TRIAL SET TO BEGIN IN 2 MEN'S POT CASE

Brothers Charged With Growing Marijuana On Town Of Belgium Farm

Port Washington - A trial is scheduled to begin Thursday for two
Belgium area senior citizens accused of operating one of the largest
marijuana growing operations ever discovered in Wisconsin.

Barring any last-second legal developments, David Burmesch, 74, and
Eugene Burmesch, 80, will go before a jury in Ozaukee County Circuit
Court.

When they were arrested last Sept. 1, authorities allege, the two men
told agents from the state's Department of Justice's Division of
Narcotics Enforcement that they had been growing marijuana on David
Burmesch's Town of Belgium farm for 25 years.

"At the present time, there is no plea bargain," Kirk Obear, David
Burmesch's attorney, said Tuesday. "We are set to go to trial."

District Attorney Sandy Williams won the first round in the case when
Circuit Judge Walter J. Swietlik ruled in February that drug agents
did not violate David Burmesch's rights when they searched his farm.

Obear had sought to have the results of the search suppressed,
arguing that because of David Burmesch's age, he hadn't fully
understood what the agents told him.

Swietlik ruled the agents had acted reasonably.

Obear declined to discuss his legal strategy.

"I don't think I should discuss too many details," Obear said.

Bridget Boyle, Eugene Burmesch's attorney, could not be reached for
comment Tuesday.

Obear is listed on the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws' Web site as an attorney who defends people accused of
using and growing marijuana. Obear said Tuesday he was not sure how
David Burmesch found him for legal representation.

NORML, based in Washington, D.C., works to reform marijuana laws. It
has pushed for the legalization of the use of marijuana for medical
purposes and for decriminalizing drug possession.

Williams charged the Burmesches Sept. 29 with one count each of being
party to manufacturing marijuana while having more than 50 plants and
being party to possession of marijuana while having more than 50
plants.

If convicted, the brothers each could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.

According to court records, the brothers were arrested after someone
called a state drug hotline and tipped authorities off to a growing
operation in a semi-wooded area on David Burmesch's farm.

When agents arrived, David Burmesch first denied any knowledge of
marijuana being grown on his farm, but another family member told the
agents of a secret garden and showed them the path that led to it,
the records say.

Agents found a fenced area about 80 feet by 40 feet that contained
498 6-foot-tall marijuana plants that apparently were ready to be
harvested, the records say.

In a shed next to the garden, the agents found 98.5 pounds of
marijuana packaged in bundles averaging between 1.5 and 2.5 pounds,
according to the records.

It was one of the largest seizures in the state.

According to the court records, David Burmesch told the agents he had
starting selling the marijuana to finance the care of a
developmentally disabled son.