The District Court of Guam sentenced Joseph Wendell Monton Develles, 23, to 21 months in federal prison on 13 June 2017 for marijuana and firearms offences.[1] He had pleaded guilty in November to possession of a Schedule I controlled substance with intent to distribute and to possession of a firearm while on probation.[1]

Superior Court of Guam probation officers had found two 5-gallon buckets holding 3.4 pounds (about 1.5 kg) of marijuana, a Glock pistol, a rifle, a Glock magazine with ammunition and $26,300 during a random search of his home.[1] At the time he was still on probation from a September 2015 driving-under-the-influence case.[1]

Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood read the sentence while Develles stood silently and declined to address the court.[1] His lawyer, David Lujan, challenged the probation report’s label of him as an addict, and the point was later withdrawn.[1] Tydingco-Gatewood dismissed the argument that he was a happy user, saying the offences were serious and that he had tested positive for marijuana and alcohol when arrested for the DUI.[1] Prosecutors put his base offence level at 14 under a federal law that labels unlawful drug users prohibited persons.[1] In his amended plea agreement he admitted smoking marijuana since he was 16 and called himself a chronic smoker.[1]

Tydingco-Gatewood also ordered two years of supervised release and vocational training, and allowed him to surrender before serving his sentence.[1] He asked to be sent to a federal facility in California.[1]