United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Lynn Farrell Smith, 63, of Stockton was sentenced to 42 months in prison today by United States District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. for offenses involving the cultivation and sale of marijuana via storefronts in Sacramento and Stockton, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Jay Fitzpatrick and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Codefendant Robert Duncan, 30, of Oakland, was also sentenced today to 24 months in prison for offenses involving the cultivation of marijuana in the same case. 

Smith pleaded guilty on January 18, 2013, to one count of conspiring to manufacture and distribute marijuana, two counts of manufacturing marijuana in connection with two separate indoor marijuana grow operations in Stockton, and six counts of distribution of marijuana in connection with six separate storefronts in Stockton and Sacramento. Robert Duncan pleaded guilty on September 21, 2012, to marijuana manufacturing charges related to the same two Stockton grow operations. Over $160,000 was previously forfeited in the case. 

Last week, co-defendant Matthew Davies, 35, was sentenced to sixty months in federal prison and a $100,000 fine in the same case. Davies had pled guilty to one count of conspiring to manufacture and distribute marijuana; two counts of manufacturing marijuana in connection with two separate indoor marijuana grow operations; and seven counts of distribution of marijuana in connection with multiple storefront operations. 

According to court documents, Davies and Smith owned and operated multiple marijuana sales storefront businesses and two marijuana growing facilities in the Stockton/Sacramento area. One of the two marijuana growing operations was a large-sophisticated indoor warehouse on Vickie Lane in Stockton which was set up and managed by codefendant Robert Duncan. Stockton Police Officers responded to a burglary-in-progress call on October 4, 2011, and found over almost 2,000 plants growing and a dozen workers inside trimming the finished product.

The follow-up investigation identified numerous marijuana storefront businesses in Stockton and Sacramento owned and operated by Davies and Smith between 2009 and 2011. These businesses generated substantial revenues. Profit and loss statements obtained during the course of the investigation showed that the Pathways Family Health Cooperative in Stockton, which was closed in 2010 due to action by the City of Stockton, generated more than $2.2 million in marijuana sales in less than a year. Similarly, records obtained in the investigation show that the Central Valley Caregivers (CVCC) storefront, that Davies and Smith owned and operated just outside the city boundary of Stockton, generated over $4.5 million in gross sales in 2011 before federal search warrants were executed in mid-October 2011. The MediZen business in Sacramento generated $2 million in gross sales of marijuana during that same time period. During 2011, Davies and Smith also managed and operated River City Wellness and R & R (renamed Sacramento Patient's Group), and purchased and operated Twelve Hour Care storefront. All three of these businesses were located in Sacramento. During 2011, Davies purchased a 50 percent interest in Port City Wellness in (which was briefly open between September and October of 2011) for approximately $200,000, using funds from the CVCC and MediZen stores. Davies and Smith also briefly operated a marijuana storefront in Manteca before it was closed due to action by the City of Manteca.

"Lynn Smith was Matthew Davies' partner and right hand man in the extensive marijuana enterprise. Robert Duncan helped them set up and operate a very large marijuana growing warehouse which produced much of the marijuana sold in their stores as well as some sold to other Bay Area stores. They engaged in this conduct despite knowing that what they were doing was in violation of federal law," said United States Attorney Wagner.   "Ultimately, this case was about money."

The case against Matthew Davies, Lynn Smith and Robert Duncan was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service, the Internal Revenue Service, the San Joaquin County METRO narcotics task force, and the Stockton Police Department. It was funded by the U.S. Department of Justice's Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task (OCDETF) which targets and investigates significant drug trafficking organizations.