Carter found guilty on two marijuana counts

When asked by New Kent Circuit Court trial Judge Thomas Nance if he was ready for trial, a seemingly confident John Steven Carter blurted, “Let’s go!”

Four hours later, Carter, who once told a local magistrate his occupation is “medicinal botanist,” stood convicted of two felony drug charges and now faces up to 40 years in prison.

Last Friday’s trial stemmed from October 2008 when authorities seized 346 marijuana plants inside a sophisticated “grow room” Carter, 58, had created in an upstairs room of the house he rented at 15600 Pocahontas Trail (Route 60) in Lanexa. But proving Carter’s guilt came up well short of a slam-dunk for the prosecution.

A week earlier, Commonwealth’s Attorney Linwood Gregory opted to cancel Carter’s anticipated jury trial and have the case heard by the judge alone. Gregory said he based the move on evidence problems.

Specifically, authorities neglected to weigh the plants before all were destroyed just days after the seizure. Weight, meanwhile, is crucial in gaining a felony conviction due to wording in state law.

Authorities were alerted to Carter’s “grow room” 11 days after the defendant disappeared in the aftermath of an Oct. 14, 2008 fatal shooting at the rental house. Four Williamsburg-area teens, one toting a shotgun, traveled to the location that night intent on robbing Carter of drugs and cash. Investigators theorize Carter acted in self-defense when he fatally shot one teen. The next day, police found the teen’s body hidden behind the house.

Carter’s landlord, Woodrow Hockaday Sr., stopped by to check on the property on Oct. 25. Upstairs, he found a makeshift wall blocking what should have been a doorway leading to another room. At Friday’s trial, Hockaday said he removed the wall material to uncover the door and opened it. The pungent odor of mature marijuana greeted him.

“I said, ‘Oh my God,’” he told the court. “I could see big old tall plants in there and closed the door.”

The discovery prompted authorities to charge Carter with manufacturing marijuana, a crime that carries from five to 30 years in prison. But Carter was nowhere to be found. He stayed on the run until March 18, 2009 when he was arrested in a small southern Alabama town. A second felony count of possessing more than five pounds of marijuana with intent to distribute was added last July.

But in the meantime, sheriff’s deputies destroyed the marijuana plants five days after the seizure. A lack of storage space, overwhelming odor, and dim prospects for finding Carter were given at trial as reasons for disposal.

Former detective Matt Wiggins testified that he and county employee David Bednarzyk transported the plants to the county’s old landfill site off Route 618. There, Bednarzyk operated a backhoe to dig a trench. Wiggins said he then deposited the plants, poured on kerosene, and set the pile ablaze before the trench was filled with dirt.

Carter’s attorney, Tim Clancy, took note of the destroyed evidence, challenging the charge that his client possessed in excess of five pounds of the drug. Gregory countered with testimony from State Police special agent Greg Robinson regarding the actual amount, but Robinson was limited to making a guess based on photos taken of the plants.

“Is there any way you can look at the pictures and tell how much [the marijuana] weighs?” Nance asked the investigator.

“I can give you a range,” Robinson replied. “A low of three pounds to a high of 10 pounds.”

Clancy motioned to strike both charges, saying neither count could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

“There are insufficient ties to place Mr. Carter at the residence and exercise dominion and control over [the marijuana],” Clancy said. “There are no scales, no packages, no money, and no records.”

An exasperated Gregory conceded the more than five pounds charge, arguing instead for a less than five pounds, but more than a half-ounce conviction, still a felony. The prosecutor refused to budge on the manufacturing count. Nance found Carter guilty of both.

The reduced marijuana possession with intent charge carries up to 10 years in prison. Thus Carter faces up to 40 years when sentencing takes place at a later date. That date is to be set when Carter is scheduled to return before Nance on Dec. 1 to stand trial on two counts of forging a public document and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Those charges were certified to a grand jury by a lower court judge in September. The grand jury is set to convene on Nov. 15.

Another charge, illegal disposal of a dead body, was dismissed in lower court. As of press time, Gregory said he is undecided about seeking a direct indictment on the body disposal count.