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Lepp Arrested for Allegedly Selling To Undercover DEA Officer

Ann Harrison

San Francisco, CA Feb 18, 2005 -- Eddy Lepp and Daniel Barnes were arraigned today in Federal District Court in San Francisco. The two were arrested at Lepp's home in Lake County on February 16. Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Maria Elena James, Lepp and Barnes were charged with distribution of marijuana, conspiracy to distribute marijuana and maintaining a premise for the purpose of cultivating marijuana.

According to the criminal complaint, an undercover DEA Task Force Officer met with Lepp on January 19, 2005 and negotiated the purchase of one pound of dried and processed marijuana. The undercover officer was wearing a concealed transmitting device which was monitored and recorded by other DEA agents observing the meeting.

A statement released today by the DEA alleges that Lepp told the undercover officer that he "possessed a strain of cannabis that would make White Widow pale in comparison." The criminal complaint states that Lepp agreed to sell "the one pound of high THC marijuana" for $2,500. Barnes, allegedly acted as a go-between delivering the one pound of marijuana to the undercover officer and taking receipt of the $2,500.

"At no point during the negotiations was the subject of 'medical' marijuana raised by either party," reads the DEA statement.

During the arrest of Lepp and Barnes, search warrants were served at Lepp's properties at 9176 Upper Lake Lucerne Road and 941 and 975 East State Highway 20. At the first location, the DEA said they seized approximately 6,300 marijuana plants - including approximately 1,600 unrooted clone plants - 10 pounds of processed marijuana, 16 pounds of partially processed marijuana, and a small amount of hashish. While DEA agents were searching the Lepp home, the DEA claims that Lepp received telephone calls from at least one person who wanted to purchase "a couple dozen" clones from Lepp.

This is the third time Lepp has been raided by the DEA. In 2001, the DEA assisted by Lake County Sherrif's Department, destroyed 40 acres of Lepp's cannabis, some of which was viewable from Highway 20. The DEA estimated that the plants were worth $80 million. Lepp believes that the federal government does not have the authority to enforce federal law inside any of the sovereign states and filed a lawsuit demanding the immediate closure of the DEA as an illegal organization. No charges were filed against him in the case.

In August 2004, the DEA paid another visit to Lepp's farm carting off 37,000 plants with an estimated value of $120 million dollars. Lepp was charged with cultivation. Judge Marilyn Patel allowed Lepp to remain free without bond and travel to the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam to receive the Freedom Fighter of the Year award. Lepp's attorney Dennis Roberts filed motions in the case for return of property and the legitimacy of raising a medical marijuana defense. Lepp appeared at a motions hearing on February 7 which concluded his three week hunger strike in protest of his prosecution.

Lepp's wife Linda Senti said that Judge Patel had ordered the DEA to return their personal non-exculpatory property seized during the raid in August 2004. On the very day that Lepp was arraigned in federal court, Senti said Lepp was due to meet the DEA inside the building to negotiate the handover.

Senti said that Mary Otte, an assistant to Jack Herer, and documentary filmmaker Jason Dunlap were also arrested during the early morning raid on Lepp's house. She said that Dunlap and Otte were later released, but the DEA seized all of Dunlap's footage of his planned documentary on Lepp. Both Senti and Barnes' pregnant girlfriend Naomi Young were present at the arraignment.

During the arraignment, the prosecutor said that Lepp would be charged with an ongoing conspiracy stretching from his prior charges in August to the most recent charges. The two are scheduled for a detention hearing on February 23 and remain in custody.

"The agents told me that they would take me down no matter how many raids it took," said Lepp who continues to reject the idea that the federal government can override California's medical marijuana laws. "They don't have jurisdiction at all, if they have a problem with the state of California, they should take it up with the state of California not me," said Lepp as federal marshals led him away in handcuffs.

Lepp was represented at his arraignment by his attorney Dennis Roberts who said that scheduling problems prevented him from defending Lepp on the new charges. Roberts said Lepp would be represented on these charges by the Federal Defenders Office. According to Roberts, he will continue to represent Lepp on the prior charges and serve as co-counsel with the federal defender if the cases are joined in an superseding indictment as expected.