KPSP
March 1, 2010
http://www.kpsplocal2.com/news/local/story/Self-Proclaimed-Bishop-Sentenced-on-Drug-Charges/Y5AKIPXOH0GqW_hOcUVKBw.cspx
HOME GARDENS (CA) -- A former Catholic priest caught with methamphetamine and other illegal drugs at his Home Gardens residence was sentenced Monday to two years in state prison.
Anthony Martinez Garduno, 51, pleaded guilty Jan. 4 to two counts of possessing a controlled substance and one count each of possessing methamphetamine for sale, receiving stolen property and unlawfully holding a prescription medication, Lorazepam, a misdemeanor.
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| Anthony Martinez Garduno |
Garduno appeared Monday before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gordon R. Burkhart, to whom the defendant entered his plea in January. The District Attorney's Office did not broker the plea deal, according to spokesman John Hall.
The former priest could have received a maximum four years, four months behind bars, Hall said.
Garduno was arrested Dec. 29, after an investigation determined he was selling methamphetamine and in possession of other drugs, including the "date rape" narcotic GHB, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
Detectives said they also found evidence allegedly linking Garduno to one or more sexual assaults at the Home Gardens church he formed, Our Lady of Tepeyac --where he also lived -- at 13462 Magnolia Ave. However, he was not charged with any sex-related counts.
According to authorities, a young man accused Garduno of sexually assaulting him at age 17, prompting an investigation that began on Dec. 21. The
alleged victim told investigators he knew of other boys who allegedly had been assaulted.
The status of that investigation was unclear.
In September, Garduno was shot outside his church when he interrupted an apparent burglary. He surprised five suspects, one of whom opened fire,
according to sheriff's officials.
The suspects had allegedly been on a 10-hour robbery spree targeting Denny's and IHOP restaurants in Los Angeles and Riverside counties, investigators said.
Willis Webb Bagley, 38, of Perris; Jacob Zachary Buschow, 19, of Pomona; Anthony Brian Coleman, 21, of Chino; Timothy William Jacquemain, 18, of Pomona; and Andrew Blake Swindle, 23, of Pomona, are all being prosecuted on attempted murder and robbery charges.
Their trial is slated to begin next week.
According to the Diocese of San Bernardino, Garduno was defrocked in the early 1990s.
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