Judge Sets Alleged Westchester 'Pot Mom' Free On $500,000 Bond
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Andrea Sanderlin, the so-called Westchester pot mom, was released Monday on $500,000 bond secured by the financial assets of four casual acquaintances.
As CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez reported, Sanderlin looked weathered during her court appearance. Later, she dodged cameras and questions as she left Brooklyn Federal Court, CBS 2's Tracee Carrasco reported.
The Scarsdale mother of two, infamously known as "pot mom," looked emotionless, despite being released from jail. She didn't say a single word as her entourage rushed her to a silver SUV.
She had been behind bars since her arrest in May when federal agents busted her for allegedly running a multi-million dollar marijuana-growing operation out of a warehouse in Maspeth, Queens.
Judge Grants Westchester 'Pot Mom' Free On Bond
Judge Steven Gold was reluctant to grant Sanderlin's release when none of her family members agreed to sign her bond.
Four of her acquaintances, including an Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker and her hairdresser, appeared before the judge to put up their assets securing the bond, Sanchez reported.
"She's a really good mom, that's all I want to say," her hairdresser told Sanchez after court.
The judge agreed to release Sanderlin on the condition that her parents and her children's grandmother to sign the bond by Wednesday.
"I don't know if this woman has millions or a couple of hundred dollars, but she doesn't work, lives in Scarsdale, drives a Mercedes. I can't make it add up," said the judge.
She will be fitted with an electronic monitoring device.
Sanderlin, 45, was busted by agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency after they raided the business she operated under the name "Fantastic Enterprises."
Agents seized nearly 3,000 marijuana plants, worth $3 million.
The warehouse featured two large rooms with the kind of lighting equipment, irrigation and ventilation systems needed to grow hydroponic marijuana, officials said.
The DEA said it was tipped off to the marijuana growing operation by the unusually high electric bills.
Sanderlin pleaded not guilty last week to charges of manufacturing and possessing marijuana with intent to distribute and maintaining a drug-involved premise.
If convicted, she could face up to 10 years in prison. But she could face a lesser sentence under federal sentencing guidelines.
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