Federal Judge Wants Leniency for Man Who Inherited Pot Shipping Business
A man who inherited a Medford-based shipping business from his father and mailed thousands of pounds of marijuana across the country apologized as he stood before a federal judge for sentencing Wednesday.
"I felt an absolute duty to take care of everything that he left behind, and clearly it was more of a mess than I anticipated having to clean up," Matthew Sachen told US District Judge Michael J. McShane.
The Oregonian reports Sachen's defense lawyer said his client was unaware his dad had been shipping the marijuana for customers, but he continued to do so. In June, the 30-year-old Sachen pleaded guilty to use of interstate facilities to promote or facilitate a racketeering enterprise, a felony.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Brassell sought a sentence of three years of federal probation while Sachen's lawyer, Justin Rosas, argued for the "smallest sanctions available." Rosas said Sachen has worked to help people every day as a wildland fire paramedic since he sold his dad's business and dreams of becoming a firefighter paramedic. The judge appeared to side with the defense.
McShane questioned whether the US Attorney's Office had considered a diversion program instead to avoid Sachen from having a felony conviction on his record, considering he has no criminal history.
Describing the crime as the "definition of circumstance," McShane gave the government a choice: He'll put Sachen on one year of probation if the government considers either a diversion program for Sachen or reducing the conviction to a misdemeanor at the completion of the probationary year. Otherwise, the judge said he'll close the case with Sachen's felony conviction but not issue any further penalty or supervision, essentially what's called a "sentence of discharge."
The US Attorney's Office has until next Wednesday to provide a response, before a formal sentence is entered.
Posted on 12/12/24 6:13AM by Sam Marsh