POT CHARGES DISMISSED

Two men who were charged and later pleaded guilty to hauling 1,300 pounds
of marijuana had their cases dismissed Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Robert Dawson signed the order of dismissal after
federal prosecutors of U.S. District Court in Fort Smith filed a motion to
dismiss the indictment against Andrew Belcher and Garfield Walters, both of
Maryland.

Belcher and Walters entered guilty pleas after being arrested at a weigh
station in Crawford County on Feb. 8, 2001. Those pleas were conditioned on
the outcome of the men's claim that they were the victim of an illegal
search by Sgt. Tim Culver of the Arkansas Highway Police.

Dawson ruled the search legal. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
overturned that ruling in May. Prosecutors sought a rehearing by the
appeals court and were turned down.

Fort Smith attorney Shannon Blatt, who represented Walters, said the two
could be released from a federal prison in Maryland today. She said she
contacted the prison Thursday and federal agents would become involved in
releasing the two men today. Belcher was represented by Little Rock
attorney John Wesley Hall Jr.

"These guys are going to be released," Blatt said. "It is good to know
there are proper procedures to follow and a defendant's rights are not
violated. We can't have police officers violating citizens' constitutional
rights by performing illegal searches."

The search began after Culver became suspicious of the two men's story
about where they had last unloaded their tractor-trailer rig and called a
drug dog on the scene. The dog "hit" on the truck, according to officers,
and the drugs were found inside.

Attorneys representing the two stated the evidence was illegally found
because the search came as a result of suspicions based on Culver's request
to review the truck's bill of lading.

"The statute ... permits officers to ask for and inspect bills of lading
only 'upon reasonable belief that any motor vehicle is being operated in
violation' of Arkansas's regulations," the appeals court order stated.
"(S)ergeant Culver had no legal justification for asking for bills of
lading because he had no grounds for believing that the truck was not in
compliance with Arkansas regulations. His request therefore violated the
terms of the regulatory statute."