Dec. 14, 2010

CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED FOR 700 POUNDS OF MARIJUANA

TOPEKA, KAN. – A California man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for trying to smuggle 700 pounds of marijuana across Kansas in a rental truck, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

John C. McCollum, 69, San Francisco, Calif., pleaded guilty to a charge of transporting marijuana across state lines. In his plea, he admitted he was stopped by the Kansas Highway Patrol Nov. 19, 2009, on Interstate 70 in Wabaunsee County, Kan. He was driving a Budget Rental truck and pulling a trailer containing a green Ford F-150 pickup. He told the trooper he was on the way from San Francisco to South Carolina. A search revealed 720 pounds of marijuana on the truck.

Grissom commended the Kansas Highway Patrol and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard for their work on the case.