Man Arrested At SFO With 3-Pounds Of Marijuana Sentenced To Jail Despite 'Need'
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A man who claimed he needed to carry more than 3 pounds of marijuana on a flight from San Francisco to Dallas for medical use was sentenced Friday to six months in jail, prosecutors said Sunday.
Enrico Esguerra, 36, was caught trying to board a flight at San Francisco International Airport with 3.5 pounds of marijuana on June 12, 2013, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.
He had a doctor's recommendation for marijuana and told investigators he needed as much as 15 pounds of marijuana because he ate it voraciously, prosecutors said.
The more than 3 pounds he was carrying were for personal use, he told police.
But a jury rejected that argument, finding him guilty of felony possession of marijuana for sale and felony transport of marijuana during a trial last November.
On Friday, Judge Richard Livermore sentenced Esguerra to six months in jail and three years' probation for those charges, prosecutors said. He will have to submit to drug testing as part of his probation.
Prosecutors had sought a stiffer sentence, but Livermore found a lengthy sentence in custody unnecessary.
Esguerra's defense attorney Yan Shrayberman said he was happy with the sentence but has still filed an appeal for last year's guilty verdict.
Meanwhile, Esguerra surrendered and has served two days in jail. He is working at the jail and is seeking release on a work furlough, Shrayberman said.
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