Men Who Pleaded Guilty After Honey Oil Lab Explosion Get 6 Months, Not 10 Years
Paula Peterson, South Tahoe Now
MEYERS, Calif. – On January 15, 2019, a rental home in Meyers suffered extensive damage after an illegal butane honey oil (BHO) lab being operated by the home’s two occupants exploded in the garage. Today, those renters found out their fate two months after pleading “no contest” to all charges two months ago.
Benjamin Rahrle, who was 25 at the time of his arrest in 2019, and James Edward Russell, now 38, were each facing a maximum of 10 years, 8 months in state prison.
Judge Michael McLaughlin vacated a six-year sentence for the multiple felonies and instead sentenced them each to a one-year term in the El Dorado County Jail, but they could be out in about six months. They will both start their jail time on June 20, 2022.
McLaughlin heard from the families of both Rahrle and Russell and was presented letters from others that touted the good they are now doing and the changes in their lives.
El Dorado County Deputy District Attorney Casey Mandrell told the court that no matter how much good the two men are doing now, it doesn’t negate the severity of their criminal enterprise at the Meyers home.
Russell and Rahrle moved to the South Lake Tahoe area from San Diego just 45 days before the BHO explosion. They wanted to snowboard while also making money from the extraction of oil from cannabis […]