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Authorities: Northern California man used clothing store as front to sell marijuana to teens

Authorities Northern California man used clothing store as front to sell marijuana to teens

An American Canyon man faces up to 90 years in prison and more than $20 million in fines for using, officials suspect, his Vacaville clothing business as a front to sell drugs to high schoolers, the Department of Justice announced Monday.

Maurice Antoine Jefferson, 42, of American Canyon, was arrested Monday and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possessing marijuana and cocaine for distribution within 1,000 feet of Will C. Wood High School on Marshall Road in Vacaville, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment against him on Aug. 3, he said.

According to court documents, Jefferson was the sole proprietor of Vacaville’s Shredders Federation clothing store and allegedly used the business as a cover to distribute marijuana and cocaine to high school students and others and as a front for money laundering, officials said. When law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the store in August 2016, they allegedly “found 6.4 pounds of marijuana, 129 grams of cocaine, and other indicia of drug distribution,” officials said. “Jefferson was carrying a 9 mm pistol with him when Vacaville Police Officers arrived at the business.”

Jefferson has a felony conviction and is not allowed to possess any firearms, they said.

If convicted of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute near a school zone, Jefferson faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. If convicted of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute near a school zone, Jefferson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 60 years in prison and a $20 million fine. If convicted of possessing a firearm as a felon, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, officials said.

Any sentence would be determined at the discretion of the district court after considering any applicable statutory factors and the federal sentencing guidelines.

credit:thecannifornian.com

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