Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
In hindsight, Marc Ferrara would probably agree that he should have just tipped the fellow who helped him out.
Instead, the way in which Ferrara repaid the young man's kindness wound up leading - indirectly but no less finally - to his arrest, conviction and current incarceration at Chester County Prison for drug dealing.
On Monday, Ferrara, 50, of Kimberton pleaded guilty to a single count of possession with intent to deliver marijuana after dozens of plants were found in a complex and large-scale growing operation in his townhouse. He was sentenced as part of a plea agreement negotiated by the prosecution and his attorney to one day less than one year to two days less than two years.
The sentence of 364 days to 718 days is the maximum that can be served in a county prison. Anything over that must by law be spent in a state correctional facility, a decidedly more harsh environment for someone like Ferrara, who has no prior criminal history.
The case against Ferrara was made by investigators from the East Pikeland Police Department, who had been watching Ferrara for some time before his arrest but were fortunate enough to pull over a driver for a minor traffic violation on Aug. 5, 2014. When the officers found marijuana in the car, the car's passenger - a young man in his early 20s - told them that he and his girlfriend, the car's driver, had just come from smoking the drug at Ferrara's home.
He also told the police that he knew Ferrara was growing marijuana and producing hashish at his Kimberton Knoll condominium.
The young man, agreeing to cooperate with police, told them that in mid or late May 2014 he came upon a disabled car on the Route 29 bridge over the Schuylkill River between Phoenixville and Mont Clare, Montgomery County. The car owner, who later identified himself as Marc Ferrara, asked for a lift to a gas station for fuel. The young man agreed, and on the way to the station Ferrara asked causally whether his Good Samaritan smoked marijuana.
When the young man said yes, Ferrara invited him to his house to smoke marijuana, "as a tip for helping him with the gas," according to a search warrant application filed in court by East Pikeland Cpl. Bernard Martin, the lead investigator in the case.
Martin had encountered Ferrara only a few weeks before, when he and another officer responded to a noise complaint at Ferrara's condo in June 2014. When they looked through a sliding glass door, they saw what Martin called a large chemistry setup in the living room, with numerous bottles and containers. They also spotted cameras at the front and rear doors.
Police had been to the condo on more than one occasion to investigate noise complaints and reports of suspicious activity by neighbors. But they never had enough information about what was going on inside the home for a search warrant.
The young man – whose name is being withheld because it is unclear whether he was charged with a crime – told Bernard that he began going to Ferrara's condo to smoke marijuana on a semi-regular basis after their May introduction. He said when he did, he noticed items in the house that made him believe his host was growing the drug himself and using it to make hashish and hashish oil.
He also said he would occasionally purchase the drug from Ferrara, or be given it as a gift, and witnessed at least one other possible sale. When Ferrara would invite him over to smoke drugs, he was cautious on the phone and referred to their meetings as "Bar-B-Ques."
On Aug. 22, 2014, Martin conducted a "trash pull" at the house and found a marijuana stem inside one of the trash bags.
When police raided the condo later that day, they seized over 50 live plants in various stages of maturity growing in rooms on the second and third floors of Ferrara's home.
Police said the home's third floor was equipped with irrigation and lighting equipment that supported over 50 live plants. A sophisticated air filtration system was also installed in the home to mask the odor of marijuana, police said. More growing equipment and other live plants were also found in one of the home's bedrooms, police said.
Scales, packaging materials, and numerous packages of marijuana seeds were also discovered inside the home, according to police. Investigators also found video surveillance equipment and two handguns inside the house, police said.
Ferrara's sentence came at a time when mandatory minimum sentences for drug dealing are on hold in Chester County because of court rulings. It is less than others who have operated similar growing farms in their homes – such as a man in nearby Birchrunville who received 2½ to five years in state prison – because of the sentencing stalemate.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Kimberton pot grower gets county prison sentence
Author: Michael P. Rellahan
Contact: mrellahan@dailylocal.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Daily Local News: Breaking News, Sports, Business, Entertainment & Chester County News
Instead, the way in which Ferrara repaid the young man's kindness wound up leading - indirectly but no less finally - to his arrest, conviction and current incarceration at Chester County Prison for drug dealing.
On Monday, Ferrara, 50, of Kimberton pleaded guilty to a single count of possession with intent to deliver marijuana after dozens of plants were found in a complex and large-scale growing operation in his townhouse. He was sentenced as part of a plea agreement negotiated by the prosecution and his attorney to one day less than one year to two days less than two years.
The sentence of 364 days to 718 days is the maximum that can be served in a county prison. Anything over that must by law be spent in a state correctional facility, a decidedly more harsh environment for someone like Ferrara, who has no prior criminal history.
The case against Ferrara was made by investigators from the East Pikeland Police Department, who had been watching Ferrara for some time before his arrest but were fortunate enough to pull over a driver for a minor traffic violation on Aug. 5, 2014. When the officers found marijuana in the car, the car's passenger - a young man in his early 20s - told them that he and his girlfriend, the car's driver, had just come from smoking the drug at Ferrara's home.
He also told the police that he knew Ferrara was growing marijuana and producing hashish at his Kimberton Knoll condominium.
The young man, agreeing to cooperate with police, told them that in mid or late May 2014 he came upon a disabled car on the Route 29 bridge over the Schuylkill River between Phoenixville and Mont Clare, Montgomery County. The car owner, who later identified himself as Marc Ferrara, asked for a lift to a gas station for fuel. The young man agreed, and on the way to the station Ferrara asked causally whether his Good Samaritan smoked marijuana.
When the young man said yes, Ferrara invited him to his house to smoke marijuana, "as a tip for helping him with the gas," according to a search warrant application filed in court by East Pikeland Cpl. Bernard Martin, the lead investigator in the case.
Martin had encountered Ferrara only a few weeks before, when he and another officer responded to a noise complaint at Ferrara's condo in June 2014. When they looked through a sliding glass door, they saw what Martin called a large chemistry setup in the living room, with numerous bottles and containers. They also spotted cameras at the front and rear doors.
Police had been to the condo on more than one occasion to investigate noise complaints and reports of suspicious activity by neighbors. But they never had enough information about what was going on inside the home for a search warrant.
The young man – whose name is being withheld because it is unclear whether he was charged with a crime – told Bernard that he began going to Ferrara's condo to smoke marijuana on a semi-regular basis after their May introduction. He said when he did, he noticed items in the house that made him believe his host was growing the drug himself and using it to make hashish and hashish oil.
He also said he would occasionally purchase the drug from Ferrara, or be given it as a gift, and witnessed at least one other possible sale. When Ferrara would invite him over to smoke drugs, he was cautious on the phone and referred to their meetings as "Bar-B-Ques."
On Aug. 22, 2014, Martin conducted a "trash pull" at the house and found a marijuana stem inside one of the trash bags.
When police raided the condo later that day, they seized over 50 live plants in various stages of maturity growing in rooms on the second and third floors of Ferrara's home.
Police said the home's third floor was equipped with irrigation and lighting equipment that supported over 50 live plants. A sophisticated air filtration system was also installed in the home to mask the odor of marijuana, police said. More growing equipment and other live plants were also found in one of the home's bedrooms, police said.
Scales, packaging materials, and numerous packages of marijuana seeds were also discovered inside the home, according to police. Investigators also found video surveillance equipment and two handguns inside the house, police said.
Ferrara's sentence came at a time when mandatory minimum sentences for drug dealing are on hold in Chester County because of court rulings. It is less than others who have operated similar growing farms in their homes – such as a man in nearby Birchrunville who received 2½ to five years in state prison – because of the sentencing stalemate.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Kimberton pot grower gets county prison sentence
Author: Michael P. Rellahan
Contact: mrellahan@dailylocal.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Daily Local News: Breaking News, Sports, Business, Entertainment & Chester County News
