CHARGES AGAINST MARLOWE DISMISSED

Charges against medicinal marijuana advocate Steve Marlowe were
thrown out Monday after a judge ruled that deputies showed a
"reckless disregard for the law" in using an informant's statement to
obtain a search warrant. The charges against Steve Marlowe of Mill
Spring were dismissed by the District Attorney's Office late Monday
afternoon, according to Marlowe's attorney, Ben Scales.

The informant, 33-year-old Charles Grady Shehan Jr., was led out of
court by deputies Monday afternoon after he testified about telling
police he had seen a marijuana growing operation at Marlowe's house.
Shehan refused during a court break to comment about his testimony
Monday, or previous statements to police which led to Marlowe's arrest in 2007.

Marlowe was arrested in November 2007 and charged with possession of
drug paraphernalia, maintaining a vehicle or dwelling for the use or
sale of marijuana and manufacturing marijuana. Scales, an Asheville
defense attorney, filed motions that claimed the Polk County
Sheriff's Office forced an informant to give investigators
information to obtain a search warrant against his client.

"The search warrant was executed by the Polk County Sheriff's
Department on November 13, 2007," Scales said in his motion. "The
warrant was issued upon information contained in the affidavit of Lt.
Matt Prince, which in turn is based upon a statement by a formerly
confidential informant named Charles Grady Shehan Jr." According to
the search warrant, Lt. Prince relied on statements made by Shehan.
Witness discredited

Superior Court Judge Marlene Hyatt ruled Monday that Shehan was not a
creditable witness for the Polk County Sheriff's Office to have used
as the basis of a search warrant. Hyatt said there were false
statements included in the search warrant. In her ruling, she said
the police knew there were false statements in the search warrant or
acted with reckless disregard to the law by executing the search
warrant based on Shehan's statements. "I will allow the defense's
motion to suppress," Hyatt said.

"I am pleased that the judge was swayed by our arguments," Scales
said Monday after the ruling. "I am pleased," Steve Marlowe added
after the hearing. Jean Marlowe, his ex-wife, said she was "glad the
truth came out." "If the police are not doing their job correctly you
have to stand up for your rights," she said.

Conflicting testimony

Monday's hearing began with Scales telling Hyatt his evidence would
show that Shehan lied to police. "We can show by Mr. Shehan's own
admission he was never in Mr. Marlowe's residence," Scales said. "The
Sheriff's Office put forth these lies to search Mr. Marlowe's residence."

Steve Marlowe took the stand first Monday morning. "I received a call
from Grady Shehan and he began apologizing," Marlowe testified. "He
said the police wanted him to testify against me."

"When was the last time you saw Grady Shehan?" Scales asked. "The
last time I saw him up close was at my daughter's wedding at least
eight or nine years ago," Marlowe said.

During cross-examination Assistant District Attorney Doug Mundy asked
Steve Marlowe about Shehan coming to his house. "You don't recall
Grady Shehan coming into your house two days before a search warrant
was executed at your home?" Mundy asked. "No, or that girl," Marlowe said.

The girl Marlowe was referring to was Jennifer Bailey. Shehan told
Polk County Sheriff's Deputies Bailey drove him to Steve Marlowe's
house where he claimed to have seen marijuana plants growing. "You
had 62 plants in your home didn't you?" Mundy asked. "I had 57,"
Marlowe responded.

Scales then called Polk County Sheriff's Lt. Trent Carswell to the
stand to talk about Shehan's statement he made prior to deputies
executing the search warrant.

"Have you ever used Grady Shehan as an informant before?" Scales
asked. "Yes, for 25 cases," Carswell said. "Did he (Shehan) tell you
that Jean and another man kidnapped him at gunpoint?" Scales asked.
"Yes, he didn't say kidnap, but he was taken at gunpoint," Carswell
said. "He said he feared for his life." "A state's witness said he
feared for his life and you did nothing?" Scales asked. "I had no
evidence," Carswell said. "All I had was a a statement." Jean Marlowe
then took the stand to discuss her interaction with Shehan. "Yes, I
spoke with Grady Shehan," she testified. "He said the Sheriff's
Department was trying to get him to testify against Steve. He told me
he hadn't seen Steve in seven years. He said they (sheriff's
deputies) wanted the information and it didn't matter how they got it."

The woman Shehan said took him to Steve Marlowe's house where he saw
the marijuana growing took the stand Monday afternoon. "Have you ever
brought Grady Shehan to Steve Marlowe's house," Scales asked. "No,"
Jennifer Bailey testified.

Bailey said she hadn't seen Shehan in awhile and never took him to
Steve Marlowe's house. Shehan then took the stand and contradicted
her testimony. In his statement to police, Shehan said that Bailey
was his girlfriend and she drove him to Marlowe's house.

Shehan testified Monday that Bailey was not his girlfriend. "Have you
acted as an informant before?" Scales asked. "No," Shehan answered quietly.

"The police said you have helped them 25 times before," Scales said.
"I've helped them before, but I have never come to court," Shehan
testified. "I have bought drugs for them." During the
cross-examination of Shehan, Mundy asked him if he knew what a
confidential informant was. "Not really," Shehan testified.

After Shehan's testimony the state made their closing arguments. "We
have heard no evidence that Lt. Matt Prince, who executed the search
warrant, included any false statements in the affidavit," Assistant
District Attorney Doug Pearson said. "This informant was a reliable informant."

Scales offered a different viewpoint. He referred to Sheriff Chris
Abril's pending rape charges that were filed in 2006 but based on
incidents said to have occurred in 1988.

"What I think happened is the police in this county are suffering
from a lack of leadership," Scales said in his closing arguments.
"They want to make arrests to either move up or get a job elsewhere
when the sheriff is arrested, and Steve Marlowe was an easy target."