Two Lubbock Men Sentenced in Massive Marijuana Operation

Two Lubbock men have been sentenced to prison terms after admitting to operating a huge marijuana growing and distribution venture. 34 year old Kyle Walker and 27 year old Shawn McCardell have been sentenced to 87 months and 71 months respectively to be spent in federal prison.

Judge Sam Cummings sentenced the men this morning, and ordered them to forfeit nearly $900,000 in cash and real estate. The two were arrested in early December of 2010. 21 year old Justin Rascher, who was also charged in the case, remains on bond awaiting a sentencing date.

Over 1000 marijuana plants and 100 kilograms of marijuana were confiscated from their Lubbock property last year. The street value of the stock was somewhere around $12.8 million. Authorities say the bust is the biggest one in Lubbock’s history. The bust was spurred by a confidential source that reported buying up to seven pounds of marijuana a week from the trio. Walker told the confidential source that he was making around $115,000 every two months and had been running the operation for about two years. It is estimated that Walker produced and distributed around 102.19 kilograms over those two years.

All parties agreed that Walker was responsible for between 100 and 400 kilograms of marijuana and that McCardell was responsible for between 60 and 80 kilograms. The three men faced up to life in prison and fines that could have amounted to $4,000,000. The total amount of cash forfeited by the two convicted men totals $870,797. They also forfeited two Lubbock properties, a boat, vehicles, and firearms as part of their plea agreement.