September 3, 2008
Cave Junction Couple Sentenced to Federal Prison for Marijuana Conspiracy
Medford, Ore. – Rick Roy Schlotzhauer, 54, Cave Junction, Oregon, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Court Judge Owen M. Panner to a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to manufacture 1000 or more marijuana plants. His wife, Sabina Schlotzhauer, 51, was sentenced to a mandatory minimum 10 years imprisonment.
In October 2005, after a lengthy investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Josephine Interagency Narcotics Team executed a search warrant at the Schlotzhauers’ rural residence in Cave Junction, Oregon. Agents discovered the remnants of a large underground marijuana grow in three shipping containers buried in the hillside directly below the Schlotzhauers’ residence. Agents seized equipment and drug records. DEA agents searched another property owned by the Schlotzhauers in Cave Junction, finding remnants of yet another marijuana grow. The investigation led DEA agents to search a third residence in Onalaska, Washington, previously owned by the Schlotzhauers, where agents discovered two buried shipping containers containing 210 growing marijuana plants. The investigation revealed that the Schlotzhauers grew marijuana at their Cave Junction properties for several years and previously grew marijuana at the Washington property.
The Schlotzhauers were convicted after a four-day jury trial in the United States District Court in Medford. Federal law imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment for anyone convicted of growing 1000 or more marijuana plants. The mandatory minimum sentence was increased to 20 years for Rick Schlotzhauer because he had a previous felony drug conviction for growing marijuana in Washington. The Schlotzhauers’ Cave Junction properties were also forfeited.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Douglas W. Fong.
