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BURNING POT LEADS TO PROBATION

Defense Says Marijuana Grower Merits 'Valor' For Response to Case

The attorney for a Brighton-area man who burned marijuana in his chimney when police came to his home said his client "deserves valor," not jail or probation.

Dennis Keith Towne, 59, was sentenced to two days already served in the Livingston County Jail and one year of probation for manufacturing marijuana, which was a "shared grow" among himself, his wife and their adult child who are each medical marijuana caregivers.

Police found at least 9 pounds of marijuana in Towne's home in 2011 when they went there to locate his son, who was wanted on an unrelated felony complaint.

"Sometimes, there are back stories to some of the cases the court and the people aren't aware of," defense attorney Neil Rockind told the court.

Towne "has done something that I think deserves valor.  ...  With great valor and love for his family, ( he ) chose to proceed and fight the fight he could," Rockind said.

"Never, at any point in time, did he attempt to point the finger ( at ) anybody else in the family.  He said 'The charge is on me,' and that deserves some credit," Rockind added.  "He admits that he was providing marijuana to other patients.  There's no evidence he was providing marijuana for profit."

In fashioning his sentence, Circuit Judge Michael P.  Hatty acknowledged that Towne's criminal history is "pretty vanilla" and includes only "some minor misdemeanor in 1976." However, he said, Towne's growing operation was "more than would be prohibited by law" and as a result, he disagreed with the recommendation from the Michigan Department of Corrections that Towne not receive a probation sentence.

Assistant Prosecutor Angela Del Vero took offense to the MDOC agent's logic in recommending the sentence.  She said the agent's report indicated that Towne should not be on probation "because he's gainfully employed."

"To me, that justification really smacks of a real sense of unfairness," she said.  "So only poor people get put on probation? That doesn't seem right to me."

Del Vero also asked the judge to consider the message his sentence sends to the community.  She argued that it was important to "respect the people who follow the rules" of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act and there should be consequences for those who violate the rules and endanger police.

She also noted that while the defense claimed Towne's marijuana-growing operation was "purely for ( his ) wife's" medical needs, the police report indicated that Towne was selling marijuana to other patients who were classified as "low income." She noted that sold the marijuana to low-income medical marijuana patients for $10 a gram.

That prompted Rockind to say the cost was "exceptionally low" compared to California, where it sells for $70 a gram.

"It's not that he's doing it out of the kindness of his heart," Del Vero said.

"This endangered the safety of the law enforcement there," she added.  "They had to forcefully enter the home to prevent the destruction of evidence and there was firearms in that home.  This case, had somebody had an even less cooler head, could have gone much, much worse than it did.  I thank God ( Towne ) only burned evidence and and didn't go to the firearms in an unlocked safe."

Michigan State Police troopers went to Towne's home in the 6500 block of Cunningham Drive in December 2011 because they were looking for Towne's son on a felony complaint.  While one trooper left to seek a search warrant after Towne indicated that his son was not at the house, two other troopers waited at the house.

One trooper said he began to see "an excessive amount of smoke coming from the chimney," and he said the smell of "freshly burned marijuana" began to fill the air.  He said he also saw a bright glow in the Towne home and saw Towne "literally shoving handfuls of marijuana into a fire."

Troopers immediately entered the home by breaking a window.  Once inside, police found an 18-gallon plastic tote about one-quarter full of "processed marijuana" as well as 50-100 live plants in the basement.  The marijuana -- from seeds to full-grown plants -- was found throughout the house, including in a toilet, the trooper said.  Authorities said they seized 75 marijuana plants along with 41 bags of marijuana and marijuana suckers that amounted to at least 9 pounds of marijuana.