Last year Attorney General Marty Jackley got marijuana consultant Jonathan Hunt to plead guilty to one felony count of drug conspiracy. Hunt then helped knock the legs out from under Jackley’s weak prosecution work by testifying last May that he took the plea deal just to avoid lawyer bills. The Flandreau jury declined to convict Hagen of anything.
Jackley could have raked Hunt over the coals and pushed for a $4,000 fine and two years in the pen for Hunt. Instead, Hunt’s case ends with this prosecutorial whimper:
Attorney General Marty Jackley announced that Jonathan Hunt, 44, Colorado, has been sentenced today for his role in the Flandreau marijuana grow case. He received a suspended imposition of sentence on one count of conspiracy to possess more than one-half pound but less than one pound of marijuana. Hunt was ordered to pay a $500 fine and court costs.
“Jonathan Hunt has been sentenced for his role in the Flandreau marijuana grow case. A marijuana resort is a violation of both state and federal law that would create public health and safety issues across South Dakota,” said Jackley [Attorney General’s Office, press release, 2017.11.21].
Hunt has to pay $500 and court costs for a crime he says he didn’t commit. I guess that’s cheaper than paying a lawyer. Plus, with suspended imposition, Hunt will be as free as Joop Bollen to go about his regular business.
Way to go, Jackley! How much cash did that ridiculous circus just cost us?
Good thing there aren’t any real crimes happening in South Dakota to which you could have allocated those limited and expensive public resources you just wasted.
Like Andy Dufresne he crawled through a river of sh!t and came out clean on the other side.
The whole thing was a show-trial so that Jackley can claim to be “tough on crime” as he runs for governor.
From a different perspective, running pot doesn’t seem to be as lucrative as being a corrupt government crony. Plus he got a stiffer sentence for a crime where no one was affected- like heisting millions in venture capital.