Man gets prison in cannabis robbery

[palmspringsbum]

Man gets prison in cannabis robbery

By Rebecca Nolan
The Register-Guard
Published: Wednesday, May 10, 2006

A man who pleaded guilty to breaking into the home of two medical marijuana cardholders was sentenced Tuesday to more than 10 years in prison.

Darnelle Olando Pendergrass, 32, of Eugene, had pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of burglary in connection with the October robbery in Springfield. Lane County Circuit Judge Maurice Merten sentenced him to 140 months in prison and three years of post-prison supervision.

While on post-prison supervision for an earlier robbery conviction, Pendergrass and another man, 32-year-old Isaac James Tilton of Springfield, posed as police officers on Oct. 28 and tried to force their way into a house on Eighth Street in order to seize marijuana plants legally being grown there. The two men were arrested as they drove away.

One of the residents was terminally ill, and the other was his legal caregiver. Both had medical marijuana cards, Lane County Deputy District Attorney Bill Warnisher said.

Tilton is serving 140 months in prison for his role in the crime.

Pendergrass told the court Tuesday that he was innocent despite his guilty pleas.

"I talked to these cats, yes I did, but I didn't do nothing - I left," he said. "What can I say, except for I didn't do it?"

He said the only reason he agreed to plead guilty was so he could get out of prison sooner to be with his children.

Pendergrass' attorneys, Brian Cox and James Underwood, had asked for a 90-month sentence.

But the judge gave him more time because of his criminal history, which includes prior robbery convictions and a prior arrest for assault.

"I should have went to trial," Pendergrass said following the judge's verdict.