Wrong turn ends in conviction

A 23-year-old Southern California man, who said he and his friends strayed into Nevada because of a faulty global positioning system, was sentenced Tuesday to five years probation for bringing marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Noah Bloom told District Judge Dave Gamble he and his friends were on their way to a concert in South Lake Tahoe on Oct. 17, 2008. They were stopped with 23.9 grams of mushrooms and 49.3 grams of marijuana.

Officials found scales and packaging materials, but the suspects insisted the drugs were for personal use.

"I had no intention of crossing the line into the state of Nevada," he said. "The GPS took us the wrong way."

"So it's the GPS's fault?" Gamble asked.

Bloom said he was remorseful.

"This will never happen again," he said. "It's pretty much ruined my life for the next five years."

He claims never to have used marijuana or mushrooms.

"I still haven't tried either of them in my life," he said. "It was to be my first time trying mushrooms."

Bloom said he and his friends consulted Wikipedia, and "they recommended 5-7 grams of mushrooms per person."

Bloom said he was a design draftsman, but had difficulty finding work.

He told Gamble he has been teaching private drum lessons and searching craigslist for employment.

Prosecutor Laurie Trotter argued for 12-36 months in prison without probation.

"There should be no tolerance for people bringing in trafficking levels of controlled substances to our state," she said.

Gamble sentenced Bloom to three years in prison, suspended, and placed him on five years probation.

He must abstain from drugs and alcohol and may have no contact with his codefendants.

Gamble fined Bloom $2,000 and ordered him to perform 80 hours of community service.

"For a person to get to be 23 and not have any arrests, I really hope what you told me was the truth. It looks like you have a lot of potential," Gamble said.