2 ARE GUILTY OF CHATHAM MARIJUANA THEFT

GREENSBORO -- Two of three men charged with stealing marijuana from the
Chatham County landfill pleaded guilty to the charges Thursday in federal
court, and the third man is expected to do the same today.

The men will be sentenced on Aug. 12 after a probation officer prepares
presentencing reports on them.

Jody Mitchell Brafford, 31, of 436 Wall Road, Goldston, and Gary Leslie
Causey, 39, of 8224 Holman Mill Road, Snow Camp, pleaded guilty during the
short hearing in the U.S. Middle District Federal Courthouse in Greensboro.

Brafford, the backhoe operator who helped dig the hole in the dump where
the Chatham County Sheriff's Office buried the marijuana without burning or
destroying it, pleaded guilty to distributing approximately 80 pounds of
marijuana.

Causey pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in
excess of 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of marijuana.

The third man, James Benjamin Harris, 41, of 8347 Holman Mill Road, Snow
Camp, is expected to plead guilty today to the same charge as Causey.

U.S. Middle District Judge William Osteen told Causey that the maximum
sentence he could receive was 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Brafford could receive a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a
$250,000 fine.

Under the plea agreement, the men will have their offense level reduced
when it comes time for sentencing, although neither the prosecutor nor
defense attorney would predict what their sentences will be.

However, Causey's attorney, Mike Grace, said there are a number of factors
the judge will be able to consider in determining the length of the
sentence, including their lack of a criminal record, their acceptance of
responsibility and their cooperation with authorities during the investigation.

Grace said after the hearing that the three men were drinking a couple of
beers one night when they began talking about the marijuana buried in the
landfill, and they decided to go out and dig it up. They never dreamed that
the scheme they hatched that night would put them in such serious trouble,
Grace said.

"These schmucks are working stiffs that support their families and didn't
make any money off of it," he said.

While the trio did take the marijuana from the landfill, Grace said they
only took a small portion of the original 5,000 pounds of marijuana that
was seized during a drug raid in Siler City in February 2000.

Although a number of law enforcement agencies were involved in the drug
bust and seizure, the marijuana was entrusted to the Chatham County
Sheriff's Office, which put it in an old military truck and parked it
behind its office in Pittsboro.

The sheriff's office did not dispose of the marijuana immediately, and then
discovered that several thousand pounds were missing from the truck. The
rest of the marijuana was then buried in the landfill, rather than burned.
Later, it was discovered that somebody dug up the buried marijuana and
stole it.

Grace said that when it comes time for sentencing, there's likely to be an
argument about how much marijuana Causey and Harris stole. The indictment
states they conspired to distribute in excess of 50 kilograms.

"That is something that we may have a big disagreement over," Grace said.

During the hearing, as the judge spoke about possible prison time, Causey
began to cry and turn red. The judge told him he could sit down and have a
drink or water.

"The enormity of it just hit him," Grace said.

While the three men are willing to admit their guilt, no one else has
accepted responsibility or been punished for the rest of the missing
marijuana, Grace said.

"I'm terribly offended that out of the long history of these several
thousand pounds of drugs, the people who brought it [to Siler City] aren't
being punished. The police who had it in their custody and allowed it to
get away aren't being held accountable," he said.

The acceptance of responsibility and punishment has not been equitable, he said.