A man on the run from the law since he was charged in 2010 with cultivating more than 1,000 marijuana plants in a Maui home is in federal custody.

The U.S. Marshal Service arrested Eric Welander, 40, in California on April 29 and brought him to Oahu.

Welander appeared in U.S. District Court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to cultivating and possessing with the intent to distribute more than 1,000 marijuana plants.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard L. Puglisi set trial for July.

Maui police arrested Welander in July 2009 and said they discovered 1,197 marijuana plants in Welander’s rented home in Makawao, plus 35 more plants in the backyard and on a deck. Police said they also found fluorescent and high-pressure sodium "grow lights," fans and other equipment commonly used to cultivate marijuana plants indoors.

Police said they also seized a loaded shotgun, ammunition, psilocybin or "magic" mushrooms, hashish and $458 in cash.

They released Welander after he posted $145,000 bail.

Maui County authorities turned the case over to the U.S. attorney. In February 2010, a federal grand jury returned a secret indictment against Welander.

In March 2010, federal prosecutor Chris Thomas asked the court to unseal the indictment to allow other law enforcement agencies to input the information on their databases to assist in locating Welander. Thomas told the court that he had reliable information that Welander had fled Hawaii to avoid prosecution.

A month later Thomas asked the court for an order releasing Welander’s birth certificate because he had reliable information that Welander had fled to another country.

After Welander’s arrest in California, a federal judge in Los Angeles ordered Welander held in custody without bail because he has a permanent residence in Costa Rica and familial ties in Canada. The judge also cited Welander’s history of substance abuse and prior probation violation.