The dreadlocks are gone, replaced by a crop of straight brown hair. His wrists were still bound by handcuffs. A white jail jumpsuit, indicating kitchen duties, clothed Matt Macosko rather than the customary orange. Macosko, in custody since Oct. 16 when police found about 11 ounces of marijuana in his vehicle, was sentenced to nine months in El Dorado County Jail and three years probation Friday after pleading no contest to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. The sentencing marked a subdued conclusion for Macosko, a self-titled medical marijuana provider who had numerous encounters with authorities who believed him to be a drug dealer. Three related marijuana cases, including providing the drug to a minor and mailing marijuana, were dismissed at the sentencing. [continues 491 words]
A judge being figuratively fired, attorneys spitting venom at each other outside the courtroom, discussions about "shake" and "bud," a dread-locked man in shackles. The preliminary hearing for Matthew Scott Macosko, who carries a medical marijuana recommendation, lasted nearly three hours after defense attorney J. David Nick asked for a different judge. Macosko is accused of possessing 11 ounces of marijuana for sale. His attorney said he had a bad feeling about retired Judge Terrance Finney. "After doing this for years, you just read the tea leaves," said Nick, an attorney based in San Francisco, about sizing up Finney and wanting another judge Friday in El Dorado County Superior Court. [continues 574 words]
Matt Macosko Is Back In Inmate Orange. Macosko, 30, was placed into custody Wednesday afternoon on a warrant of supplying false information to a police officer and possession of marijuana for sale. He was being held on $113,000 bail in El Dorado County Jail and faces about six years in prison if convicted. Arraignment is planned for Friday afternoon at El Dorado County Superior Court. The warrant, filed Oct. 11 by the district attorney's office, was based on Macosko reportedly supplying a false Gardnerville address to a police officer during a traffic stop Sept. 10. He was stopped for having different license plates on his old blue bus. [continues 524 words]
Four law agencies in California and Nevada are probably happy that Ciro Mancuso used drug money to purchase property in Hawaii. Mancuso, who lived in Olympic Village as a contractor, was arrested in 1989 for being involved in a trafficking ring that smuggled about 40 tons of marijuana from Thailand, Morocco and Mexico into the United States. The federal government seized his property in Hawaii, sold it, and will distribute the roughly $800,000 evenly to the four law enforcement agencies that investigated Mancuso for three years, starting in 1985, said El Dorado County sheriff's Lt. Les Lovell. [continues 353 words]
Assistant District Attorney Hans Uthe filed a motion to dismiss a transportation of marijuana charge against Matt Macosko, keeping focus on charges of furnishing marijuana to minors. Macosko appeared at El Dorado County Superior Court on Thursday with his attorney J. David Nick. The attorneys met before Judge Suzanne Kingsbury to decide whether the defense could raise a medical marijuana case on the transportation charge and how it could be presented. Macosko was arrested in October for allegedly furnishing marijuana to minors. During the warrant arrest, authorities reportedly found nearly 4 ounces of marijuana in Macosko's car. [continues 380 words]
RENO (AP) -(AP)- Another poll shows Nevadans are evenly divided over a ballot initiative legalizing the possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana. The latest poll conducted for the Reno Gazette-Journal and KRNV-TV in Reno shows 48 percent of likely voters statewide support the initiative, while an equal number oppose it and 4 percent are undecided. The telephone survey of 600 likely voters was conducted in July by Research 2000 of Rockville, Md. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. [continues 170 words]
There were humus, seafood dip and relish trays for the 50 people who gathered to talk about pot. Specifically, the 50 El Dorado County medical marijuana users and caregivers came to South Lake Tahoe for a three-hour discussion on the latest California Supreme Court decision that provides relaxation to Proposition 215 followers. The unanimous decision, "People vs. Mower," arrived last month to the delight of medicinal marijuana users. It will decrease the burden of proof for defendants, causing fewer cases to go to trial. [continues 321 words]
El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Kingsbury pushed back a trial of a South Lake Tahoe man Wednesday, in part to wait for a California Supreme Court decision. Matt Macosko, arrested in October for allegedly furnishing marijuana to minors, describes himself as a provider of medicinal marijuana to the sick. Prosecutors say he's a drug dealer. During the pretrial motions, Kingsbury decided to cancel the trial to allow litigation on the issue of whether medical marijuana applies to the case. [continues 421 words]
