cannabisnews.com: Lawyer Charged with Manufacturing Marijuana!





Lawyer Charged with Manufacturing Marijuana!
Posted by FoM on July 23, 1999 at 05:49:52 PT
By Marc Davis, The Virginian-Pilot 
Source: Pilot Online
NORFOLK -- A Ghent lawyer has been arrested at his farm in Isle of Wight County, where police say he was growing 180 marijuana plants.
The lawyer, Stephen G. Merrill, was charged with a felony, manufacturing marijuana not intended for his own personal use.Merrill, 44, was arrested July 7 at his farm on Foxfire Trail, halfway between Smithfield and Windsor, after a five-day surveillance by State Police and the county sheriff's office. He was released on $1,500 bond.Isle of Wight Sheriff Charles Phelps said his office began investigating Merrill after a tip from State Police, who saw the marijuana plants in a field off Peanut Drive and Foxfire Trail. He said officers in nearby woods watched Merrill tend the plants before arresting him.Phelps estimated the marijuana is worth about $180,000.On Thursday, Merrill issued a two-paragraph written statement, acknowledging that he had a 10- by 12-foot marijuana patch, but saying the sheriff's estimate of the crop's size and value ``have no connection to reality.''``I expect to establish with abundant evidence that I am not guilty of planning to engage in marijuana dealing,'' Merrill wrote. ``The activity involved, though self-destructive, was an entirely private matter. There is no crime victim here.''``There are no allegations of lying or stealing being made in this case. There will be no dishonesty in presenting my defense,'' Merrill concluded.The arrest is Merrill's second brush with legal trouble.In 1997, a bankruptcy judge cited Merrill for misconduct and fined him $20,000 for making ``outlandish and extraneous allegations'' during the Computer Dynamics Inc. bankruptcy case. At the time, Merrill represented CDI founder R. Alan Fuentes.Merrill, a lawyer for 17 years, has a solo legal practice on Llewellyn Avenue.No trial date has been set.Reach Marc Davis at 446-2303 or at mdavis pilotonline.comPubdate: July 23, 1999http://www.pilotonline.com/news/nw0723pot.htmlCopyright 1999, Landmark Communications Inc. 
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