Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
A serial Coffee County marijuana grower is back in jail after his arrest Thursday four months after he cut off an ankle monitor and failed to appear for a court hearing on his most recent charge of manufacturing the drug, the county sheriff said.
George Darryl Harper was arrested at his residence on Youngie Fussell Road west of Douglas after a chase that reached 100 miles per hour as he fled from officers who tried to stop his vehicle, Sheriff Doyle Wooten said in a written statement.
Harper, 61, had been charged with trafficking and manufacturing marijuana in February 2016 after officials found more than 300 pounds of packaged marijuana at a residence near his farm. He was released on a $100,000 bond a few days later after suffering health problems in jail.
Prosecutors sought to revoke the bond in July, but Harper failed to appear for court and Superior Court Judge Andy Spivey issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
Sheriff's Office staff member spotted him Monday morning on Sinkhole Road, the sheriff said.
At the time of his arrest, Harper was wearing a wig as a disguise, the sheriff said.
Harper's history of growing marijuana goes back more than 25 years.
In October 1992, U.S. District Judge Avant B. Edenfiled sentenced Harper, his father George Harper and his brother after they were all found guilty of growing marijuana. His mother, who kept books for the marijuana growing operation, was allowed to remain free.
George Darryl Harper was originally sentenced to 20 years, but his sentence was reduced twice and he was released on probation on Oct. 10, 2000, court records showed.
Just under two years later, he was arrested in neighboring Irwin County, again on charges of growing marijuana, 387 pounds that time. Edenfield found he violated his probation and sent him back to prison for five years.
In his findings, Edenfield wrote, "Harper has failed to take advantage of the Court's leniency."
In 2007, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation found nine potted marijuana growing outside Harper's barn in Ambrose.
Harper told U.S. Magistrate James Graham the plants weren't his, that they had been placed their by three men as revenge for his refusal to let them swim in his mother's pool. A federal probation officer told Graham that handwritten notes on the pots matched Harper's handwriting.
In Aug. 2007, Edenfield again revoked Harper's probation and sent him back to prison for three years.
Harper's father had also denied owning the hundreds of pounds found on his Ambrose farm in 1992.
But in an interview with the Times-Union before he was sent to prison, the elder Harper boasted, "Them GBI agents said that was some of the prettiest marijuana they had ever seen."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Serial Coffee County marijuana grower arrested 4 months after not showing for court | Jacksonville News, Sports and Entertainment | jacksonville.com
Author: Terry Dickson
Contact: Contact | Jacksonville News, Sports and Entertainment | jacksonville.com
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: Jacksonville News, Sports and Entertainment | jacksonville.com
George Darryl Harper was arrested at his residence on Youngie Fussell Road west of Douglas after a chase that reached 100 miles per hour as he fled from officers who tried to stop his vehicle, Sheriff Doyle Wooten said in a written statement.
Harper, 61, had been charged with trafficking and manufacturing marijuana in February 2016 after officials found more than 300 pounds of packaged marijuana at a residence near his farm. He was released on a $100,000 bond a few days later after suffering health problems in jail.
Prosecutors sought to revoke the bond in July, but Harper failed to appear for court and Superior Court Judge Andy Spivey issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
Sheriff's Office staff member spotted him Monday morning on Sinkhole Road, the sheriff said.
At the time of his arrest, Harper was wearing a wig as a disguise, the sheriff said.
Harper's history of growing marijuana goes back more than 25 years.
In October 1992, U.S. District Judge Avant B. Edenfiled sentenced Harper, his father George Harper and his brother after they were all found guilty of growing marijuana. His mother, who kept books for the marijuana growing operation, was allowed to remain free.
George Darryl Harper was originally sentenced to 20 years, but his sentence was reduced twice and he was released on probation on Oct. 10, 2000, court records showed.
Just under two years later, he was arrested in neighboring Irwin County, again on charges of growing marijuana, 387 pounds that time. Edenfield found he violated his probation and sent him back to prison for five years.
In his findings, Edenfield wrote, "Harper has failed to take advantage of the Court's leniency."
In 2007, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation found nine potted marijuana growing outside Harper's barn in Ambrose.
Harper told U.S. Magistrate James Graham the plants weren't his, that they had been placed their by three men as revenge for his refusal to let them swim in his mother's pool. A federal probation officer told Graham that handwritten notes on the pots matched Harper's handwriting.
In Aug. 2007, Edenfield again revoked Harper's probation and sent him back to prison for three years.
Harper's father had also denied owning the hundreds of pounds found on his Ambrose farm in 1992.
But in an interview with the Times-Union before he was sent to prison, the elder Harper boasted, "Them GBI agents said that was some of the prettiest marijuana they had ever seen."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Serial Coffee County marijuana grower arrested 4 months after not showing for court | Jacksonville News, Sports and Entertainment | jacksonville.com
Author: Terry Dickson
Contact: Contact | Jacksonville News, Sports and Entertainment | jacksonville.com
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: Jacksonville News, Sports and Entertainment | jacksonville.com
