How Not To Get 35 Years For Pot Possession

[Budman2012]

Source:

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/20...ot_sentence.php

How Not To Get 35 Years For Pot Possession

Smith County (East Texas) judges and juries have long had a reputation of meting out severe, some might say ridiculous, punishment for drug convictions. And Henry Wooten's case is no exception: the 54-year-old Tyler man was sentenced Thursday to 35 years in prison for possessing slightly more than four ounces of pot. Wooten actually got off easy -- the prosecutor asked the jury to give him 99 years. (We just hope TDCJ can free up room for this menace to society; maybe the state can release a child molester or serial arsonist to find a cell for Wooten.)

 

While the sentence may be asinine, we can't help but feel Wooten brought much of this upon himself -- mostly by choosing to be both a pothead and live in Tyler, when clearly that calls for an either/or scenario. But Wooten could have taken at least a few steps to minimize his chances of being busted so easily, and Hair Balls would like to lay out a few of these so that other lovers of the weed in Smith County can take heed.

 

1.) Don't smoke weed within 1,000 feet of a day care: According to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, "Tyler police officers were alerted to Wooten's location because of the smell of the marijuana."

 

Wooten was puffing near the Ebenezer Day Care Center, in what is known as a "drug-free zone." People in Smith County don't like that. So if you're driving along and you get a sudden urge to light up, take note of your surroundings: if you see lots of parents walking children into a building and then leaving without those children, you might be parked near a school or a day care. Do not, under any circumstances, pack your bowl there. Just go to the nearest liquor store, and you can bet you'll be outside a drug-free zone. Enjoy! 2.) Don't let people see you pull a bunch of baggies out of your pocket: Per the same article, Smith County Assistant District Attorney Richard Vance told the jury "Wooten pulled bag after bag from his pockets like one of those clowns you see..." (see Rule No. 3 for the rest of Vance's quote)

 

3.) Don't leave gear in plain sight in your care: "...and in the driver's seat of his car was a big bag and digital scales."

 

4.) Don't demand that a private lab test your weed: Although Wooten was perfectly within his rights when he asked a local lab to analyze his weed, we're guessing he probably annoyed the judge and the prosecutor, and in turn the jury, by this petulant ploy. It's pretty hard to mistake weed for anything other than weed. Did Wooten think the lab might screw up and report that the sticky green matter in the baggies was in fact spaghetti? Seriously, how fucking high was this guy?

 

We're not saying these are get-out-of-jail-free cards, but they're generally good rules of thumb. If you live in Tyler and you smoke weed, you might want to print this out and keep it in your pocket for future reference.

 

(Oh, and don't have two prior convictions on your record. Or, if you do, don't go doing what this guy did.)

;)

See the (currently) 247 comments there and another 333 (currently) on Digg :

http://digg.com/world_news/Man_Gets_35_Yea...sion?OTC-widget

(which is where I saw it first and read the comments , so it gets a mention ... inbetween all the useless (but often funny) one-liners are a few pearlers heheheh)

 

Anyhoo , that's the story

Cheerz

 

Budman

[cone head]

far out

[phreakah]

35 years for a quarter pound? Man, will he be upset when it becomes legal

[Allotropy]

Nice read budman,

 

heard you got in a wee bit of trouble with the man bastards

 

 

hope it not to bad, keep well

[DarkSpark]

kinda seems lik ehe wanted to get caught >.> scales on seat, saddies galore etc etc...

 

shame to go down for only a quarter pound, surprised that he got 35 uyears tho that seems a bit extreme, he must have had priorsor something.

[onefiftyfour]

pretty much a life sentence.

 

id kill myself... its either that or die in jail

[cybergenesis]

I'd kill myself too. I really would.

[Budman2012]

Now now guyz ... I can see how suicide seems the better option than 35years in jail , even 3.5 years ... and I'm no Law expert but I'd probably try as many 'appeal' processes as I could before taking that option ...

(although , it would make a good point)

 

To Con and Phreak : yep and

To Allo : cheerz mate ... I'll let ya know after it's finished , should be ok.

To DS : yeh i agree , he was pretty stupid ... and yes , 35years does seem a little harsh doesn't it lmao

(I think he did have a few minor priors , as you may have read they have a severe 3-Strikes your out type attitude over there ... You've heard of the saying "Only In America!" ... well this one is "Only In Texas!" ... Texas rules unto itself as almost a different country , very bizarre place and setup ... if you dig deep enough we find the Jesuit Order and the Knights of Malta at the helm of it all (so some say) , any NWO elites can be traced back to that (so I've read , and seen sufficient evidence of) and All Bilderburgers , Masons and other assorted 'Illuminatii' types all seem to answer to the the Leaders of the Jesuit Order (and 'The Black Pope') ... even the normal Pope answers to the higher order that stays mostly out of the limelight )

 

So ... if anyone ever gets bored , there's something you can look into if you want heheheh

 

To 154 and Cybergen : keep yer chins up guyz

 

And Cheerz to everyone else too

 

Budman

[spannernuts]

gee,i thought they were tough on me,i wouldt like to live there.

[four winds]

Now now guyz ... I can see how suicide seems the better option than 35years in jail , even 3.5 years ... and I'm no Law expert but I'd probably try as many 'appeal' processes as I could before taking that option ...

(although , it would make a good point)

 

To Con and Phreak : yep and

To Allo : cheerz mate ... I'll let ya know after it's finished , should be ok.

To DS : yeh i agree , he was pretty stupid ... and yes , 35years does seem a little harsh doesn't it lmao

(I think he did have a few minor priors , as you may have read they have a severe 3-Strikes your out type attitude over there ... You've heard of the saying "Only In America!" ... well this one is "Only In Texas!" ... Texas rules unto itself as almost a different country , very bizarre place and setup ... if you dig deep enough we find the Jesuit Order and the Knights of Malta at the helm of it all (so some say) , any NWO elites can be traced back to that (so I've read , and seen sufficient evidence of) and All Bilderburgers , Masons and other assorted 'Illuminatii' types all seem to answer to the the Leaders of the Jesuit Order (and 'The Black Pope') ... even the normal Pope answers to the higher order that stays mostly out of the limelight )

 

So ... if anyone ever gets bored , there's something you can look into if you want heheheh

 

To 154 and Cybergen : keep yer chins up guyz

 

And Cheerz to everyone else too

 

Budman

I'm afraid its true Budman. I live in central TX. I'm actually surprised at the sentence. Most people around here seem to smoke and the cops can bust you but usually if you only have a little they usually let you go unless your a smartass. This guy must have pissed off someone in the higher orders of the Masons. The Masons are here for sure. They are always raising money and doing public works projects so everyone thinks they are benevolent.