Madera County man sentenced for marijuana cultivation, weapons conviction

A 32-year-old Coarsegold man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for cultivating marijuana and being a felon in possession of a firearm, the U.S. attorney’s office announced Tuesday.

Lawrence Alexander Tidwell was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner.

According to court documents, a search warrant was served in May 2013 at Tidwell’s trailer on Eagle Drive in Raymond. Investigators found 1,247 marijuana plants inside.

Officers seized two rifles and a shotgun from a gun safe along with high-capacity magazines and more than 1,300 rounds of ammunition, Wagner’s office said in the statement.

Investigators also found a loaded Sig Sauer pistol and a second magazine. The serial numbers had been removed from two of the firearms, and one had been reported stolen. Tidwell had previously been convicted of crimes that prohibited him from possessing firearms, authorities said.

The case was investigated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Madera County Sheriff’s Office.

Tidwell has been in custody since his arrest on June 17, 2014, and he pleaded guilty to the charges on July 6, 2015.

In addition to the term of imprisonment imposed, Tidwell was sentenced to serve four years of supervised release once he is freed from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 7:22 PM with the headline "Madera County man sentenced for marijuana cultivation, weapons conviction."