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Federal involvement in the local case as a form of “legal extortion.”
By Hempology | October 4, 2007
Chico Enterprise-Record, CA
03 Oct 2007
Terry Vau Dell
FEDS TAKE OVER CHICO MEDICAL MARIJUANA CASE
OROVILLE — In a surprise move, federal prosecutors Tuesday took over a Chico pot cultivation case, effectively depriving the suspect of a medical marijuana defense in court, his attorney objected.
At the request of the U.S Attorney in Sacramento, the Butte County District Attorney’s Office moved in court Tuesday to dismiss local charges against Robert Gordon Rasmussen, 23.
Federal prosecutors intend to seek an indictment on new marijuana cultivation charges, which could carry up to 20 years in prison.
The Chico man is accused of growing about 210 marijuana plants at his Bennington Drive home earlier this year.
He claimed through his lawyer he was growing the pot as part of a lawful seven-person medical marijuana patient collective.
The U.S. government takes the position that federal drug laws that prohibit growing marijuana trump Proposition 215, the 1996 voter-approved initiative that permits smoking pot with a doctor’s recommendation in California.
Rasmussen’s attorney, Omar Figueroa, contends Tuesday’s development is an effort by federal prosecutors to “subvert the will of the voters” by depriving defendants like Rasmussen of his right to raise a medical marijuana defense in court.
Until recently, federal prosecutors showed an interest only in prosecuting larger marijuana grows.
Figueroa said he has seen a trend in the last four years of medical marijuana cases being turned over to federal prosecutors of the U.S. Eastern District Court, which includes Butte County.
Last month, a Magalia medical marijuana defendant pleaded no contest in Butte County Superior Court to felony cultivation charges, in return for the federal government promising her a share of the proceeds of the sale of her $185,000 home, which was seized as part of a separate federal asset forfeiture action.
The woman’s Chico attorney, Jodea Foster, blasted the federal involvement in the local case as a form of “legal extortion.”
Not only are federal drug penalties stiffer, no mention can be made in front of a federal jury of a state’s medical marijuana laws. Rasmussen’s lawyer argues that deprives his client of a key defense to the charges that would have been available to him in state court.
“What this says is that even if a patient or a caregiver does their utmost to faithfully adhere to local guidelines, they will still be prosecuted by the feds,” Figueroa objected outside of court.
“I’m shocked and outraged that your district attorney would not stand up for the rights of the citizens of Butte County and the voters of this state,” he added.
Deputy district attorney Michael Candela told the Enterprise-Record the U.S Attorney’s Office contacted him late Monday offering to prosecute the Rasmussen case.
Candela, who conferred with District Attorney Mike Ramsey before agreeing to the request, said he had no prior contact with federal prosecutors regarding Rasmussen and did not know how or why they became interested in the local case.
“My guess is that law enforcement … keeps in touch with the U.S. Attorney’s Office with regards to marijuana cases, not just medical marijuana,” Candela observed.
Butte County Superior Court Judge Sandra McLean had been scheduled Tuesday to hear a pretrial motion by the defense to dismiss the charges based on Rasmussen’s claim sheriff’s deputies had entered his property illegally without a warrant.
A sheriff’s deputy testified at a preliminary hearing earlier this year that he smelled marijuana when he responded to a call about dogs fighting at Rasmussen’s home last April 4.
Prior to obtaining a search warrant, the officer claims the resident consented to allow him inside to count the number of marijuana plants in various stages of growth.
Figueroa said he was prepared to argue Tuesday that the initial warrantless entry into his client’s backyard was unlawful, justifying dismissal of the charges.
He said he intends to raise the identical motion in federal court.
Rasmussen claims he suffers from cystic fibrosis and ingests marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation to stimulate his appetite.
He contends through his attorney he was growing the pot as part of a lawful co-op for himself and six other medical marijuana patients.
However, sheriff’s deputies maintain at least two of those patients admitted they had pulled their plants from the indoor grow just prior to the bust and a third person’s medical recommendation had expired.
With the federal government poised to take over the case, Candela asked the judge Tuesday to dismiss separate felony charges against Rasmussen of cultivating marijuana, providing a place where it is grown and a gun enhancement, which could have carried anything from probation up to 13 years in state prison.
According to Figueroa, federal pot cultivation charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars, with a “mandatory minimum” of five years in most cases, depending on the suspect’s criminal history.
Federal prosecutors have indicated they intend to seek an indictment against Rasmussen by Oct. 11.
The suspect’s attorney said he will try to arrange for the Chico man to surrender that day for arraignment in Sacramento on the newly filed federal charges.
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