Contra Costa County Man Gets 10 Years for Large-Scale Drug Trafficking in Yuba County
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 26, 2010 |
SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that today United States District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. sentenced Michael J. Ellison, 43, of Richmond, to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California Highway Patrol, and the NET-5 drug task force of Northern California. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rodriguez prosecuted the case.
According to court documents, on May 22, 2007, Ellison was traveling by car near Marysville when CHP officers stopped him for speeding. During a routine investigation, they observed that Ellison possessed drug trafficking materials and paraphernalia. Ellison then admitted to the officers that he had recently used illicit drugs. Hidden in Ellison’s vehicle, CHP officers found packaged methamphetamine, cocaine base (crack), and marijuana, which were packaged for distribution and sale. On September 8, 2009, Ellison pleaded guilty to possession of at least 50 grams of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine.