Wade man found not guilty of growing marijuana plants

A jury in U.S. District Court in Bangor on Thursday found a Wade man not guilty of growing more than 100 marijuana plants on his rural property.

Shawn Harris, 32, shook hands with his attorney and with one of the drug agents who had arrested him, then hugged his four children after the jury returned its verdict.

The nine men and three women deliberated about one hour after hearing testimony from the government and defense during the daylong trial. U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby presided over the case.

Charged in a federal indictment with manufacturing, or cultivating, 116 plants, Harris had faced a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison if convicted.

The defendant, who is a construction and woods worker, was arrested in August 1990 after a helicopter search of the area discovered plants growing near a gravel pit on Harris’ land.

Harris didn’t testify during the trial, while the government presented three law-enforcment officers and a forensic chemist.

During closing arguments, Harris’s attorney, J. Hilary Billings of Bangor, told the jury that the government had failed to prove that the Wade man grew the marijuana, which was found in seven small plots on land off Gardner Creek Road.

“It’s not appropriate, it’s not reasonable,” to assume that Harris grew the marijuana, said Billings, pointing out that no cultivation implements or drug paraphernalia were found on Harris’ property or in his trailer.

Billings also suggested during the trial that a neighbor also arrested last year on marijuana-cultivation charges could have planted the plants on Harris’ property. He also questioned why Harris’ wife, who also owns the property, wasn’t arrested and charged.

Richard Murphy, assistant U.S. attorney, told the jury that it wasn’t significant that no implements were found at the trailer.

Murphy said the jury could make “a clear inference” that Harris grew the plants from other circumstances in the case, including that potting soil was found around the plants and Harris had a receipt for potting soil in his wallet when arrested. The federal prosecutor also noted that foot paths from the plants led to the trailer.