A man arrested twice in a one-month period — once for marijuana, once for allegedly planning a robbery — entered a plea in court last week and will be sentenced in January.
Walter Stanley, who was first arrested in July after a month-long police investigation, pleaded to possessing marijuana for sale. He, along with Colin Hill and Brian Moore, also pleaded to conspiracy to commit grand theft. The threesome will be sentenced on January 10. The maximum amount of time behind bars for Hill and Moore is three years, according to prosecutor Mary Barron, and three years, eight months for Stanley. Under the plea agreement, they will get felony probation and time served, she said, explaining the offer was made “due to issues of proof in the case.” With Stanley’s plea, charges against his wife, Heather, were dropped.
Police said the three men were planning a “takeover-style robbery with firearms” at a Goleta residence, where they were going to steal marijuana and money. The three men — all Santa Barbara residents in their early thirties — were arrested prior to the plan’s execution.
Stanley was already facing charges for allegedly cultivating marijuana and supplying it to dispensaries in Los Angeles. Authorities said they seized 80 marijuana plants and five pounds of processed marijuana at his house.