Aug. 5, 2010

MARIJUANA FARMER SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Jose Villa-Arellano, 33, Fontana, Kan., has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for growing marijuana, U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said today.

Villa-Arellano pleaded guilty to one count of growing marijuana in five cultivated plots in rural Miami County, Kan. More than 250 marijuana plants were seized, as well as gardening tools. Investigators discovered one of the plots in September 2009 and set up a hidden camera. Villa-Arrellano was filmed tending the marijuana.

Welch commended the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zabel for their work on the case.