Placerville man pleads guilty to interstate marijuana trafficking

A 26-year-old Placerville man pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner said.

Dylan Hudson was in charge of an interstate marijuana-trafficking conspiracy, according to court documents. More than 1,100 pounds of processed marijuana, more than $329,000 in cash, and eight firearms were seized during the course of the investigation.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Sacramento, Chicago, and Milwaukee; the California Department of Justice; the Mountain and Valley Marijuana Investigation Team; the Chicago Police Department; El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department; and the Dane County (Wisc.) Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Jill Thomas and Justin Lee are prosecuting the case.

Hudson is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on May 3, according to a news release. Hudson faces a statutory mandatory minimum prison term of five years, a maximum prison term of 40 years, and a $5 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.