Two Covelo residents convicted of environmental violations; unlawful cultivation of marijuana

Defendant Eugene Allon Lincoln, age 63, of Covelo, was sentenced on Tuesday of this week to 180 days in the county jail as just one of a series of conditions imposed pursuant to a 60-month grant of supervised probation. 



He was also sentenced to 36 months in state prison, said prison sentence being imposed but suspended pending the defendant’s successful completion of probation and compliance with all terms of his probation. If a violation of probation is detected during the next five years and proven in court by a preponderance of the evidence, the suspended prison term will then be imposed. 



Defendant Eugene Lincoln was convicted by guilty plea of a felony violation of unlawful cultivation of marijuana resulting in environmental violations of law.  One of the three environmental violations admitted was damming a stream and lining it with plastic to unlawfully capture all the stream’s water for distribution to various marijuana gardens at and around where he was living.  The defendant was also convicted by guilty plea of being a convicted felon in unlawful possession of ammunition, also a felony.  The prosecutor’s request for a restitution order for stream bed and environmental remediation was reserved for a future hearing.

Co-defendant Sonya Lou Lincoln, age 54, of Covelo, sister to co-defendant Eugene, was also sentenced on Tuesday. She stands convicted of a misdemeanor violation of unlawful cultivation of marijuana resulting in environmental violations of law.  Having played a lesser role in the larger crime, defendant Sonya Lincoln was placed on 36 months summary probation. A jail sentence of 60 days in the county jail was imposed but suspended to remain suspended unless the defendant violates one or more of the terms of her probation.  In addition to the other terms and conditions of probation, the prosecutor’s request for restitution from this defendant for stream bed and environmental remediation was also reserved for a future hearing.

The prosecutor who has been handling this case on behalf of the People of the State of California is District Attorney David Eyster.  The investigating law enforcement agencies were the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Cindee Mayfield presided over the disposition of this action.