Gone to pot: Marijuana growers lose land

Courts use tough new law to seize property, equipment

Michael Jakes will lose his house and 115acre property near the village of
Chantry.

Rural marijuana growers are now being punished with Biblical harshness in
the courts, as judges confiscate their farms, vehicles, tools and garden
equipment.

In Brockville yesterday for the second time in a week a judge
confiscated a pot grower's property and gave him only five weeks to vacate
his premises. Michael Jakes, 42, will lose his 115acre wooded property
near the village of Chantry and will also forfeit a newly built twostorey
home assets worth about $75,000.

Only days after the OPP arrived at his home, Mr. Jakes pleaded guilty to
growing and producing marijuana and being in possession of property bought
with the proceeds of crime.

Last week, in what is thought to be the first case of its kind in Canada,
Larry Delbert Scott forfeited his 220acre property south of Smiths Falls
after pleading guilty to cultivating marijuana. Judge Rommel Masse also
ordered the confiscation of an allterrain vehicle, a generator, power
tools and cultivating implements in all, about $100,000 in real estate
and equipment.

Court was told that new and existing Criminal Code provisions have given
prosecutors a powerful new weapon in fighting the homegrown pot trade,
which seems to be exploding in Eastern Ontario. Unlike provisions dealing
with the proceeds of crime, in which cash or assets are seized, new
forfeiture laws allow the courts to confiscate any house, boat or car that
has been modified for criminal use, even if it was bought legitimately.

"A week ago, I spoke about the importance of getting the message to the
community," said Crown prosecutor Harry Clarke, who was involved in both
the Jakes case and the Scott case.

The message, he continued, is this: "If you're going to get involved in
this type of cultivation, you may not find it a particularly heinous crime,
but it is nonetheless an economic crime and ... one that can lead to
heartache and violence."

Judge Charles Anderson also handed Mr. Jakes an 18month conditional
sentence, meaning he can serve it outside prison but under strict
conditions. Mr. Jakes, who was not represented by a lawyer, told the court
he felt remorse for his actions. "I've learned a lifelong lesson." He
declined comment outside court, saying, "I've got enough troubles."

The implications of the new forfeiture law could be farreaching. Though no
one knows the full extent of the homegrown market in Eastern Ontario and
West Quebec, it is obviously huge: Hundreds of thousands of plants were
seized by police this fall in virtually every corner of the countryside.

Mr. Jakes, with the help of a $22,000 loan from his father, bought his
property in March 1995 for $32,000. He grew marijuana on the land for three
years, earning $35,000 in the first two years.

With a further $10,000 loan from his father, he began construction of the
house in September 1996.

It will now be forfeited to the federal government but the order stipulates
that Mr. Jakes's father be repaid.

When police arrived at the property, they discovered the remnants of about
200 plants. The prosecutor said Mr. Jakes "panicked" when he heard about
other busts nearby. According to an agreed statement of facts, the 1997
crop "went missing."

Last week, Brockville provincial court was told that Mr. Scott, 43, bought
a property about 50 kilometres south of Smiths Falls in April 1997 for
$70,000.

It contained an abandoned farmhouse and a barn. Shortly after, Mr. Scott
was approached by individuals who offered to pay him $10,000 to permit a
marijuana plantation.

Close to 600 plants took root in a lightly wooded area. Police say the
plants were cleverly camouflaged by small trees to avoid aerial
detection by police helicopters and watered with an irrigation system.

During the summer, a new twostorey shed, measuring 10 metres by 13 metres,
was built on the property to prepare and process the plants.

OPP Det. Sgt. John Corcoran says it was this modification of the property
expressly for criminal use that allowed the forfeiture provisions to
be used.

The farm was raided on Oct. 7. When police arrived, they found a "highly
sophisticated" marijuana operation, including hundreds of mature plants
found to be quite potent. The street value of the plants was conservatively
estimated at $1.2 million.

According to a statement of fact entered in court, Mr. Scott, described as
single and unemployed, did not assist in the cultivation.

Sgt. Corcoran says police consider forfeiture a powerful tool because it
takes away, at least temporarily, the criminal's ability to start an
illegal operation after serving a prison term.

While reclaiming the wages of sin, the provisions also act as a strong
deterrent, he believes.

"Next spring, when cultivators are going around offering farmers $10,000 to
use their properties, people are going to have to take a long look at the
idea."

Sgt. Corcoran, who specializes in forfeiture and pursuing the proceeds of
crime, says there will more cases such as these in Eastern Ontario, but
declined to estimate the number.

Police are already coming down hard on marijuana cultivators. Before Jakes
cases, Brockville area resident Robert Blackburn pleaded guilty to growing
477 plants at his cottage in the Westport area and was sentenced to 90 days
in jail.

Mr. Scott, who was also keeping six cattle on the farm, has been given a
month to vacate the premises. He received an 18month conditional sentence.

The two cases are, in fact, related. Police say they were led to Mr.
Jakes's land after discovering he had purchased an allterrain vehicle
found on Mr. Scott's property.

The properties will be turned over to the federal government for eventual
sale. Some of the proceeds are to be returned to Ontario to fund law
enforcement.

Copyright 1997 The Ottawa Citizen