New Kent Charles City Chronicle

News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | March 29, 2024

Transport of $24,000 in marijuana results in three-year prison sentence for Yorktown man

By Andre Jones | February 14, 2017 1:34 am

A Yorktown man who transported $24,000 worth of marijuana will spend the next three years in prison after agreeing to terms of a plea deal in New Kent Circuit Court.

Mathew Shane Cazares, 30, entered a guilty plea to one count of transporting more than five pounds of marijuana during the Monday court session. One charge of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute (more than five pounds) was dropped as a part of the agreement.

In a summary of evidence provided by Commonwealth’s Attorney Linwood Gregory, Cazares was the target of a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) investigation. Through the use of a GPS and visual surveillance, Cazares was tracked to Michigan where he purchased eight pounds of marijuana. On July 7, 2016, the defendant returned to Virginia and was followed by state troopers. During a traffic stop on Interstate 64 in New Kent, Cazares advised officers that he had the marijuana in the vehicle and had picked it up from Michigan. According to the summary, the eight pounds of the substance is valued at $24,000.

Under the plea agreement, Cazares was sentenced to 10 years in prison with seven years suspended. The three years of active time is the mandatory minimum to serve under state law.

In an unrelated case, a Highland Springs man who stole a variety of items from his parents’ home in New Kent will be incarcerated for the next three-and-a-half years in prison.

Clayton Douglas Musselman, 28, of 4 South Grove Ave., entered into a plea agreement and pled guilty to three charges of grand larceny.

In a summary of evidence, from Feb.-Oct. 2016, Susann Musselman, the defendant’s mother, went to New Kent Sheriff’s Office about missing items from her home with the suspicion her son had committed the offenses. Items taken that included chainsaws, gift cards, jewelry, and gold bars, were recovered at a number of pawn shops located in central Virginia. Information retrieved from those shops indicated the defendant had sold the items there for cash.

Under the plea agreement, Musselman was sentenced to 20 years in prison with 16 years, 11 months suspended on one count of grand larceny (three years, one month to serve). Twenty years on each of the two remaining charges were all suspended. The defendant will also serve an additional five months in jail as part of a probation violation.

Other matters settled in circuit court include:

–Curtis Eli Francisco III, 45, of the 8500 block of Quaker Road, Quinton, accepted a plea deal to two counts of assault and battery on a family member (third offense) and an amended charge of transport of a weapon by a nonviolent felon (originally transport of a weapon by a violent felon). Francisco admitted to the offenses that took place on Oct. 1 and Oct. 8, 2016. Formal sentencing for the defendant is scheduled for April.

–Ian Marcus Ramsey, 29, of the 300 block of Matadeguin Lane, Mechanicsville, agreed to terms of a plea deal and entered a guilty plea to using a spotlight for deer hunting (second offense) and an amended charge of misdemeanor possession of a concealed weapon (originally use of a sawed-off shotgun for an unauthorized purpose).

In a summary of evidence, on Sept. 9, 2016 around 11 p.m., a game warden on patrol noticed LED lights emitting from a vehicle on a local farm. The vehicle turned off the lights before proceeding back onto a main road. The game warden executed a traffic stop and identified Ramsey, who had been at that farm before. When inquiring if he had a weapon, the defendant acknowledged that a sawed-off shotgun was in the vehicle but denied he had used it.

Under the agreement, Ramsey received a 12-month sentence with all but 10 days suspended on the possession of a concealed weapon conviction. Six months on the use of a spotlight for deer hunting were all suspended. Ramsey will also serve an additional five days in jail for contempt of court as he was arrested in another jurisdiction while on pretrial supervision.