United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner
Eastern District of California
Three Sacramento Retail Marijuana Growers Plead Guilty
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Friday, August 31, 2012 |
|
|
|
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Bruce Goldsmith, 61, of Galt; Kelly Smith, 53, of Elk Grove; and Robert Klaus, 35, of San Diego, pleaded guilty today to growing marijuana, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, on February 4, 2011, a state search warrant was executed at Goldsmith’s residence and approximately 179 marijuana plants were found. Goldsmith claimed that the marijuana was destined for R & R Wellness, a marijuana store on Quinta Court in Sacramento. The store was later closed after the execution of a state search warrant there in June 2011.
According to court documents, Smith, an electrician, helped set up indoor marijuana grows at 9749 Lazulite Court in Elk Grove, where 317 marijuana plants were seized on February 24, 2011, and at a warehouse at 5761 Florin Perkins Road in Sacramento, where 401 marijuana plants were seized on June 16, 2011.
According to court documents, Klaus provided cloned starter plants for the Lazulite Court grow. In addition, when a state search warrant was executed at his residence in San Diego on April 19, 2011, an indoor marijuana grow was found with 756 plants.
Earlier this year, codefendant Ryder Phillips, 26, and Daniel Goldsmith, 26, pleaded guilty to similar federal marijuana cultivation charges. Phillips was sentenced on July 20, 2012 to two years in prison and Goldsmith’s sentencing is scheduled for September 21, 2012.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Elk Grove Police Department with the assistance of the Sacramento HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Richard Bender is prosecuting the case.
The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on November 16, 2012. Klaus and Smith face a maximum statutory penalty for the marijuana cultivation charges of 40 years in prison. Bruce Goldsmith faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The actual sentences, 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.
####
