS 63521-097
  CCM SACRAMENTO
  501 I STREET, SUITE 9-400
  SACRAMENTO, CA 95814
  Released: 10-22-2012

  John Wayne Wyatt 63522-097
  CI TAFT
  P.O. BOX 7001
  TAFT, CA 93268
  Release date: 07-16-2013

• January 6, 2011 - Federal authorities in Nevada charge 15 people with selling marijuana through several Las Vegas storefronts, saying they violated medical marijuana laws while simply selling the drug for profit. Authorities said those charged included: John Birmele, Kelly Birmele, Laura Rhoades-Yokoi, John Allen Youngblood, Timothy Hough, Michael Ellsworth, Pierre "Dr. Reefer" Werner, Reynalda Barnett, Clyde Barnett, Ron Teston, Kristen Krusyna, Michael McAuliffe, Katree Darriel Saunders, Chad Uhl, Caroline Dellaville. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney said all defendants had been arrested except for Kelly Birmele, Saunders and Uhl. Authorities named five businesses in the complaints: The Happiness Consultant, the Nevada Compassionate Center, Dr. Reefer, LV Fingerprinting and Organic Releaf.

• July 9, 2010 - Federal agents arrested 12 people in San Diego county who they said were connected to a large-scale pot dealer. That suspect, Joshua Hester, was arrested in West Hollywood. In court papers, agents said Hester, 29, distributed 3,000 pounds of marijuana he purchased from a major Los Angeles dealer in 2007 and 2008 and was the silent owner of the Downtown Kush Lounge in downtown San Diego and the Green Kross Collective in Mission Beach, co-owned by Joseph Nunes. The other 11 people arrested in the case had varying involvement with Hester. Some are accused of being runners for him, one was a real estate agent accused of helping him buy property fraudulently, and others worked in the collectives. Source.

In Prison

• January 19, 2012 - A former University of Montana Grizzly quarterback pleaded not guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana. Jason Washington entered his plea in front of U.S. Magistrate Jeremiah Lynch. Washington is one of six defendants named in the indictment, which follows a widespread federal raid last November on numerous businesses, homes and warehouses linked to marijuana businesses in western Montana. Read more. UPDATE January 2013: Washington has been found guilty of "conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana" and "possession with intent to distribute marijuana," but was acquitted of another felony possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-related crime. UPDATE 5/13 - Washington was sentenced to two years in federal prison, and has been taken into custody. After he serves his prison sentence, he will be on supervised release for four years. Source.

• October 12, 2012 - Aaron Sandusky, whose G3 Holistic collective had storefronts in Upland, Colton and Moreno Valley, was found guilty on two felony counts of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute charges. The jury deadlocked on four other charges having to do with operating a location involved with drugs. Judge Anderson declared a mistrial on those counts. Sandusky was sentenced to 10 years in prison on January 7, 2013. He plans to appeal. Read more.

  Sandusky's brother Keith and four other former employees of G3 Holistic have pleaded guilty in the case. They are awaiting sentencing. G3 medical marijuana co-defendents all facing prison time

  G3 co-founder John Leslie Nuckolls II testified at Aaron's trial, a condition of his plea bargain. Nuckolls testified he had been friends with Sandusky for about 11 years. In 2009 he approached Sandusky, who had real estate and broker experience, about opening a medical marijuana dispensary.

  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Robinson asked Nuckolls if, in June 2009, he was working as a confidential informant for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. "I was not," Nuckolls, who added that he talked with the agency, along with San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office and the DEA, and worked with them, but never worked as an informant. Robinson then pointed out that Nuckolls had an agreement with the DA's Office at that time and after helping them with cases had a felony charge dismissed. Read more.

  Aaron Sandusky, Register #63038-112
  FCI BIG SPRING
  FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
  1900 SIMLER AVE
  BIG SPRING, TX 79720
  Release date: 05-08-2021

• El Dorado Co: Dr Mollie Fry & Dale Schafer. Operated medical marijuana clinic in Cool, California with 6000 patients; DEA raided Sep. 28, 2001; seized patient records. Indicted Jun 22, 2005 for marijuana found on premises. Convicted and sentenced to 5 years mandatory minimum for growing 100+ plants over three years (March 2008). UPDATE: A federal appeals court upheld Fry and Schafer's sentences in November 2010. They surrendered and were sent to to prison on May 2, 2011. Read more and see their website

  MARION P FRY 15840-097
  SCP Dublin Camp
  5675 8th Street - Camp Parks
  Dublin, California 94568
  Release date: 09-07-2015

  DALE C SCHAFER 15839-097
  CI TAFT
  CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
  P.O. BOX 7001
  TAFT, CA 93268
  Release date: 09-08-2015

• April 27, 2010 - Five gardens allegedly connected to the B&C Natural Things collective in Ridgecrest were raided by NCIS, CHP, Kern county sheriffs, Inyo and Cal City SWAT teams. Taken into custody were Erik Christopher Stacy (27), Robert Davis Dodson, Jr, Charles Lee Kisor, Charles Edward Klaus, and Geoffrey Edward Bliss. All are reportedly charged with cultivation of more than 1000 plants, the aggregate of the gardens. Each plant was labeled with a patient's name; the collective had 450 patients.

  Eric Christopher Stacy 64977-097
  FCI LA TUNA
  P.O. BOX 6000
  ANTHONY, TX 88021
  Release date: 05-14-2014

  Charles Lee Kisor 64974-097
  CI TAFT
  P.O. BOX 7001
  TAFT, CA 93268
  Release date: 08-24-2013

• Upper Lake, August 24, 2009 - Scott Feil and his wife Diane, along with Steven Swanson and Thomas Carter were raided and arrested by the DEA in a case stemming from Feil's former involvement with the UMCC medical cannabis dispensary in Los Angeles. Feil has been fighting a federal forfeiture case for several years and is facing a 5-10 year sentence. On September 1, 2010 Carter, 59, was arrested by agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and taken into custody. UPDATE 6/3/11: Carter pleaded guilty on May 9; sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 6 in the Federal District Court in San Francisco. Swanson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute plus tax evasion on June 1. Another defendant, Mark Garcia of San Diego, has been added to the case.Read more. Scott Feil is currently serving time at Taft Correctional Institution:

  Scott Eric Feil 14313-111
  CI TAFT
  CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
  P.O. BOX 7001
  TAFT, CA 93268
  RELEASE DATE: 12-08-2015

• February 12, 2010 - Denver resident Chris Bartkowicz's medical marijuana garden was raided by the DEA the day after he was interviewed on a local television station. Bartkowicz, who allegedly had 120-224 plants, was charged in federal court on Feb. 16. Read more. UPDATE: Bartkowicz pleaded guilty on 10/20/2010 and was sentenced to five years in prison followed by 8 years of supervised probation on January 28, 2011. Read more.

• Los Angeles, May 27, 2008. DEA arrests Virgil Grant, owner of six LA-area dispensaries. Grant indicted on charges of drug conspiracy, money laundering, and operating a drug-related premises within 1,000 feet from a school. Also indicted: Grant's wife Pshyra plus Stanley Jerome Cole, an employee accused of selling marijuana to an undercover agent. DEA began investigating Grant following an accident in which a truck driven by Jeremy White killed a driver and paralyzed a CHP officer. White had a quantity of edibles obtained from Grant's facility in Compton and confessed to being DUI on marijuana. He was sentenced to six years in prison on March 22, 2010. Read more.

  Virgil Edward Grant 47375-112
  Terminal Island FCI
  PO Box 3007
  San Pedro, CA 90731
  Release date: 01-25-2015

• Chico. - Bryan Epis convicted by federal jury July 2002 cultivating 457 plants for Chico cannabis collective; arrested August 1997; sentenced to 10-year mandatory minimum Oct. 7, 2002. Released on bail August 9, 2004. In May 2009, in an unpublished opinion, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed Epis's 10-year mandatory minimum without holding a hearing. The panel included Judge Jay Bybee, recently indicted as an international war criminal by Spain for having authored the DOJ's notorious torture memos. See a MoveOn.org petition to impeach Judge Bybee. UPDATE: On February 22, 2010 Judge Damrell ordered Epis back to prison to serve the remainder of his 10-year mandatory minimum sentence. Download a petition to release Bryan. UPDATE 7/12: US Judge Garland Burrell reduced Epis's sentence from 120 months to 90 months (plus 10 years supervised release). The court ignored evidence of prosecutorial misconduct by US Attorney Samuel Wong, but ruled that Epis had received inadequate defense counsel instead. Bryan's release date has been moved up from 2016 to 2013.

  Bryan Epis 09636-097
  FCI TERMINAL ISLAND
  P.O. Box 3007
  San Pedro, CA 90731
  Release Date: 12-11-2013

• LA, July 17, 2007. Larry Kristich and James Carberry indicted for having operated a chain of medical marijuana dispensaries known as "Compassionate Caregivers." The chain had outlets in Oakland, West Hollywood, Ukiah, Bakersfield, San Francisco San Diego and Alameda County, before being forced to close following a bust of their West Hollywood "Yellow House" in 2005. The indictment charges that Compassionate Caregivers made over $95 million in sales. Also indicted: James Ealy on money laundering charges. Ealy pled guilty to misdemeanor possession and sentenced to 1,000 hours community service (April 28, 2008). Carberry sentenced to 5 years probation 4/30/08. Kristich sentenced on 2/3/09 to 5 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

  Larry Kristich 13094-180
  Federal Correctional Institution
  P.O. Box 3000
  Anthony, TX 88021
  Release Date: 07-16-2015

• Lake Co. - DEA raids Eddy Lepp's medicinal gardens Aug. 18th, 2004. Over 32,000 plants grown in public view along highway. Lepp says plants belonged to 2,000 - 3,000 patient shareholders. Lepp arrested and released on bail pending trial on marijuana charges with possible sentence of 12 years to life. 13 others arrested with Lepp but not charged. Feb 16, 2005: Lepp re-arrested along with Daniel Barnes after allegedly selling one pound of marijuana to DEA agents, who claim they did not mention medical purposes. Several hundred clones taken. Sept 2, 2008: Lepp found guilty by a federal jury on one count of conspiracy to distribute or to possess with the intent to distribute, and another count for manufacture or possession with the intent to distribute. With regard to both counts, jurors made the finding that the offenses involved at least a thousand marijuana plants, punishable by 10-year mandatory minimum. Court rejected Lepp's claim of constitutional protection for religious and medical use. On May 18, 2009 Lepp was sentenced to 10 years and surrendered July 6, 2010 for incarceration. UPDATE: July 2012: Lepp has been moved to Texas. Contributions to his prison account can be made through Green Aid.

  Charles Edward Lepp 90157-011
  FCI LA TUNA
  P.O. BOX 6000
  ANTHONY, TX 88021
  Release date: 01-13-2018

• Modesto, Sep 27th 2006 - DEA raids California Healthcare Collective, a medical marijuana dispensary which had been operating and paying taxes for more than a year. Proprietors Ricardo Montes, 26, and Luke Scarmazzo, 26, found guilty of operating a continuing criminal enterprise.(May 08). On learning that the offense had a mandatory 20-year minimum sentence, two jurors filed declarations with U.S. District Court in Fresno recanting their verdict, and lawyers are seeking a retrial (Sept. 08). Scarmazzo sentenced to 21 years and 10 months and Montes to 20 years (Nov 08). Two other defendants, Bradley Wickliffe, 28, and Brad Heinmiller, 32, pled guilty and sentenced to 100 hours community service plus two years probation. Charges against Stephen J. DeMattos, 24, were dropped (Sep 07). Four other defendants, Jose Malagon, 33; Antonio Malagon, 28; Monica Valencia, 25, and Lucky Jamal Boissiere, 26 pled guilty April, 2008. Valencia was sentenced to 366 days on August 20. UPDATE 1/11: On January 5, 2011, a federal appeals court upheld the convictions of Scarmazzo and Montes, denying them a new trial.

  Richard Ruiz Montes 63130-097
  FCI Lompoc
  3600 Guard Road
  Lompoc, CA 93436
  Release date: 09-25-2025

  Luke Scarmazzo 63131-097
  Federal Correctional Institution
  3901 Klein Blvd
  Lompoc, CA 93436
  Release date: 04-25-2027

• Humboldt County, May 4, 2006 - Timothy Dellas was convicted of one count of “manufacture” of marijuana and of one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana involving more than 1,000 plants. The Humboldt County Sheriff turned the case over to federal law enforcement after executing a search warrant in June 2003 based on information from an informant. At a pretrial hearing Dellas testified that he was growing for dispensaries, and a dispensary operator appeared in court and attempted to testify for him. At the sentencing hearing in January 2007, Tim again testified that he was growing for dispensaries, and later reiterated this in his statement before the judge. Nonetheless, the court sentenced him to a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and five years supervised release.

  Timothy Dellas 93161-011
  FCI SHERIDAN
  P.O. BOX 5000
  SHERIDAN, OR 97378
  Release date: 11-19-2015

• Merced - Aug 10th, 2005. Patient activist Dustin "DC" Costa arrested on federal charges. The charges stemmed from a raid in February 2004, when some 900 plants were seized from Costa's greenhouse. Costa had maintained that the plants were all for legal Prop. 215 patients. After 18 months of court continuances, state officials turned DC's case over for federal prosecution. Convicted & Sentenced to 15 Years in prison under federal mandatory minimums Jan 2007.

  Dustin Robert Costa 62406-097
  Federal Prison Camp
  P.O. Box 5000
  Florence, CO 81226
  Release date: 09-05-2018

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