Zachary Jenson, one of three people convicted in an eco-terror plot targeting a genetics forest lab in Placerville and the Nimbus Dam and nearby fish hatchery in Rancho Cordova, was sentenced Thursday to the six months in jail he has already served and three years on supervised release.
U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. noted the stark contrast with the 19 years and seven months in prison he doled out to the plot's nominal leader, Eric McDavid. But, the judge decided, the disparity is justified by several factors demonstrating Jenson is far less culpable and has built a responsible and productive life while awaiting sentencing.
When the matter was adjourned, the small, thin, baby-faced and bespectacled Jenson turned away from the bench with a sigh of relief and was met with a hug from his mother.
McDavid, 31, was convicted by a jury in September 2007 of conspiring to burn or blow up a federal facility to protest environmental degradation.
Jenson and a third conspirator, Lauren Weiner, both 23, earlier were allowed to plead guilty to lesser charges – conspiring on behalf of the Earth Liberation Front to engage in direct action as a form of environmental protest – that carry a five-year maximum sentence. In a bid for leniency, they served as government witnesses at McDavid's trial.
Weiner is to be sentenced next Thursday.
Jenson spent six months in jail after the trio's arrest in January 2006, and that satisfied the confinement component of Thursday's sentence.
Prosecutor R. Steven Lapham told England he was once prepared to ask for the statutory five-year maximum, but "what we saw at the trial changed our minds somewhat." Now, he added, "It looks like Mr. Jenson has turned his life around. We're very impressed by that."
Lapham said it would serve no rehabilitative purpose to send Jenson to prison, and "for deterrent purposes, we will leave that up to the court."
England, the toughest sentencing judge on Sacramento's federal bench, was reluctant to forgo any further time behind bars, pointing out he is a strong believer in consequences and their value as a deterrent.
"That being said, this is a unique set of circumstances," he said.
Defense attorney Shari Rusk argued there have been consequences, noting her client has a felony conviction that "will be hanging over him the rest of his life. Mercy would encourage others to choose a different path."
As an aspiring writer, Rusk said, Jenson could carry the message violence is not the way to right a wrong.
In a memorandum submitted earlier to England, she described her client as a natural follower from grade school forward, "interested in writing and poetry" with no "developed political philosophy."
"By all accounts the 28-year-old McDavid was a charming and charismatic companion, described as a 'true believer' in the causes about which he was passionate," Rusk wrote. "The young Zach Jenson (then 19) fell sway to the older McDavid, as he was deeply impressed by him and thrilled to have a friend."
In retrospect, Jenson labeled his and his co-defendants' actions "extremely naive, immature, irresponsible and self-centered," in a statement submitted to England.
Call The Bee's Denny Walsh, (916) 321-1189.
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