FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
January 9, 2012	PHONE: (916) 554-2706
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov
Docket #: 1: 11 CR 223 AWI

            FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Maria G. Rivera, 46, of Exeter, pleaded guilty today to cultivating marijuana.

            This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kern County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Rooney is prosecuting the case.

            According to court documents, between May 1, 2011 and June 15, 2011, Rivera cultivated 279 marijuana plants in rural Kern County, east of McFarland.

            Rivera is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Ishii on March 19, 2012. The maximum statutory penalty for manufacturing one hundred or more marijuana plants is 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will 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.

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