August 25, 2015

Anderson Couple Pleads Guilty to Offenses Related to Marijuana Cultivation

SACRAMENTO, CA—Anderson residents John Wesley Lane, 35, and Kelsey Ann Lane, 28, pleaded guilty today to charges related to marijuana cultivation and distribution, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. John Lane pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute at least 50 kilograms of marijuana, and Kelsey Lane pleaded guilty to concealment of a felony.

According to court documents, on December 13, 2012, law enforcement agents executed federal search warrants at three properties owned, leased, or associated with John and Kelsey Lane: a warehouse in Anderson, the Lanes’ residence, and the California Patients Collective marijuana dispensary in Redding.

From the marijuana manufacturing operation inside the Anderson warehouse, agents seized approximately 2,700 mature marijuana plants, 1,300 marijuana clones, and approximately 40 kilograms of processed marijuana. Agents seized approximately 130 pounds of processed marijuana, numerous firearms, and $51,860 from the couple’s home, and nearly 200 marijuana plants, processed marijuana, concentrated cannabis, edible marijuana, and $4,673 from the marijuana dispensary.

Federal search warrants were again executed in May 2013, after law enforcement learned the Lanes were continuing to grow marijuana. During the execution of the search warrants, agents seized 2,329 mature marijuana plants and 1,724 clones at the warehouse.

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on February 16, 2016. John Lane faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and Kelsey Lane faces up to three years in prison. The actual sentences, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case is the product of an investigation by the North State Marijuana Investigation Team, the Siskiyou County Narcotics Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Land Management, the Alcoholic Beverage Control, Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, Shasta Interagency Narcotic Task Force, the California Department of Justice, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Lee is prosecuting the case.