SHERIFF'S OFFICE SHOWED 'RECKLESS DISREGARD FOR THE LAW,' JUDGE SAYS

Charges Dropped in Marlowe Case

All charges against Steve Marlowe in a marijuana case were dismissed
Monday after the informant the Polk sheriff's office used to obtain a
search warrant was deemed by a judge to be not credible.

Judge Marlene Hyatt granted a motion to suppress the evidence in the
case against Marlowe, 59, of Mill Spring. Marlowe was charged in
November, 2007 with possession of drug paraphernalia, maintaining a
vehicle or dwelling for the use or sale of marijuana and
manufacturing marijuana.

Before announcing her decision to suppress the evidence, Judge Hyatt
said the Polk sheriff's office had showed "reckless disregard for the law."

Defense attorney Ben Scales, in his closing arguments, said the
sheriff's officers made up the story about Marlowe and pressured
informant Grady Shehan to lie that he had seen marijuana plants at
the home of Marlowe, who is an advocate for medical marijuana.

"What I think happened is the police in this county are suffering
from a lack of leadership," Scales said. "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."

Scales was referring to Polk County Sheriff Chris Abril's upcoming
trial on statutory rape charges from alleged incidents in the late
1980s. Abril's trial on those charges will begin Aug. 4.

Scales said all the sheriff's office had to do in the Marlowe case
was to "get their favorite stoolie to make up a story and go get him
(Marlowe)," said Scales. "The police made this story up and for that
reason the evidence should be suppressed."

During testimony, both Lt. Trent Carswell with the sheriff's office
and informant Shehan testified that Shehan has been used as a
confidential informant for the sheriff's office about 25 times.

Shehan testified that he has purchased drugs for the sheriff's office
and he is a neighbor of Lt. Carswell.

According to the defense's motion to suppress the evidence, Shehan
said he was harassed by sheriff's officers to say he saw marijuana
growing in Marlowe's house. The case file included a videotape of
Shehan saying he was pressured by officers.

But Shehan's testimony took a turn on Monday when he testified that
he told the officers the truth when he informed them about marijuana
plants at Marlowe's house. He said he changed his story only because
Steve Marlowe's ex-wife, Jean Marlowe, took him at gunpoint to Silver
Creek Campground. Shehan testified he was called by Jean Marlowe and
asked to recant his story.

In testimony Monday Steve Marlowe offered a different version of the
events. He said Shehan called him apologizing for saying false
statements against Marlowe to the sheriff's office. The Marlowes also
claimed that they had not seen Shehan in seven or eight years.

Defense attorney Scales questioned why the sheriff's office had not
charged Jean Marlowe with kidnapping at gunpoint if Shehan was a
reliable informant.

"Have you ever used Grady Shehan as an informant before?" Scales
asked Carswell. "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 statement."

Additional testimony came from Jennifer Bailey, who Shehan said drove
him to Steve Marlowe's house on the day in question last November
when he saw the plants. Bailey testified that she has never driven
Shehan to Steve Marlowe's home.

Shehan also testified that he saw more than 50 plants in Marlowe's
house about 6 ft. tall each, and they were in bedrooms. Scales said
the plants found in the home were one to three ft. tall and they were
not in the bedrooms.

Shehan also testified that he was taken to the home of Max Bailey,
another man arrested in the same raid last year. Scales asked Shehan
to describe Bailey's house and Shehan testified that it was a single
wide trailer.

"What if I told you Max lives in a two-story house?" Scales asked.
"What would you say to that?"

Lt. Matt Prince, who executed the search warrant against Marlowe,
also testified on Monday and said there was only one occasion that
Shehan lied to the sheriff's office, and that he otherwise was a
reliable informant. The one occasion was when Shehan was asked if he
had marijuana in his house and Shehan at first said no but later
admitted to having marijuana. The officers also testified that Shehan
gave them no indication he was lying to the officers about Marlowe.

"Do you recall threatening or forcing (Shehan)?" Assistant District
Attorney Doug Mundy asked Lt. Prince.

"No, sir," Prince replied.

Prince also said when the officers executed the search warrant, the
scene was consistent with what Shehan had told officers. Prince
described a colored glass pipe, marijuana plants at the residence (57
in total), two hidden rooms, aluminum foil on the walls and another
hidden room off the living room. The hidden rooms included two rooms
whose doors were the same as the walls and one room that had a
bookshelf with a hinge that had to be lifted up to enter, according
to Prince's testimony.

Assistant D.A. Mundy asked Shehan Monday whether he recalled seeing
those things, but the judge rejected Mundy's line of questioning,
saying he was leading the witness.

In closing arguments, the state said there was no evidence that any
false information was included in the affadavit. The state argued
during testimony that what Shehan said he saw in Marlowe's home was
what officers found in Marlowe's home.

"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."

Following the judge's ruling, the district attorney's office decided
to drop the charges against Marlowe. Both Marlowe and Scales said
they were pleased with the ruling by the judge and the decision of
the district attorney's office.