Rankin-Madison District Attorney Michael Guest issued the following press release:
Alabama Man Receives 60-Year Sentence for Possession of 10 pounds of Marijuana
Madison and Rankin Counties’ District Attorney Michael Guest announced today that Kendal Deval Martin was sentenced Monday to a 60-year sentence for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. Martin was convicted by a jury in March of possessing ten pounds of marijuana. Martin was sentenced as both a habitual offender and a subsequent drug offender and he will be required to serve the entire sentence without the possibility of probation, parole or early release.
On March 27, 2013, law enforcement noticed that Martin’s car was closely following an 18-wheeler truck and crossed the fog lane on the shoulder of Interstate 20. The officer pulled Martin over for careless driving. The officer went to the front of the car and could smell air freshener coming from inside to the vehicle along with a weak odor of marijuana. Due to the smell of marijuana the officer asked Martin if he could search his vehicle. Martin granted the request.
The officer went to the trunk of the vehicle where the odor of marijuana became much stronger. The officer searched the trunk and found a gym bag containing numerous vacuumed sealed bricks of marijuana. The bricks were submitted to the Mississippi State Crime Laboratory and test confirmed that the substance was marijuana.
Martin was arrested and admitted to purchasing the marijuana in Texas for $3000.00.
Guest stated, “Several weeks ago we warned the public about the growing abuse of prescription drugs and law enforcement made over a dozen arrests of individuals who had broken our laws. We must continue to keep a watchful eye on drugs like marijuana because it can serve as a gateway drug and lead to drug abuse of other more harmful substances.”
Guest added, “Martin is a drug trafficker whose primary goal was to sell marijuana and make a large profit on his illegal actions. He was a supplier to those who would sell drugs on our streets. By removing this individual from the drug supply chain we will hopefully help keep marijuana and other drugs out of the hands of our children.”
Guest concluded, “The training and hard work of law enforcement officials and the verdict of the jury allowed us to take a habitual drug dealer off our streets.”
Martin has four prior felony drug convictions from the state of Alabama. He has previously been convicted of two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and trafficking in cocaine.
District Attorney Michael Guest was sworn into office in January 2008 and represents the Twentieth Judicial District, Madison and Rankin Counties. For more information regarding the District Attorney’s office, please visit www.daguest.com
Defendant:
Name: Kendall Deval Martin
Address: 5600 15th Street, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Date of Birth: 3/14/79
32 comments:
Ten pounds of dangerous marijuana off the streets, and somebody will die in prison for having it.
Mississippi is safe. Thank God.
What happens if its legalized?
Um.
Is this one of your clever retorts whose meaning I’m missing?
Because, obviously, if it’s legalized, we won’t put people in jail for smoking a plant that (a) God put here; and (b) makes them mellow and happy.
Of course, we need to keep taxing the crap out of alcohol and cigarettes, which are harmless and not gateway drugs at all.
25k x 60 = 1.5M. Wow.
Prohibition works!
60 years for something that will be legal soon. Jesus. That's not anything for the DA to brag about.
Life in prison for possession of weed.
He will cost the state over $1 million to warehouse for the rest of his life.
Tell me where this is in the best interest of the citizens of Mississippi?
Let's see…60 years in Rankin County would equate to what in Hinds County? 6 months?
Just ridiculous. No victim, no crime.
I could pile on, but 3:34 said it all.
Also consider the cop time and court time involved in prosecuting this person . . . all for pot, which is nearly legal now and soon will be completely legal.
Regarding this war on drugs: I want my money back!
Meanwhile, Karen Irby is sitting poolside at the Jackson Country Club, and that rich kid from Texas who ran over four people is in high-end rehab.
Won't be legal in Mississippi soon.
Guest, you couldn't be more wrong:
http://healthland.time.com/2010/10/29/marijuna-as-a-gateway-drug-the-myth-that-will-not-die/
You have to love the line about protecting the children. Give me a break.
Bunch of Obama voters on here today: "Let's disregard the laws we don't like." Just move to Colorado you buncha potheads.
um, YO! dimwits! the law is the law...whine all you want to but util the LAW is CHANGED 60 years and have a nice day!
The legality of the sentence is not the point of protest.
It's the "evil because it is prohibited" nature of the crime & high costs imposed on all by criminalization.
Five years without parole would be more rational. But Guest is not interested in what's rational. If it had been meth or crack, the sentence would be justified.
4:16 -
Mine was the 1st comment. I'm not an Obama voter. In fact, the 1st Dem I voted for in my life was Travis Childers, because of the scumbag tactics the Barbours used. You know, trolling black votes with food stamps, to elect a drooling retard who doesn't know his name.
I hate Obama.
And it's effing stupid to put people in jail for weed.
How many times does it take a doped up criminal drug dealer to learn its against the law to sell pot or cocaine?
Marijuana will one day be legal just like alcohol, by damned you can get drunk and kill someone on the road but dont smoke that cigarette!
MSU got huge grant for growing pot for research. How many years do we have to research it? Old scientist up there has been researching it for what.....30 years now? He's a cool calm dude....hhhhmmmm.
Are you kidding me? Good grief. I know the few times I was ignorant and high in college, I made tons of great decisions and if I had tried driving...would have murdered someone operating a car. But yeah, its fine dude. Mellow out. Pots from the earth! SMH. Seriously move to Colorado.
@10:02 Believe that was Ole Miss not MSU
George is getting the munchies!
10:19: legalizing weed doesn't mean legalizing driving while intoxicated. That's still illegal, even in CO and Washington.
Why is it that every time someone is stopped for a drug stop they were either following too closely to the car in front of them or they were on the fog line? My sister lives in Dallas. She was leaving my house and was near Clinton when she called and told me she had just got blue-lighted and was pulling over. I told her it was a drug stop because she has a Texas tag. I bet her it was going to be for following too closely or fog line. When she got back on the road, she called and said the officer said she was following too closely to the car in front of her. Of course, she had no drugs, but she did have a car load of Golden Flake hot potato chips. There was no reason to stop her whatsoever, but we had a good laugh about it.
4:02 - Marijuana legalization will probably be on the ballot in MS in 2016. Likely will fail but you will at least be able to make your voice heard.
508 lol its a good thing she wasn't carrying coors lights.
When I read your post, it reminded me of this guy, pulled over for doing 72 in a 70. The officer suspects him of being a terrorist transporting a wmd in a rental KIA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhQf6LyBSy8&feature=youtu.be
Question, how will authorities enforce driving while intoxicated in regards to marijuana? It stays in one's system for weeks. I could smoke some today, drive Monday and still fail a drug test. Will officers have to rely on old-school roadside sobriety tests? Defense lawyers will again have a field day destroying these state cases. Has any of this been thought out?
Does anyone get the point that this man was not sentenced to 60 years for the pot, but for being declared a habitual offender that included substances much more dangerous than pot?
Dangerousness of the substance is of no import here.
If toxicity mattered, alcohol would be Schedule I.
As I have said, if you need money and are willing to commit a crime in Rankin county to get said money, get a gun and rob a store. Whatever you do, don't sell drugs. You will probably serve about 5 years for robbing a store with a gun.
This is my fiance and I think this shows how messed up the justice system really is...you have people out here taking lives and molesting children who get off with a slap on the wrist...I am constantly praying that this is not the end result..b/c I will fight for what is right.
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