A Santa Barbara County man was sentenced today in federal court in Sacramento for his involvement in marijuana growing operations in El Dorado County.
Ryan Louis Ennis, 39, of Buellton was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to nine years for conspiring to cultivate marijuana.
In sentencing, Judge Mendez described Ennis as the leader and financial backer of a sophisticated, well-funded marijuana operation, saying that he provided marijuana to distributors on the East Coast, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.
At the time of his arrest, officials said, Ennis had an electrician and two excavators working for him, as well as an attorney on retainer and at least five general workers.
Ennis claimed that he provided medical marijuana to dispensaries and was based in El Dorado County, near Placerville. Although Ennis was arrested in the off season for growing marijuana, officials said investigators seized evidence of more than 1,100 marijuana plants, about 600 pounds of processed marijuana, three handguns, two shotguns, a rifle and more than $635,000 in cash.
The case resulted from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, and the Mountain and Valley Marijuana Investigation Team.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.