Pubdate: Tue, 09 Feb 2010
Source: Pueblo Chieftain (CO)
Copyright: 2010 The Pueblo Chieftain
Contact: http://www.chieftain.com/forms/letters/
Website: http://www.chieftain.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1613
Author: Jeff Tucker

TRIAL BEGINS IN POT GROWING CASE

Defendant's Lawyer Says Deputies, DA Didn't Follow Law.

For the next week, a Pueblo jury will consider whether  Pueblo County 
Sheriff's deputies erred when they raided  a medical marijuana farm 
off Siloam Road in western  Pueblo County in August 2007, or if 
deputies and the  district attorney were justified in destroying more 
than 120 plants and charging the farmer with  cultivation and possession.

On Tuesday, the jury heard opening arguments in the  case against 
Thomas Sexton, 55, who claims he was  legally growing the plants 
under Colorado's medical  marijuana law and provided the sheriff's 
office with  documentation justifying the number of plants on the  property.

Sexton's attorney, Karl Tameler, told the jury that  deputies 
disregarded a sign on the property informing  people that it was a 
medical marijuana farm and  offering contact information - including 
Sexton's - for  anyone who had questions about why the plants were there.

Tameler further argued that the sheriff's deputies were  trespassing 
on the property when they found the plants,  that they made no 
attempt to contact any of the people  listed on the sign, made no 
mention of the sign to the  judge when they requested a search 
warrant and destroyed the plants in violation of the Colorado Constitution.

Finally, Tameler suggested that the criminal charges  his client is 
facing are retaliation to a lawsuit  Sexton filed against the county 
for destroying his  property. "This is not about Mr. Sexton growing 
marijuana. It's about what the government did in its  ignorance," 
Tameler said. "This is a sad case to bring  to you. At its conclusion 
you will be concerned about a  number of things, the least of which 
is Mr. Sexton."

Deputy District Attorney Anthony Marzavas argued that  the only 
information deputies found on the property  suggesting the farm was 
for medical marijuana was a  makeshift sign from the Colorado 
Compassion Club  listing 10 clients with a maximum of three plants 
per client grown on the property.

"Three plants for each of those 10 (names) makes 30  plants," 
Marzavas said. "The initial count was 136  plants in the area."

Marzavas also aggressively objected to Tameler's  argument that the 
criminal charges were somehow a  retaliation against Sexton for his 
civil suit against  the county.

District Judge David Crockenberg supported most of  Marzavas' 
objections. But Tameler was allowed to make  the inference anyway, by 
noting that the charges  weren't filed against Sexton until more than 
a year had  passed since the raid.

Sexton is also the owner of MediMar Ministries, a  company trying to 
open a medical marijuana dispensary  in the Mesa Junction.

The trial continues today.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart