The county’s former Animal Control officer has escaped jail time after she entered a no-contest plea to helping her son grow marijuana on county property.
The former director, Tamara Webb, entered a no-contest plea before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to the charge of facilitating the manufacture of marijuana. She was issued a two-year judicial diversion and must perform 80 hours public service work.
The diversion means she can have her criminal record erased as long as she gets into no further trouble during her two-year probationary period. She has already been terminated from her job with the county as a result of her arrest.
The sentence comes after her son, Jonathan Ewell Smith, was caught cultivating a marijuana field next to county Animal Control, which is located down a gravel road in a secluded area. The marijuana patch contained 36 plants of medium size and was located off Paws Trail.
Smith entered a plea agreement shortly after his arrest and was given a three-year sentence for manufacture of marijuana. He was caught working in the marijuana patch, which was a short distance from Animal Control. Lawmen say they watched the patch for two days and saw him tending to his crops on more than one occasion.
Linking Webb to the illegal operation was a text message found on her son’s phone. The message, reportedly sent by Webb, warned him that police were around and that he should get out of the patch. Investigators also say Webb purchased things like hoses and potting soil used to care for the plants.