A medical marijuana grower whose Highlands Ranch home was raided
by federal agents last year will spend five years in prison.
Chris Bartkowicz, 36, was sentenced in a Denver courtroom Jan.
28, three months after reaching an agreement with prosecutors to
plead guilty to illegally manufacturing and distributing marijuana.
He originally planned to stand trial and could have been sentenced
to decades behind bars, but changed his mind just before the case
went to a jury.
Bartkowicz, who owned a home near University Boulevard and Dad
Clark Drive, was arrested after the Drug Enforcement Administration
confiscated more than 220 marijuana plants from his home. He had
exceeded the legal limits afforded by the caregivers licenses he
possessed, the DEA said.
He first appeared on federal agents’ radar after being featured
in a news story by a Denver television station. He talked about his
success as a medical marijuana provider and showed off his
elaborate cultivation system.
Neighbors said they had long suspected that the home contained a
marijuana growing operation. The house is within blocks of Sand
Creek Elementary School.
