Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Prison for pot-growing family
Relatives earlier had pleaded guilty to running a sophisticated marijuana operation out of a home along secluded Modena road
WEST CHESTER » The family that grows together (marijuana plants, that is), goes together (to prison, that is.)
On Friday, a Common Pleas Court judge handed down prison sentences of varying lengths to four family members who had earlier pleaded guilty to running a highly involved marijuana growing operation in a small home on a secluded road in Modena.
Judgfe David Bortner ordered the four — Kie C. Pak; his wife, Mary Xuan Nguyen; and her brothers, Duc Van Nguyen and John Anh Nguyen — to serve terms that ranged from a minimum of less than nine months in Chester County Prison to a maximum of up to six years in state prison, depending on their level of
involvement in the growing operating.
The prosecutor in the case, Assistant District Attorney Christopher deBarrena-Sarobe of the DA’s Drug Unit, told Bortner that it was estimated the number of plants found in the basement of the house on South Brandywine Avenue overlooking the west branch of the Brandywine Creek would yield $1 million in sales on the street, or more.
Agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Chester County Detectives serving a search warrant of the home where Pac and Mary Nguyen lived found 358 marijuana plants in a variety of growth stages in their basement. Each mature plant could yield one pound of harvested marijuana, which could be then sold for between $3,000 and $5,000, depending on its quality, he said.
“The commonwealth is satisfied with the sentences handed down by Judge Bortner today,” deBarrena-Sarobe said after the proceedings. “His sentences showed a thoughtful, nuanced review of the facts pertaining to each defendant, and how serious these marijuana grow operations are.”
The sentences included 268 days to 23 months in county prison plus two years probation for John Nguyen, 28, of Havertown, who deBarrena-Sarobe said was the least culpable of the family members in the operation; 11½ to 23 months in county prison plus one year probation for Mary Nguyen, 33, whose attorney, Alexander Silow of West Chester, said was aware of the operation but did not participate directly in it; and state sen- tences of 2½ to five years in state prison for Pac, 35, and three to six years for Duc Nguyen, 32, also of Havertown, who the judge determined were responsible for overseeing the growth and distribution of the drugs, respectively.
“No matter what anyone’s views on marijuana are, these hastily thrown together grow houses present a danger to the neighborhood they operate in and are offensive to anyone that lives a hard working, law abiding life,” deBarrena-Sarobe told the Daily Local News on Friday. “Chester County law enforcement will continue to work hard with our DEA partners in the federal government to stomp out these operations quickly.
“These four co-defendants found out how well we work together,” deBarrena-Sarobe said of the inter-agency cooperation. “They could hardly get their operation profitable before we were able to shut them down.”
The attorney for Pak, Edward Gallen of West Chester, had urged Bortner to allow his client to serve a county sentence of less than one year, arguing that the crime was his client’s first offense, and that it was done in a naive and unsophisticated manner. He noted that the co-defendants bought their supplies — lights, electrical equipment, fans, growing soil, pots, etc. — with their own credit cards, leaving a clear path for law enforcement.
“They left an easy trail to lead police to the house in (Modena),” Gallen told Bortner. He also maintained that not much of the drug was even sold out of the Nguyen’s home on Fairlamb Avenue in Havertown.
But Bortner rejected that notion, pointing to a video that was taken at the South Brandywine Avenue home that showed just how intricate the growing operation was.
“I can hardly conclude that this was not a sophisti- cated operation,” he said in sentencing Pak. “It was extensive.” There were plants in germination stages, others in successively larger pots, and mature plants, all with water, light, and air flow to help them on their way.
“At every stage you were involve,” Bortner told Pak. “This was a large scale operation, going on for a significant period of time. When you chose to get involved, you jumped in deep.”
According to an affidavit prepared in the case by county Detective Matthew Gordon, quoting from a report by DEA special agent David Pedrini, the investigation of the family began in June 2013.
It states that a confidential source came to Pedrini in late May or early June of that year and reported that a man he knew came to his store and purchase lights, bags of soil and plant nutrients. He gave Pedrini the man’s license plate number, which the agent tracked to an address on Fairlamb Avenue. From there, the authorities were able to trace another car at the house to the home on South Brandywine Avenue.
Pedrini, the affidavit states, got records from PECO Energy of the electricity use at the South Brandywine home. Although surrounding properties paid an average monthly bill of about $50, the Pak/Nguyen home paid an average of $366 and as much as $833.
“This t y pe of high monthly electric usage is consistent with properties containing indoor marijuana grows,” the affidavit states.
Using pole camera surveillance of the Havertown and Modena homes, the DEA agents were able to see all four suspects coming and going, carrying boxes of supplies into the South Brandywine home and trash bags out, which they put in cars to take back to Havertown.
They also followed Duc Nguyen to a Walmart store, where he bought pruning shears, no-pest strips and liquid air freshener, all of which Pedrini said were used in growing operations. Duck Nguyen then took the items to the South Brandywine Avenue home.
The investigation continued with surveillance and review of on-line shopping records into February, when the DEA agents saw Duc and John Nguyen travel from Modena to Havertown with a large box. Stopped on pretext by a DEA agent, the car the two were in smelled strongly of marijuana.
Agents also reportedly found trash bags containing marijuana and potting soil outside the Havertwon house.
On March 17, at 7:30 a.m. Gordon and county Detective David Grandizio accompanied DEA agents on a raid at the South Brandywine home, where they found and videotaped the basement pot-growing operation.
The defendants have been in custody since, and pleaded guilty in November to charges of possession with intent to manufacture and distribute a controlled substance and conspiracy.
At his sentencing, Pak said that he had wanted to make a lot of money quickly, but had chosen the wrong method.
“I have no excuse,” he told Bortner. “I hold myself accountable for my actions.
“I know I am not a bad person, and I made a mistake,” he continued. “I want a chance to show I can right my own wrong. It was dumb what I did It was really not well-planned at all.”
John Nguyen, the youngest of the four, was paroled on Friday since he had served his minimum date. He was represented by defense attorney Joshua Janis of Malvern, who also represented Duc Nguyen.