Court requires $83,495.21 in restitution, letter of apology
Courtesy / Grand County Sheriff’s Office
A Granby man who pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges related to an illegal marijuana grow operation will serve jail time as part of his sentence imposed late last week.
About 15 months after local authorities raided his grow operation in Grand County, 44-year-old Matthew Niedermeyer received sentences Thursday on three charges, receiving a total of 15 months of jail time, of which he will serve nine months.
Niedermeyer’s charges included possession with intent to manufacture or distribute marijuana or marijuana concentrates, a Class 2 drug felony; tax evasion, a Class 5 felony; and distribution of marijuana or marijuana concentrate, a Class 1 drug misdemeanor.
He pleaded guilty to all three charges in early April as part of a plea agreement with the 14th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Niedermeyer was sentenced to nine months in the Grand County Jail for his misdemeanor charge, according to court records. He also received a sentence of 90 days in jail, five years of supervised probation and 200 hours of community service, for his tax evasion charge. And 90 days in jail, five years of supervised probation and 48 hours of community service for his charge of intent to manufacture or distribute.
As part of the sentence, which was handed down by 14th Judicial District Judge Mary Hoak, Niedermeyer is also required to write a letter of apology to the community and make efforts to have the letter published by local media.
The court will also require Niedermeyer to pay $83,495.21 in restitution.
According to officials from the district attorney’s office, that figure was provided to prosecutors by the Colorado Department of Revenue and includes taxes Niedermeyer failed to pay to multiple governmental entities including the state of Colorado, Grand County and the town of Granby.
Niedermeyer’s three jail sentences will be served concurrently, or at the same time, as will his two periods of supervised probation.
Niedermeyer was out on bond prior to his sentencing but was remanded to the Grand County Jail after his sentence was handed down.
File photo
The case came to the forefront of news in Grand County in March last year when local authorities raided a pair of black market marijuana grow facilities, one in the Granby Ranch area and one near Lake Granby.
Niedermeyer was initially arrested in early May 2018 and was charged with 22 separate counts. His case worked its way through the local court system until early April 2019 when Niedermeyer pleaded guilty to three counts as part of a plea agreement.