An attorney for Tankson, Beau Brindley, said he was pleased with the sentence his client received. He said prosecutors in the case requested a far lengthier prison term, between 15 and 30 years.
“The judge very thoughtfully acknowledged that, at this point in time in this country, the sale of marijuana simply isn’t as serious as the sale of other drugs,” Brindley said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kartik K. Rama, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the government, wrote in a sentencing memorandum that Tankson’s crimes “cannot be overstated.”
“For several years, (Tankson) plagued the community by directly purchasing wholesale quantities of marijuana from growers in California, in order to sell the drug on the streets for profit,” Raman wrote.
A public information officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to provide any additional comment on the case.