Former pot shop owner pleads guilty to conspiracy
By BREAKING NEWS BLOG
David Chavez Sr., 53, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to distribute marijuana.
According to court documents, Chavez was the treasurer of Nature's Medicinal, a marijuana dispensary. He was also the owner of the property where the business operated.
According to the indictment, between September 2004 and February 2006, the business earned $16 million in gross sales. His son, David Chavez Jr., owned and operated Nature's Medicinal.
Court records show that law enforcement executed search and seizure warrants on the business and personal residences of the father and son on May 1, 2007. When the defendants reopened the dispensary, additional search and seizure warrants were executed again on July 16, 2007, resulting in the seizure of more than 200 pounds of marijuana and marijuana-laced food products, more than $57,000 in cash, and two guns.
Chavez Sr. is scheduled to be sentenced March 18. He faces a mandatory 5-year term in prison and a $2 million fine. Chavez Jr. has pleaded guilty and sentencing is set for Jan. 28.
- Office of U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, Eastern District of California
Facebook
Twitter
Mobile
RSS
Most CommentedMost Popular
Responding to what he called a case that “has consumed the media and our community,” Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said Tuesday he has asked the FBI to conduct a “parallel” investigation into the death of Bakersfield father of four David Sal Silva, who died May 8 after he was beaten by...
Two cellphones confiscated last week from witnesses to the in-custody death of David Sal Silva were returned Wednesday to the attorney representing the witnesses.
About two dozen protesters stood in front of Kern County Superior Court next to the Liberty Bell Thursday morning to make a statement about police brutality.
The death of a man in custody following a prolonged struggle with Kern County Sheriff's deputies and CHP officers and the subsequent fracas over confiscated witness cellphones have gained international attention and raised concerns here that the incidents could tarnish the county's emerging...
Blood stains are still visible on the sidewalk at the corner of Flower Street and Palm Drive, where a Bakersfield man struggled with as many as nine officers and later died this week.
A war of words erupted Friday over video footage taken of David Sal Silva’s deadly encounter with law enforcement officers.
Responding to what he called a case that “has consumed the media and our community,” Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said Tuesday he has asked the FBI to conduct a “parallel” investigation into the death of Bakersfield father of four David Sal Silva, who died May 8 after he was beaten by deputies.
The death of Bakersfield father of four David Sal Silva immediately following his apparent beating Wednesday by Kern County law enforcement officers raises questions that have been asked in Bakersfield many times before -- questions about the use of deadly force by police.