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Former Fugitive Marijuana Grower Sentenced to Life in Prison
GAINESVILLE, GA—ANDREW N. COX, 45, formerly of Blairsville, Georgia, was
sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge William C. O’Kelley to serve life
in prison on charges of conspiring to manufacture and attempt to manufacture marijuana
in and around the Chattahoochee National Forest in north Georgia in the spring of 2004.
United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of today’s sentence, “This
defendant was a twice-convicted drug trafficker who has now received his third and final
strike. His life sentence is just punishment for a career in the illegal drug trade, which
most recently led him to exploit and degrade national forest land. He will have no more
chances to poison our communities with illegal drugs, and his sentence should send a
message that our national forests are not a safe haven for crime. The U.S. Forest Service
is to be commended for its hard work in this difficult prosecution, made even more
challenging by the passage of time while this defendant was a fugitive.”
“On behalf of the U.S. Forest Service, Law Enforcement & Investigations, I would
like to thank the U.S. Attorney's Office and our partners in law enforcement for their
efforts in bringing this five year old case to a close. This case exemplifies our continuing
effort to ensure our National Forests are safe for our public,” said Steven F. Ruppert,
Special Agent in Charge, USDA - Forest Service, Southern Region.
COX was sentenced to federal prison for life. There is no parole in the federal
justice system. COX was convicted of these charges on November 18, 2008, after a
nearly four-day jury trial.
Although the charges ordinarily carry a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years
in prison, COX was subjected to an enhanced mandatory minimum sentence of life in
prison because he had two prior felony convictions for drug trafficking, a 1991 conviction
in state court in Indian River County, Florida, and a 2000 federal conviction in the Middle
District of Georgia.
According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in
court: Beginning in early 2004 and continuing through July 2004, COX entered into a
marijuana manufacturing conspiracy with three other men, JOSE QUEZADASFIERROS,
PACIANO VARGAS-HERNANDEZ, and MAYOLO VARGASVILLENUEVA.
COX hired the three men to plant and cultivate marijuana on private and
U.S. Forest Service property using a landscaping company as a front, and using private
property owned by COX’s father as a staging area to begin growing seedlings in hundreds
of plastic starter cups. The co-conspirators then prepared three marijuana grow sites on
private and public land, destroying underbrush and trees to do so, and transplanted the
seedlings into the forest. During their investigation U.S. Forest Service agents discovered
724 seedlings in the yard of COX’s father's property and an additional 594 plants at three
separate grow sites in the adjacent forest, ranging in maturity from 3 to 4 inches to 4 ½
feet tall, for a total of 1,318 plants. COX was originally indicted for the offense on
January 11, 2005, but fled after he was indicted and remained a federal fugitive until he
was captured in Casa Grande, Arizona more than three years later, on February 13, 2008.
The co-conspirators - QUEZADAS-FIERROS, VARGAS-HERNANDEZ, and
VARGAS-VILLENUEVA - were indicted and pleaded guilty to related charges in 2004
and 2006. QUEZADAS-FIERROS was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison; VARGASHERNANDEZ
was sentenced to 2 years in federal prison; and VARGAS-VILLENUEVA
was sentenced to 5 years, 6 months in federal prison.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn
about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.com.
This case was investigated by the United States Forest Service, the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, and the United States Marshals Service. Assistance in this case has also
been provided by the Georgia National Guard and the (Georgia) Governor’s Drug Task
Force.
Assistant United States Attorney David M. Chaiken prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact David E. Nahmias (pronounced NAH-me-us), United States Attorney or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney's Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.
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