Kern County Deputies Plead Guilty For Stealing Cannabis
Two former Kern County deputies in California have pleaded guilty to selling cannabis that was previously confiscated in raids.
30 year-old Logan August and 34-year-old Derrick Penney pled guilty Monday to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cannabis, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a press release.
The two Kern County sheriffs conspired with former Bakersfield Police Department detective Patrick Mara and someone who had formerly been a confidential informant for August. They stole raided cannabis from a Kern County Sherriff’s Office storage unit and had it processed. Then, August gave it to his former informant, who then sold it and shared the profit with August, who in turn shared it with the other two men. Each of the three law enforcement officers received about $1,200 from this sale.
August also stole cannabis that was raided during his time as part of the KCSO Major Vendor Narcotics Unit. Between March and December 2014, he gave approximately 25 pounds of usable cannabis to his contact, making $15,000 off the exchange.
Kern County currently has no regulation regarding cannabis dispensaries. In California, the state law allowing medical cannabis provides immunity from federal raid. However, local jurisdictions can provide their own regulation using civil codes to enforce allowing dispensaries in and out of city limits or within a certain distance of schools and other public buildings.
After a 2012 ballot measure that allowed dispensaries in unincorporated areas passed, it was struck down by a judge in 2014 after it was found the county did no environmental review before putting the measure to the voters. Therefore, Kern County has no allowable areas for cannabis dispensaries. In Bakersfield, Kern’s biggest city, officials tend to wait for complaints before investigating dispensaries.
Both August and Penney have agreed to forfeit the proceeds from the trafficking. They are due to be sentenced in August, and face a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
