LAS VEGAS (AP) — A defense lawyer says a 61-year-old Las Vegas man will appeal his conviction and five-year federal prison sentence for illegally growing marijuana in Oregon and selling it in Iowa.
Attorney Michael Pariente said Wednesday he believes Chief U.S. District Judge John Jarvey in Davenport, Iowa, improperly instructed the jury that found Oliver "Sonny" Maupin guilty in June of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute pot.
Maupin also was ordered on Monday to serve four years' supervised release after prison.
Pariente says Maupin is now in federal custody.
Pariente lost a bid to get the case dismissed a year ago on the unusual grounds that President Donald Trump's then-acting U.S. attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, hadn't been properly confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Attorney William Barr's confirmation made that issue moot.