Farmer found innocent of drug charge, now battles to save land

lubbockonline.com ^ | 11.20.03 | P. CHRISTINE SMITH

[freepatriot32]

FARWELL – After more than a two-year ordeal, a Parmer County jury Thursday found Ronnie Puckett, 47, innocent of possession of marijuana, a charge that came after police found an estimated 250 pounds of the drug on his Lazbuddie farm in October 2001.

His fight continues, however, to keep the state from seizing his land.

Puckett was arrested on June 14, 2002, after an investigation into the cultivation of marijuana plants on about 10 acres of cornfield. Police also seized marijuana from a barn on the property.

Puckett’s then-74-year-old father, William Vernon Puckett, was arrested during a raid on the property on Oct. 18, 2001. He later entered a plea agreement and was sentenced to a 10-year probated sentence and a $5,000 fine.

During the three-day trial this week, the elder Puckett testified that his son had no knowledge of the marijuana-growing operation, said Dan Hurley, Ronnie Puckett’s attorney.

At the time, Ronnie Puckett was grieving the death of his wife and was not spending much time in his fields, Hurley said.

Two outstanding arrest warrants remain for individuals allegedly involved in the marijuana operation.

Johnny Actkinson, 287th District Attorney, confirmed that Bill Fancher and his son, Jesse Fancher, are wanted on marijuana possession charges.

Kathy Fancher, Bill Fancher’s wife, testified against Ronnie Puckett as part of an immunity deal.

In a June 2002 forfeiture hearing in Parmer County, Ronnie Puckett lost his 320-acre farm to the state. The property was valued at approximately $484,000. The state can move to seize property if it is used for illegal drug purposes, Hurley said.

Puckett, however, appealed the ruling to the Seventh District Court of Appeals in Amarillo and won back control of the property because the state did not make a proper filing for seizure, Hurley said.

At the state’s request, the state Supreme Court has agreed to hear the property forfeiture case, Hurley said.

Still, Hurley said, Ronnie Puckett looks forward to moving on with his life now that the threat of criminal prosecution is behind him.

‘‘He is incredibly relieved and happy,’’ Hurley said.

p.christine.smith@lubbockonline.com t 766-8754

[Muleteam1]

Farwell, Texas is located on the High Plains of west Texas right on the border of Texas and east/central New Mexico. This particular area of Texas is "flatter" than a pool table and if one puts their nose on top of their dining room table and peers down to the other end, you will know the view these Farwell folks have of their countryside. Ten acres of Canabis growing inside a half-section of High Plains corn could very easily be lost to sight once the corn became high. It would, however, be very difficult to miss at harvest or stalk shredding times.

I am not defending or accusing anyone. I just wanted to add a bit of information to ponder based on my personal experience of thirty-odd years in this area of west Texas.

Muleteam1

[jed turtle]

it doesn't make sense to me that the government could or should SEIZE the property at all, even if found guilty. what if the land/ home/ farm was a family inheritance and their are children who stood to one day inherit it? what about the wife? what about the elderly that might still be around. sure you can say "well, he should have thought about that before he did it" but it is still the state ripping off property they have no right to.

if a man did the crime and had no property to take away from him, he simply does his time and pays his fine. if the man has property he does his time, pays his fine, AND is FURTHER punished by taking away everything he has worked his whole life for. and that, my friends, is evil, because it punishes property holders even more than non-property holders. Justice, NOT!

[Principled]

Indiana corn grows a bit taller than Illinois corn I guess. I have no idea about pot plants. But corn in Tippeconoe County reaches 6-8 feet in June. By the time the detassling is done, it's a lot more like 9-11 feet.

[robertpaulsen]

One change I'd like to see with asset forfeiture is a minimum drug amount.

For example, you'd have to be charged with possessing/distributing/manufacturing a minimum of say, $10,000 worth of drugs before asset forfeiture kicks in.

[robertpaulsen]

My position is that
-the farmer knew about the consequences of growing pot
-his land should be siezed

[Principled]

One change I'd like to see with asset forfeiture is a minimum drug amount.

For example, you'd have to be charged with possessing/distributing/manufacturing a minimum of say, $10,000 worth of drugs before asset forfeiture kicks in.

The change I'd like to see is to have those found NOT GUILTY have their property returned intact in a timely fashion.

[Sam Cree]

Yeah, one hates to see a drug dealer using his "blood money" to hire dream team attorneys. Because many of these dealers have no regard for life or property themselves.

I just have a healthy distrust of governmental authority.

[Principled]

It is my position that if he's found guilty that he should lose his farm. But the guy (somehow) was found NOT guilty. How can they keep his farm? Is there an outstanding charge not mentioned in the article?

[dljordan]

What's the big deal? You don't own the property anyway, you just rent it from the State on a yearly basis. If you don't pay the rent you're outa there. If you resist you're a tax-evading, right-wing, militia nut-case and get burned alive.

[Kerberos]

"His fight continues, however, to keep the state from seizing his land."

It's not about the pot in the first place. Those in power know that the horror stories they feed to the public is all crap. It's always about the property and how the state can get it for free.

[Kerberos]

"As does 10 acres of marijuana plants on one's property and 250 pounds of marijuana in one's barn."

Hey Bob, I see your still around as clueless as ever.

[Normal4me]

"What's that song about smiling as they're sitting on sacks of seed?"

Wildwood Weed by Jim Stafford. To add flames to this thread...Why does everyone assume that the pot was planted in nice, neat little rows? That would be a novice mistake.....(not that I know anything about this, just saying..)

[dljordan]

Police don't seem to resist being turned into thieves do they? I hear from some police officers "It's not our fault, you should change the law". Nice sidestep from taking responsibility for enforcing un-constitutional laws. "I just want to help people". Right.

[robertpaulsen]

This is a State of Texas asset forfeiture. I have no idea how their asset forfeiture laws work and how they're implemented. That's all up to the citizens of Texas.

You are in favor of states rights, aren't you? That the people of each state determine how they want to live?

It just seems to me that you're kinda, you know, butting in on their affairs? Were you also in favor of butting in on Texas law to overturn their sodomy laws?

Hmmmm. I always figured you for a real 10th amendment person. But you think the federal government (we) should step in and overturn their asset forfeiture laws?

[mtbopfuyn]

You live in the city don't you? Corn doesn't come just on those little husks, they actually grow on really tall things, 6 to 8 feet high, with many green leaves, and row after row after row of them. Fun to play hide and seek in a corn field.

ROFLMBO! I've been shaking my head at these city folk too. They obviously don't know how small 320 acres is and think marijuana grows no bigger than a joint which can easily be hidden behind rows of canned corn. This guy's land is in the TX panhandle next to the NM border where there's nothing, and I do mean n-o-t-h-i-n-g, blocking his view. We have a bit over 400 acres of pasture (a huge difference from cultivated land) with hills and still can see most of it out the window. There is no farmer who doesn't know each and every blade of grass (legal or illegal) growing on his land. If there's anything growing that isn't supposed to be there, it is taking away from the income. That guy's farm is a "working farm" that feeds his kids and pays the bills, not a nice vacation place outside the city to commune with nature.

Oh, and it probably is true the old man was the only one in the county who didn't know what was growing out there. Check out the terraserver link for Farwell, TX.

http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?S=14&T=1&lat=34.3833&lon=-103.0375

[robertpaulsen]

The farmers around here grew hemp during the war; when it was harvested and laid on a hay rack, it hung over on both sides. Easily 10 to 12 feet, if not more.

Corn here grows to 7 to 8 feet.

I just cited that for comparative purposes. I don't know what the relative sizes are in Lubbock, Texas.

[robertpaulsen]

I forget what the gross income is for corn per acre. About $300?

I don't know about you rich guys in Texas, but $300 X 10 acres is a lot of money here.

Yeah, he knows what's going on. And so does our federal eye in the sky.

[robertpaulsen]

"Hey Bob, I see your still around as clueless as ever."

Yep, I'm still around.

And I see you're still around popping in and out of threads to throw in the occasional insult.

God forbid you should add anything to the discussion. Totally out of character.

[Kerberos]

Yeah I though of you the other day Bob, I recall you saying what a good idea you thought it would be to turn your son over to the state, for his own good, if he was ever caught smoking pot.

Well I recently got to meet a woman in the county here who had the same kind of mindset that you do. Her 17-year-old son got popped for smoking marijuana and thrown in the county jail. When given the choice to bail him out, with no bond that is, she decided to leave him in, for his own good of course, to teach him a lesson you know.

Well it seems that he overhead some other guys planning to break out of the jail. So he was hanging around when they did it and after they popped the door he went out behind them. And of course they were all eventually caught.

So now her son is doing 30 years in the state reformatory, yep she taught him a good lesson alright. Well I even bet he has a real pretty dress by now. Maybe you will actually get lucky enough to be able to teach your son the same lesson one day.

[coloradan]

It sure would be a pity if someone were to plant a pot plant on your property, and then report it to the cops resulting in the seizure of your entire property, house and all.

Although your telling everyone that the cops did the right thing would, admittedly, make the situation a bit less tragic, because, of course, you of all people would express your complete support of the seizure, even though others might protest the action on your behalf in the mistaken belief that there is some sort of injustice there.