United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - After a three-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge John A. Mendez, a federal jury found Brandon Alton Conley, 31, of Arroyo Grande, guilty of cultivating at least 100 marijuana plants and of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Conley was remanded into custody after the jury returned its verdict today. The jury deliberated less than three hours before reaching its verdict.

According to evidence presented at trial, between January 20, 2012 and February 15, 2012, Conley was involved in growing marijuana in a warehouse in Stockton. He provided two firearms to his co-defendant in order for him to guard the warehouse, including a pistol-grip shotgun.

After a tip to the Stockton Police about the warehouse, the San Joaquin County Metropolitan Narcotics Task (METRO) began investigating. On February 14, 2012, agents from the DEA executed a search warrant and found approximately 2,000 marijuana plants, 2,000 starter clones and two loaded firearms.

In rejecting the defendant’s a motion for post-conviction release, Judge Mendez characterized the evidence against the defendant as “overwhelming.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, METRO and the Stockton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard J. Bender and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Spivak are prosecuting the case.

Co-defendant Ramon Gerardo Armenta, aka Lamberto Enrique Beltran, 43, of Arroyo Grande, pleaded guilty on May 22, 2012, and was sentenced on September 11, 2012, to three years in prison.