A Yuba County man has been sentenced to prison by a federal court judge in Iowa after pleading guilty to weapons charges and to possessing medical marijuana with the intent to distribute it.
Kelvin Maximillion Stanford of Olivehurst was sentenced Oct. 11 in Cedar Rapids by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade to two years in federal prison. He was stopped on Interstate 80 driving from California with nearly 3 pounds of medical marijuana, a firearm and a stun baton, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.
Stanford pleaded guilty in July to possessing with the intent to distribute less than 50 kilograms of marijuana and being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm.
At the sentencing, Stanford admitted he was carrying the nearly 3 pounds of marijuana, and that he had brought a handgun and stun baton with him from California as personal protection.
Officials said Stanford had previously stated that he grew the marijuana under a California-issued medical marijuana license and that he gave people marijuana in return for "donations." He was traveling on Interstate 80 from California with his wife and 2-year-old child.
At the sentencing, the judge called the medical marijuana license a "red herring," noting that Stanford had admitted that he intended to distribute the marijuana instead of using it to treat a medical condition.
In addition to the 24-month prison sentence, a special assessment of $200 was imposed. Stanford also must serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term, according to the news release.
Stanford was released on a previously set bond and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date to be set.
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