Eastern District of California Blog

Marijuana -- (Cops & Robbers)

Marijuana and Cops

A former Concord police officer told a federal court he shouldn't be jailed for his role in a large indoor marijuana grow in Chico because he thought it was permitted under state law. U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell said the defendant, Damon Todd Rydell, 36, of Redding, violated federal law by cultivating more than 200 plants last year.  He sentenced Rydell to 18 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay a fine of $7,500.

ChicoER.com, 9/30/11

Marijuana and Robbers

Sheriff's deputies, racing to a former horse property near the town of Ione, found 779 marijuana plants, bullet-riddled trailers and a dead man – covered in blood – grasping an empty shotgun.

On Thursday, two days after the wild shooting that allegedly involved gang members trying to steal marijuana, Amador authorities held five young men in custody. They were juggling both a homicide investigation and a probe into possible illicit dealings in the name of medical marijuana.

Sacramento Bee, 9/30/11

Judge Garland E. Burrell, Jr. To Take Senior Status July 4, 2012

Sacramento District Judge Garland E. Burrell, Jr., will take senior status on July 4, 2012, opening up an EDCA district court vacancy.  Ninth Circuit Judicial Vacancies.   The Daily Journal reported that he intends to handle a reduced caseload once he goes senior.   Any guess how long it will take for Congress to confirm a replacement?

Ninth Circuit Affirms Denial Of Qualified Immunity For Vallejo Officers

In Dagdagan v.Wentz, No. 10-15231, the Ninth Circuit affirmed Judge Burrell's denial of qualified immunity for two Valleo Police Officers in a § 1983 suit in which the plaintiff claims officers unlawfully entered his home without a warrant, roused him from bed, tased him causing serious injuries, and arrested him without probable cause. 

EDCA Court Rules "Ghost Fleet" Violates Pollution Rules

A federal judge found Thursday that a fleet of rotting warships anchored near San Francisco Bay is in violation of federal and state pollution laws.

Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. ruled in U.S. District Court in Sacramento that the Suisin Bay Reserve Fleet was in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.

Burrell wrote in a summary judgment that the U.S. Maritime Administration, the agency responsible for the ships, was breaking the law by continuing to allow paint from the obsolete vessels to flake off into the bay.

He also found that the flaking paint put the agency afoul of California hazardous waste regulations.

Sacramento Bee.  The Court's order and more is available at NRDC's Site.  

Retired Sacramento Water Official Sentenced to a Year And a Day In Bribery Scheme

According to the Sacramento Bee, a retired Sacramento water official was sentenced yesterday by Judge Burrell to a year and a day in prison for taking bribes in return for giving a scrap metal dealer used water meters.