S.J. man will stand trial on marijuana charges

The Record
Published Wednesday, Aug 10, 2005

STOCKTON -- A disabled San Joaquin County man on Tuesday was ordered to stand trial on charges that he grew marijuana for sale, but Aaron Paradiso said the plants were for his medical use.

Paradiso, 27, a quadriplegic, is scheduled to return to San Joaquin County Superior Court on Jan. 9 for trial on charges of possession of marijuana for sale and cultivating marijuana, along with a firearms violation.

Sheriff's deputies went to Paradiso's home two years ago responding to a report of a gunshot and found 52 marijuana plants. Paradiso's mother, Debra Paradiso, and family friend Robert Turano also are charged in the case.

Superior Court Judge James Hammerstone ordered a $50,000 arrest warrant for Turano after he failed to show up for Tuesday's hearing.

The charges against Aaron and Debra Paradiso were dismissed in September because a magistrate in an earlier hearing improperly cut short the defendants' cross-examination of a witness. Chargers then were refiled.

Aaron Paradiso was paralyzed from the shoulders down in a 1998 car accident.