Police seize 400 pot plants in Nelson County raid
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By Carrie J. Sidener
Published: July 22, 2008
While a helicopter hovered above a patch of woods in Nelson County, officers pulled up and jumped out of their vehicles, machetes drawn.
Spotters above had marked a patch of iridescent green — an unmistakable sign of marijuana plants. A dozen deputies and state agents headed that way.
The scene was repeated a few times on Tuesday, as law enforcement trolled for pot in the foothills, woods and fields of Nelson County.
They were looking for marijuana plants and they found them — 401 plants by the time the day was over.
Nelson Sheriff David Brooks said the county has a larger problem than most others in Virginia with illegal marijuana-growing operations.
He’s not sure why, but thinks it may be because Nelson County is largely rural, yet centrally located between Charlottesville and Lynchburg.
Tuesday’s flyover is part of an annual three-month statewide effort to eliminate marijuana-growing operations, Brooks said.
“You’ll never eradicate it but we have to chip away at it,” Brooks said. “The more we can get off the streets is less that we have to deal with getting in the hands of kids.”
The National Guard helicopter crew spotted the bright green from the sky. The plant sticks out from the natural foliage, making it easily spotted even in clusters as small as a few plants, Brooks said.
Almost 200 plants were found hidden in pots and planted in the ground off a narrow path just wide enough for a vehicle.
Brooks said the pots make the plants easily movable; growers think spreading out the plants make them less visible from the air. That’s not the case, he said.
While authorities trekked through the brush to pull the plants from behind several houses on Hunting Lodge Road near Shipman, the man they believe had been tending the plants showed up.
Tony Hanie, 37, was arrested and charged with manufacturing and distribution of marijuana and possession of a firearm while in possession of more than a pound of marijuana.
The other large bust of the day happened just across the street and came not during the scheduled eradication but during a report of a domestic dispute. The man ran from deputies and the chase led them to a marijuana-growing operation.
The day began with Nelson County Sheriff’s deputies and special agents with the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Drug Enforcement Agency gathering in a field on the sheriff’s property awaiting the helicopter and discussing the best paths to fly to observe the most land and use the least fuel.
Brooks said it takes months of planning to carry off one eradication mission. Spotters have to be trained and the helicopter time has to be scheduled.
The helicopter serves two missions — to spot the plants and make sure there are no traps or people in the area that could pose a threat to the men who trudge through the woods in search of the plants, Brooks said.
“This lets the community know that we are trying, we are doing what they pay us to do,” said Capt. Ron Robertson of the Nelson Sheriff’s Department.
Nelson County Sheriff David Brooks (from left), Virginia ABC special agent John Taylor and special Nelson County deputy Pete Rose break up pots full of marijuana plants on Tuesday.
LEE LUTHER JR
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( The Arbiter ) on July 26, 2008 at 12:12 pm
LOL!!!! OK Freedom…Ignore me if you wish. I find it hilarious that you call my ignorant, yet you can not spell check a post. In any case, whether you believe you are being racist, you are with your Mexican statements. And since this is a public forum, people can speak to and with whom they wish.
BTW, Pulp Fiction, is a movie, though, it applies to your posts as well. LOL, Good call on that one.
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Posted by ( The Arbiter ) on July 25, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Freedom, once again, you confuse the issues and try to bull your way through an argument with your irrelevant, superfluous, and frankly, illiterate tripe. Bottom line once again is that the law is the law, like it or not. So, don’t grow ,use, possess, or anything else with pot and you will be OK. What they do in Amsterdam is fine for them and certainly made for a great scene in Pulp Fiction (which I suspect is where you got your info), but it has no bearing in a case in the Commonwealth of Virginia. And your racist statement about Mexicans is irrelevant to this conversation, not to mention offensive. If people just obey the law…they will not have a problem.
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Posted by ( NelsonNative ) on July 25, 2008 at 6:33 am
I agree our government is not perfect, but it’s the only route we have to make changes and it’s better than most. I also agree that we’re not winning the drug war. I’m not sure that means we should stop trying. I never said that tobacco or alcohol don’t kill people, but again, this topic is about marijuana.
Freedom - that is interesting about Amsterdam.
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Posted by ( NelsonNative ) on July 24, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Cosmo,
Not sure where in my posts you feel I got excited nor that I do not respect other’s opinions. The story we are posting on about is about marijuana, not tobacco so I was trying to stay on topic. Also, I did list references for each stat in my post.
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Posted by ( waynejfrmva ) on July 24, 2008 at 1:06 pm
say what you want about pot.alchahol and ciggerates kill more people than pot will EVER.ciggaretes are your true GATEWAY DRUG!!!ask anyone whos smoked pot i bet they tell you the smoked a cigg and drank a beer before they smoked pot.you people just go by what the government tells you ROBOTS is what you are they make more money by pot being illeagal than it being legal!!!!!!!
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Posted by ( Cosmo Wafflefoot ) on July 24, 2008 at 12:16 pm
( NelsonNative )..Don’t get so excited. This is still America and the last time I checked people still have the right to express an opinion. My favorite part of your posting is this one… [c)Smoking marijuana can injure or destroy lung tissue. In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50–70% more of some cancer causing chemicals than does tobacco smoke.] Well, tobacco is legal. Don’t you think you should refrain from posting about it and, instead, work with your “representatives” to make it illegal? Shouldn’t you have posted how many deaths are caused by tobacco-vs-marijuana? I think you are trying to fool people with statistics. That’s bad. Every time I see a car with VIRGINIA-TOBACCO plates I wonder how many children this will cause to smoke and how many it will kill. But, it’s legal, so I don’t DARE say anything about it in my posting here. That would be wrong of me, right? Perhaps you are not aware that EVERY drug addict in Virginia “viewed” a VIRGINIA-TOBACCO license plate. We are talking about a 100% correlation here! I bet you don’t even care. You should be ashamed of yourself.
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Posted by ( NelsonNative ) on July 24, 2008 at 11:29 am
The debate over whether or not to legalize marijuana may never end, however for now, it’s illegal. If people posting on this story feel marijuana should be legalized, you need to contact your representatives in government. Don’t chastise the police/deputies for doing their jobs.
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Posted by ( Cosmo Wafflefoot ) on July 24, 2008 at 5:47 am
I’m wondering how this all ends, say 50 years from now. Nelson County was once famous for “moonshine”. It was how men fed their families during economic bad times. Prohibition laws made it very profitable as laws against marijuana make it’s cultivation profitable today. Stories and legends of “Bootleggers” and their notoriously fast cars created what we know as NASCAR today. The police that chased them under what we now see as ridiculous laws are remembered as the foolish ones. Perhaps it will all evolve. Perhaps in the future, a world of astronomical gas prices will change even NASCAR itself into a much slower competition where drivers will be measured by a combination of (1) How many joints they can smoke during the race. AND (2) If they can remember to finish the race without wandering over to the side of the track to admire a really outrageous sunset.
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Posted by ( NelsonNative ) on July 23, 2008 at 8:13 pm
GO NCSO!
Some facts about marijuana:
a) Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States.
b)The risk of using cocaine is estimated to be more than 104 times greater for those who have tried marijuana than for those who have never tried it.
c)Smoking marijuana can injure or destroy lung tissue. In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50–70% more of some cancer causing chemicals than does tobacco smoke.
d) Harvard University researchers report the risk of a heart attack is five times higher than usual in the hour after smoking marijuana
Sources:
a)U.S. Dept of Justice
b)Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know, National Institute on Drug Abuse
c)American Lung Association
d)Marijuana & Heart Attacks, Washington Post, 3/3/2000
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Posted by ( lburgnative ) on July 23, 2008 at 11:46 am
Now the supply is gone, and the demand is still there. Instead of the harmless Nelson Co. folks with their measly little 400 plants, we will now have to deal with probably big city dealers to take over this demand. This is worse than “this drug” you call a “danger to our children.“ These big city dealers care nothing about our police, or our citizens and what they need to do sell their product. Fix the problem, not even close, just the begining of something worse.
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