Pubdate: Tue, 14 Aug 2007
Source: Marin Independent Journal (CA)
Copyright: 2007 Marin Independent Journal
Contact:  http://www.marinij.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/673
Author: Gary Klien, Marin Independent Journal
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

NO CHARGES FILED AGAINST NOVATO MAN LINKED TO POT FARMS

Citing medical marijuana issues, the Marin County district's attorney 
office has declined to charge a Novato man arrested by drug 
investigators last month in connection with two indoor pot farms.

David Mauroni, 51, appeared in Marin Superior Court on Monday to face 
potential charges for growing marijuana at two Novato residences he 
leased, 1208 Chase St. and 682 Olive Ave. But an arraignment judge 
told Mauroni that no charges were filed and he was free to go.

Mauroni left the courtroom surrounded by a small and jubilant group 
of supporters. He declined to comment outside court.

District Attorney Ed Berberian said there was insufficient evidence 
to bring the case before a jury because Mauroni demonstrated he was 
growing the marijuana for medical users. Berberian declined to 
comment on how Mauroni supported his claim.

"We look at every case on an individual basis," he said. "We make a 
determination whether we can prove a case. You still have to make an 
evaluation of your likelihood of carrying your burden of proof before 
a Marin jury."

The decision comes as local and county investigators in Marin grapple 
with an influx of indoor marijuana farms, which allow growers to 
harvest stronger marijuana with greater frequency at lower risk of 
detection. Since June 20, police have shut down six indoor pot farms 
in Novato, San Rafael and Fairfax.

Investigators said the emergence of indoor operations in Marin 
follows a statewide trend throughout California, where organized 
residential pot operations have been discovered in the Sacramento 
area, the Central Valley and California. The number of indoor 
marijuana plants seized by police in California nearly doubled 
between 2005 and 2006, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Mauroni became the focus of an investigation last month after the 
rental house at 1208 Chase St. was severely damaged in a fire linked 
to a bypassed Pacific Gas and Electric Co. meter. Police said they 
found 75 marijuana plants, cultivation equipment and 100 pounds of 
packaged marijuana in the home. But the packaged marijuana turned out 
to be stalks, leaves and other plant remnants, not the chemically 
potent buds, authorities said.

After learning that Mauroni was the renter at 1208 Chase St., they 
got a search warrant for 682 Olive Ave., a home Mauroni was leasing 
around the corner. Police found another 30 marijuana plants and more 
cultivation equipment inside.

California's medical marijuana law, the Compassionate Use Act, grants 
patients and caregivers some immunity to grow marijuana for medical 
use. Police in Marin enforce a limit of six mature plants or 12 
immature plants per patient, but Berberian said the DA's office has 
no set limits on how much marijuana providers can grow.

"We do not have a policy," he said. "The reality of it is, you have 
to evaluate what you've got that a jury will look at and a jury find 
to be excessive, regardless of what the statue is. We have gone to 
trial with more than 100 plants, and juries have not convicted them 
in this county."

Berberian said that even though prosecutors have thus far declined to 
file charges, the case is still under investigation, including the 
issue of the bypassed PG&E meter. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake