ABERNATHY CHIEF ADMITS ORDERING MARIJUANA SEEDS DESTROYED

Abernathy Police Chief Johnny Cochran testified Wednesday that he ordered
the destruction of suspected marijuana seeds found in the ashtray of former
Abernathy officer Benjamin Buono's patrol car.

Buono is on trial for a Class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana case not
related to the allegation Cochran raised Wednesday. Buono also has been
charged with driving while intoxicated but has not gone to trial yet on that
charge.

Although Cochran said he was aware Buono faced a misdemeanor drug charge in
Lubbock County, he said his order didn't equal destroying evidence.

"I flushed it because it was not evidence," he said.

Buono is charged with possessing marijuana, but not in relation to the
allegation about the seeds which jurors heard Wednesday.

However, prosecutor Nick Moutos successfully argued that the jury should
hear testimony about the seeds because it bolsters the state's position that
Buono knew the marijuana was in the car he drove the night of Feb. 23.

That night, Buono and a friend left a southeast Lubbock County nightclub and
were pulled over after an officer reported seeing him run a stop sign and
drive the wrong way down a one-way street.

Buono recently told The Avalanche-Journal that he drove down a dirt path to
the convenience store where he was arrested, not the path the arresting
officer described.

Lubbock-Cooper school district officer Enrique Saldana, the arresting
officer, was outside his jurisdiction when he pulled Buono over.

A subsequent search of the car Buono drove turned up 0.43 grams of
marijuana, said Jim Thomas, supervising criminalist with the Department of
Public Safety crime lab in Lubbock.

Buono's attorney, Artie Aguilar, added another wrinkle to the already
complex misdemeanor case Wednesday.

"Would it surprise you to know that Ben Buono was not the owner of the
vehicle," Aguilar asked Sheriff's patrol officer Tracy Hix, whose report
lists Buono as the owner.

Buono is charged with intentionally and knowingly possessing less than two
grams of marijuana. He could face 180 days in jail and/or a fine of $2,000
if found guilty.