EX-JUDGE'S SON FACES POT CULTIVATION CHARGES

OAKLAND -- the son of a retired Berkeley judge surrendered to authorities
Wednesday to face charges he operated an indoor pot farm near Broadway's
Auto Row.

Stephen M. Barsotti was booked in the Oakland City Jail on $500.000 bail.
arraigned as soon as today on charges of possession of marijuana for sale
and cultivation of marijuana. His attorney. Penny Cooper, said she had been
negotiating his surrender for the past few days. but had no comment on the
allegations. Barsotti whose whereabouts had not been known was charged
about two weeks ago by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

While hunting for Barsotti police searched his Emeryville home and another
location. They seized more marijuana at one of the locations, sources said.

Barsotti was the leaseholder on the two-story property Oh the 400 block of
23rd Street. Responding to an alarm at that location, police found a
marijuana factory inside with more than 1.000 plants and about 400 pounds
of marijuana, valued at $1.4 million, according to officers. There were
also about a dozen high-powered lamps. bags of dried marijuana allegedly
ready for sale and other paraphernalia. officers said.

Officers said they found six rooms. Including a living space. which was
crammed with plants. growing materials or packaged drugs. Some of the dried
plants were in green plastic containers. Four of the rooms contained
plants. some as tall a 4 feet. Another room was reportedly used as a drying
area and police found half-foot-long buds drying on clotheslines, according
to police.

Another room apparently was used as a packaging area where officers found
pounds of the drug ready for sale, police said, The seized plants were
growing in pots of all sizes, front small planters holding seedlings to
4-foot-wide industrial-size barrels, police said.