LOUISA MAN INDICTED ON FEDERAL POT CHARGES

A federal grand jury handed down a three-count indictment Thursday
charging a Louisa County man in connection with a July marijuana bust.

Geoffrey Alan Cummings, 53, is charged in U.S. District Court with
manufacturing 100 or more marijuana plants, possession of a firearm
as a convicted felon and possession with the intent to distribute.

The maximum penalty is life in prison and a $2.5 million fine.

Cummings faces a minimum mandatory 10-year prison sentence if found
guilty because he was previously convicted of drug trafficking in New
York, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Roanoke.

If he's convicted of an additional forfeiture allegation, Cummings
could lose his property on Mt. Airy Road, prosecutors said.

The Louisa County Sheriff's Office, the Virginia State Police, the
Drug Enforcement Administration, the Louisa County Commonwealth's
Attorney's Office, the Virginia National Guard and the Virginia
Alcohol Beverage Control Board all helped investigate.

Magistrate Judge B. Waugh Crigler has ordered Cummings held without
bond at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.

Text Of U.S. Attorney John L. Brownlee's Statement:

"United States Attorney John L. Brownlee announced today that
Geoffrey Alan Cummings, age 53, of Louisa, Virginia, was arrested
today after being indicted by a federal Grand Jury sitting in
Charlottesville, Virginia.

Cummings was charged in a three count indictment with manufacturing
100 or more marijuana plants, possession of a firearm by a convicted
felon, and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana. The
indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation whereby Cummings
could forfeit his property on Mt. Airy Road in Louisa if he is
convicted of any drug-related charge.

The investigation began in July, 2006, when officers spotted four
plots containing over 300 marijuana plants on Cummings' property
during a routine fly over by a Virginia State Police helicopter. Some
of the plants were ten to twelve feet in height. Agents later
executed a search warrant at Cummings' home and seized packaged
marijuana and a shotgun.

If convicted on all counts, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of
life imprisonment and a fine of $2,500,000. Cummings faces a minimum
statutory sentence of ten years because he has a prior drug
trafficking conviction in New York.

Cummings appeared in United States District Court in Charlottesville
on Thursday afternoon for an initial appearance and bond hearing.
Cummings was ordered to be detained without bond by Judge Waugh Crigler.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Louisa Sheriff's
Department, the Virginia State Police, the Drug Enforcement
Administration, the Louisa Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, the
Virginia National Guard and the Virginia ABC Board. Assistant United
States Attorney Rusty Fitzgerald will prosecute the case.

A Grand Jury indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt.
The defendant is entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the
government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."