Amador County Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Illegal Marijuana Cultivation

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Timothy Charles Wilson, 76, of Pioneer, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to five years in prison and ordered him to pay $24,778 in restitution for manufacturing marijuana, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, Wilson illegally manufactured 238 marijuana plants inside and around his residence in Pioneer. He grew these plants as part of a larger conspiracy with his three co-defendants to grow marijuana in the Tomhead Mountain area in Shasta-Trinity National Forest that consisted of 1,054 marijuana plants. In furtherance of this conspiracy, co-defendant Filemon Padilla Martinez recruited, trained, and supplied Oscar Francisco-Diego and Francisco Gomez Sanchez, the other two co-defendants in this case, whom he left to live and work on the site while he stayed either at a nearby stash house or at his residence in Ione. Wilson paid Padilla Martinez and funded the supplies.

According to court documents, surveillance captured Wilson and Padilla Martinez visiting the marijuana grow on Tomhead Mountain on Aug. 2, 2019. A subsequent search of Wilson’s residence in Pioneer resulted in the discovery of a multiple receipts for marijuana supplies, carbon copies of checks to Padilla Martinez, marijuana cultivation supplies, 238 marijuana plants, and other evidence of illegal marijuana cultivation.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, the Tehama County Sheriff’s Department, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, with assistance from the Amador County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Justice. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella prosecuted the case.

Padilla Martinez, Francisco-Diego and Gomez Sanchez have been previously sentenced for their roles in the offense. There were each sentenced to 10 years, 19 months, and 22 months of incarceration, respectively.