A Prince George man who has pleaded guilty to growing more marijuana than allowed under the Health Canada licences has been sentenced to nine months in jail.
James Henry Mackean, 34, was issued the term Thursday by Provincial Court judge Victor Galbraith.
On the eve of a trial in November, Mackean pleaded guilty to one count of production of a controlled substance in relation to an April 2011 seizure of nearly 400 plants from a 500 block Alward Street duplex after police responded to a complaint about the smell.
When first approached by police, Mackean claimed he had four licences, but it turned out two were in the name of people living in the Lower Mainland and had not yet been transferred to the Prince George address, the court heard.
The two other licences were in the names of two women who also lived at the duplex.
Charges against one of the women were stayed after the court heard she suffered from significant health issues for which she used marijuana and charges against the other, Mackean's now ex-fiance, are expected to be stayed at the case's conclusion.
On the one side of the duplex, for which there was no valid licence, police found 308 plants, 90 of them recently harvested and the rest clones being grown in an upstairs room, and 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of harvested marijuana in the basement.
They also found a large hole cut in the basement wall separating the sides of the duplex and, after securing a second search warrant, found 212 more plants and removed 90 of them leaving the rest covered by the licences.
