SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Mexican national Christian Rubio with conspiracy to cultivate marijuana, cultivation of marijuana, and depredation of public lands and resources, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, on Aug. 14, 2014, law enforcement agents entered a marijuana cultivation site in the Lassen National Forest and located more than 22,000 marijuana plants and over one ton of processed marijuana. Rubio was arrested after at the site. The marijuana cultivation caused significant damage to the land and natural resources of the Lassen National Forest.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service and the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Olusere Olowoyeye is prosecuting the case.
The sentence for the conspiracy charge is five to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The sentence for the manufacture of marijuana charges is up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The sentence for depredation of public lands and resources charge is up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
