Judge Rules State Law Unconstitutional In Jefferson County Drug Ring Case

A judge has struck down as unconstitutional the state's so-called "crack tax" in the case of a man accused in a massive Jefferson County marijuana trafficking ring.

But Knoxville attorneys insisted Tuesday that Davidson County Chancellor Richard H. Dinkins should have added one more descriptor for the now 18-month-old tax - evil.

"It makes you ashamed for America," attorney Ralph Harwell said of the state's enforcement of the Unauthorized Substance Tax Act, a law enacted ostensibly to levy a tax on drug dealers.

[continues 793 words]

Citing Knox Murder Case, Appellate Panel Says Federal Judges' Reasons Must Be Clearer

An appeals court is using the case of a Knoxville killer to serve up a judicial throwdown to federal judges in four states, including Tennessee. The challenge: Stop the robotics.

Using convicted murderer Alvin Vonner's case as a backdrop, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals warns federal judges to do a better job of justifying their sentencing decisions or face a nasty reversal on their appellate record.

[continues 881 words]

Nashville Red Cross Tennessee has made major progress over the past year in combating methamphetamine, according to state law enforcement officials.

Through initiatives like the Meth-Free Tennessee Act, the Meth Offender Registry, and educational campaigns like the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference's Meth Destroys Campaign, Tennessee has seen a significant drop in meth lab seizures, and a general increase in awareness about the drug's dangers.

Meth labs are highly toxic, extremely combustible, and are often found in homes, trailers or cars. The labs usually contain ingredients such as acid, lye, phosphorus, iodine, ammonia and other dangerous and even deadly chemicals. Meth labs pose an immediate threat to everyone in proximity of the site, particularly small children who can ingest poisons or be burned by chemicals spilled in the house.

[continues 573 words]

On Thursday July 6 the Benton County Sheriff's Department received an anonymous tip regarding the location of a large number of marijuana plants.

Responding to the tip Sergeant-Investigator Ricky Pafford, Sheriff Cecil Wells, and Reserve Deputy Mike Jenkins were led to the heavily wooded area south of Camden. They found approximately 60 healthy marijuana plants. A search of the immediate area uncovered fertilizer and potting equipment.

The search area was expended with the assistance of Benton County Deputies Judy Stevens and Pat Chandler, Reserve Deputy Bobby Kee and his tracking dog. Also assisting was James Inman with the Camden Police Department.

[continues 144 words]

Tennessee's fight against methamphetamine abuse has received almost $1 million for after school programs to develop messages against use of the drug.

The money comes through federal grants designated to assist programs in developing messages to help children stay away from the drug and encourage them to help their peers avoid it.

The federal grants were awarded to the Tennessee Commission on National and Community Service, which is a partner in the state's program. The state could receive up to 25 sub-grants, each totaling $10,000, for the next three years. The commission will award funds to local programs in the fall.

[continues 69 words]

County School System Wants Random Drug Testing, List of Drivers Each Day

Prompted by a critical federal audit, the Knox County school system's transportation department has proposed a stricter agreement with school bus owners that would hold them more accountable.

The proposal, which the school board plans to vote on Wednesday, would mean several changes for the 115 or so independent bus owners, who contract with the district to transport students to and from school.

"I think this agreement more clearly defines expectations and is much more organized," Rick Grubb, the district's supervisor of transportation and zoning, said before the school board's nonvoting meeting Monday. "Is it stricter? Yes."

[continues 468 words]

Metro Detective Says Fellow Officer Deceived Him About Traffic Stop

Two undercover Metro officers pretended they were making an arrest but instead ripped off a kilo of cocaine from a drug dealer, one of the officers claimed in court papers filed two weeks ago.

The April 30, 2003, incident involving detectives Charles Williams III and Ernest Cecil is the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Williams, 38, was indicted in January and has been placed on paid leave. Cecil, 49, was stripped of his police powers after a separate incident and has been on desk duty at the Hermitage Precinct. He has not been charged with a crime.

[continues 945 words]

This month the FBI reported the highest one-year increase in violent crime rates in 15 years -- back to the frightening situation which challenged the Clinton administration in its first year. Memphis' violent crime rate jumped 25 percent between 2004 and 2005, with the number of reported murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults growing from 10,093 to 12,630.

But the FBI's analysis of its crime figures and media reports neglected the clear connection between drugs and crime. The current administration's overall anti-drug budget has been slashed by over one-third from $19.2 billion in 2001 to $12.7 billion for 2007. This reduced budget for the federal government's comprehensive drug-fighting initiatives -- including education, prevention and treatment programs as well as enforcement efforts -- is a genuine threat to our national security.

[continues 704 words]

Tennessee has made major progress over the past year in combating methamphetamine, according to state law enforcement officials.

Through initiatives like the Meth-Free Tennessee Act, the Meth Offender Registry, and educational campaigns like the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference's Meth Destroys Campaign, Tennessee has seen a drop in meth lab seizures and a general increase in awareness about the drug.

"The new laws have made it more difficult to make meth in Tennessee, which is making our state a safer place to live," District Attorney Al Schmutzer of Sevierville said. "Law enforcement is working to keep people from trafficking meth into our state, but it's important that Tennesseans arm themselves with facts about this dangerous drug."

[continues 328 words]

MANCHESTER, Tenn. -- Despite the obvious presence of drugs such as marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms and Ecstasy at Bonnaroo this year, drug arrests and citations were down 50 percent as of Sunday afternoon, Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves said.

Arrests totaled 76 for all the law-enforcement agencies working the area, and the Coffee County Sheriff's Department had issued just over 100 citations. Most of the charges were drug-related, Graves said, but the quantity of drugs found at Bonnaroo this year was nowhere near what has been found in recent years.

[continues 300 words]

Selling Iodine To Make Meth Yields Jail Time

CHATTANOOGA -- A garden center owner convicted of selling iodine used to make methamphetamine in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison by a judge who said he hopes the penalty shows such harmful greed has a high price.

Joseph Swafford, 62, was escorted from the courtroom after declining to comment at his Friday sentencing, which also included forfeiting his family business, Broadway Home and Garden Center in Chattanooga, to the government.

[continues 456 words]

CHATTANOOGA -- A garden center owner convicted of selling iodine used to make methamphetamine in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a judge who said he hopes the penalty shows such harmful greed has a high price.

Joseph Swafford was escorted from the courtroom after declining to comment at his Friday sentencing, which also included forfeiting his family business, Broadway Home and Garden Center, to the government.

Swafford's attorney had asked U.S. District Judge Curtis L. Collier for a 10-year sentence.

[continues 173 words]

A garden center owner was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for selling iodine used to make methamphetamine in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.

Joseph Swafford, 62, also must forfeit his business, Broadway Home and Garden Center, to the government. He declined to comment at his sentencing in Chattanooga.

A jury in March convicted Swafford and his business of conspiring to aid illegal drug-making by selling iodine to customers who used it to make methamphetamine. He was not accused of making the drug.

[end]

As a meth addict, Toni, the daughter of a Pentecostal minister, ended up in jail after a failed drug test. Shala, the wife of a minister, got thrown in jail for prescription-drug fraud. Gidget abused crack cocaine, among a variety of other pills and powders, and ended up in a drug overdose. Gwen basically lived on the streets most of her life and was introduced to drugs before she hit puberty.

"I was 9 when I was first in the streets. The first time I saw cocaine I was holding a belt around my grandmother's arm while she shot up," 24-year-old Gwen recalled.

[continues 1118 words]

Why Were a Couple of Gay Republican Potheads Blown Away by the FBI?

Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went up in Smoke By Dean Kuipers (Bloomsbury, 384 pp., $24.95)

On Monday, Sept. 3, 2001, at 5:25 p.m., FBI special agent Richard Salomon, from a distance of less than 10 yards and using a bureau-issued .308 sniper rifle, shot Tom Crosslin between the eyes, blowing the 46-year-old's brains out the back of his head. The next day, at a little after 6:35 a.m., sergeant Daniel Lubelan, of the Michigan State Police, fired two shots from his .308 Remington sniper rifle. The first hit Crosslin's lover, Rollie Rohm, near his heart. The second blew off his balls. By the time lieutenant Jerry Ellsworth jumped on Rohm's back to handcuff him, the 28-year-old was dead, thus ending a five-day standoff between the owners of Rainbow Farm and the combined forces of local, state and federal law.

[continues 1431 words]

Responding to a Chronicle reader's excellent question about Seattle's harm reduction plan: I can honestly say this was never mentioned during any of the keynote addresses or break-out sessions I attended. However, the conference wasn't hosted by the city of Seattle but by the Institute for lntegral Development, which chose Seattle as the conference site for this year's annual event. The majority of our speakers talked more about prevention efforts and treatment plans for in-out patient substance abusers than the legal ramifications.

[continues 432 words]

In passing legislation that eases the restoration of voting rights for ex-offenders, the General Assembly has endorsed fairness and justice.Tennessee laws governing restoration of voting rights to former offenders have been indefensibly complex. Those who were convicted of a felony after 1981 permanently lost their voting rights.

Those convicted between Jan. 15 1973 and May 17, 1981 can vote whether they are in prison or not. For those convicted before 1973, restoration of voting rights has depended on the nature of the crime.

[continues 190 words]

Blount County high school students involved in sports and other extracurricular activities will be subjected to random drug testing starting this coming school year.

Returning students at Heritage High School and incoming freshman from Heritage, Eagleton and Carpenters middle schools were informed of the new policy Thursday night.

HHS Athletic Director Terri Bradshaw said a mandatory meeting for athletes and those who might want to participate is normally held at the beginning of the school year, but it was held now so that students and parents would be familiar with the policy.

[continues 715 words]

I just flew in from Seattle and man are my arms tired. I love that corny joke!

Actually, I have just gotten back from Seattle where I attended the 19th annual Addictions and Behavioral Health Conference. This was my first time to the Evergreen State, and even though its famous for its coffee (which I don't drink) and its seafood (which I don't eat) and for its rain (which it only did once the four days I was there), I fell in love with the place.

[continues 657 words]

LEBANON -- A Trousdale County man has pleaded guilty to charges that he ran a huge underground marijuana-growing operation in a cave hidden under a house.

Fred W. Strunk pleaded guilty this morning to three criminal charges: growing marijuana, money laundering and theft. He was sentenced to 12 years on the theft charge and 18 years for growing marijuana, with the sentences to be serve concurrently -- a move that will effectively give him an 18-year sentence.

He was ordered to serve at least 30% of his sentence, or a little over five years, before becoming eligible for parole.

He also must repay Tri-County Electric a total of $60,001 for electric power he stole from the utility to power the underground lights and other equipment that allowed him to grow the drug in the cave.

[end]