Federal jury finds 2 Modesto men guilty in medical marijuana case

FRESNO -- Two Modesto men were convicted today on federal drug charges stemming from a medical marijuana dispensary they operated in Modesto.

Luke Scarmazzo and Ricardo Ruiz Montes, both 27, were found guilty by a federal jury in Fresno on all charges except for a conspiracy charge, on which the jurors deadlocked.

Among the charges they were found guilty of were operating a continuing criminal enterprise, which carries a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence and could get them life in federal prison.

Jurors deliberated for almost two days.

Federal authorities in September 2006 raided a medical marijuana dispensary known as the California Healthcare Collective that the two men operated in Modesto.