WNB

Prosecutor says man took pride in indoor marijuana production
William Taylor | 2theadvocate.com | 7/26/2005

Juan Lopez showed pride in his indoor marijuana farm, even giving investigators a tour when they showed up to arrest him in February, a federal prosecutor said Monday.

"He said, 'You've got the right guy,' " Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Ennis told the jury during Lopez' drug trial.

Ennis described for jurors the elaborate hydroponics operation:

Valves and piping kept the plants watered.

grow lights and reflective wall covering bathed the marijuana in light.

Moth balls cleaned the air to keep the smell from escaping the Prairieville house that hid the pot cultivation.

A direct connection to the power line bypassed the meter, allowing stolen electricity to power the garden.

Lopez, 47, 39136 Germany Road in Prairieville, had spent $15,000 and three months building the farm of 6-foot-high plants and told investigators he found it "inspirational" to go look at it, Ennis said.

Even after showing investigators how to dismantle it, Lopez said it should be a "crime" for them to do so, Ennis said.

Lopez is accused of manufacturing and possessing more than 100 marijuana plants with the intent to distribute.

His attorney, Mario Gaudamud, pledged to "challenge vigorously" those accusations.

"We disagree with the government's contention that there were over 100 plants," Gaudamud said.

"We disagree with the government's contention that he was possessing with the intent to distribute," the lawyer added.

Under federal law, marijuana possession is only a misdemeanor with a maximum prison sentence of one year.

Manufacturing it is a felony as is possessing with intent to distribute. Both carry potential prison sentences of up to 20 years.

The penalty is enhanced if the number of plants is at least 100. In that case, the minimum penalty is 5 years in prison with a maximum sentence of 40 years.

Ennis told jurors that Lopez planned to sell the marijuana locally and in Florida.

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