SENIOR POT GROWER TO SERVE SENTENCE

Judge Won't Reduce 20-Year Term

A Hilo judge on Tuesday refused to reduce the sentence for a
66-year-old Volcano man convicted of running large-scale commercial
marijuana growing operation.

David Cother Finley Jr. was sentenced to 20 years in prison in April
and ordered to forfeit $85,000 to the state. Police in January 2007
raided his Amaumau Road home where they found 75 pounds of dried
marijuana, 199 live marijuana plants, two pounds of hashish, 127
individually packaged and priced ounces of marijuana, 18 grams of
psilocybin mushrooms and 59 methadone pills.

Police estimated the street value of the seized substances to be about
$500,000. No weapons were found.

Finley had a permit to grow medical marijuana, but the quantity found
far outstrips what is allowed by the state's medical marijuana law. He
had also been arrested in March 2006 for marijuana cultivation and had
not been sentenced in that case when he was arrested again.

Finley's family and friends wept openly as Circuit Judge Glenn Hara
passed sentence for two counts of first-degree commercial promotion of
marijuana. The age and health of the defendant, his first-offender
status, the non-violent nature of the offense and the length of the
prison term also produced a certain amount of public
controversy.

Finley was not present at Tuesday's hearing, as attorney Brian De Lima
asked Hara to reduce Finley's sentence to 10 years probation.

"Your honor, my client is 66 years old and he has many of the health
problems associated with age -- kidney problems, arthritis and skin
cancer," De Lima said. " ... Essentially, he's served almost two years
of incarceration. There has been a significant amount of letters from
the community on his behalf."

Deputy Prosecutor Jason Skier argued that any reduction of Finley's
sentence would "erode the community's respect of the law."

"Mr. Finley was never a user," Skier said. "This is a commercial,
for-profit enterprise. By the defendant's own valuation, he had over
$37,000 in merchandise.

"This is the largest marijuana seizure I can remember. ... If prison
isn't appropriate in this case, when is it appropriate?"

De Lima said that the family took out a "significant loan" to finance
a buy back of their property, which the state seized for forfeiture.
He said the bulk of it is to be paid back by Finley's Social Security
check. He also argued that despite Finley's age and medical problems,
"he has been a model prisoner throughout his whole
confinement."

Skier countered that buying back property confiscated in a felony drug
case is an improper use of Social Security.

"That's not why people pay taxes," he said.

Hara noted the number of letters written requesting leniency for
Finley, and said that Finley could be out of prison in about 15 months
if the state grants him parole at the earliest opportunity.

"Several considerations," the judge said. "His health problems. I
think the Department of Public Safety has the ability to take care of
that while he is in their custody.

"As for the argument that other family members are feeling the
hardship, I can understand that."

Hara said that Finley's operation was "systematic and organized" in
the way the marijuana was processed, packaged and priced.

"The court ... feels the sentence is appropriate in this case," he
concluded.