United States Drug Enforcement Administration

FRESNO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned a single count indictment today, charging Phouvanh Vongsenekeo, 25, of Phoenix, with manufacturing and possessing with the intent to distribute one hundred or more marijuana plants and one hundred or more kilograms of marijuana, between July 9, 2013, and August 9, 2013, Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Vongsenekeo was arrested at a Madera county marijuana grow site where more than 17,000 marijuana plants were under cultivation. Vongsenekeo had two handguns in a car registered to him that was parked at that marijuana cultivation site.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Madera County Narcotics Enforcement (MADNET). Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Rooney is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Vongsenekeo faces a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years in prison. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.