NEWPORT-One of the targets of an almost five-year investigation into marijuana distribution in the Cocke County area pled guilty on Tuesday and was ordered to serve a full year in jail followed by 11 years of probation.

A Thorn Hill woman also entered a guilty plea in the marijuana conspiracy case and will be sentenced by Circuit Judge Ben W. Hooper II in March. Two other co-defendants in the case entered guilty pleas on Monday before Judge Hooper.

Mary O. Arms, 62, of Gardenia Road, and her husband, Charles "Eddie" Arms, were the primary targets of the marijuana probe, which was led by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation from January of 2004 to November 21, 2008.

Mary Arms, in a court appearance before Judge Hooper on Tuesday, pled guilty to facilitation of the delivery of marijuana and to conspiracy to deliver Schedule II drugs in a second conspiracy case.

 

Targets of TBI probe

Assistant District Attorney General Brownlow Marsh told the court on Tuesday that Charles and Mary Arms were the targets of the TBI probe. The TBI was assisted by local law enforcement officials and the Fourth Judicial District Drug Task Force.

After receiving court approval of telephone taps of the Armses' phone, the agents intercepted numerous telephone calls confirming Mary Arms' involvement in the conspiracy to distribute more than 300 pounds of marijuana, Marsh said.

Specifically, Marsh said Mary Arms traveled to Alabama on September 6, 2008, purchased about 105 pounds of marijuana,  and brought it to Newport, where it was divided into smaller portions for sale.

In the marijuana case, Arms pled guilty to facilitation of the delivery of marijuana and was given a ten-year prison sentence. Under the terms of the negotiated plea-bargain, Arms will serve a full year in the Cocke County Jail with the balance of the ten-year term on supervised probation.

The defendant was also fined $2,000 in the marijuana case.

The 18 defendants in the first conspiracy case are alleged in the 55-count presentment, which was handed down in January by the Cocke County Grand Jury, to have been involved in a conspiracy led by the Armses to distribute marijuana in the East Tennessee area.

Prosecutors allege that the Armses purchased more than 300 pounds of marijuana from Alabama and Kentucky and headed up the distribution of the drug in the Cocke County area.

The state alleges that while Mr. Arms was serving a federal prison sentence for marijuana distribution, Mrs. Arms was in charge of the local distribution operation.

 

Presentment returned

The presentment returned by the grand jury on January 14 alleges that the 18 defendants participated in a conspiracy to buy and distribute more than 300 pounds of marijuana.

The defendants are alleged to have arranged for the sale of large and small amounts of the drug, to have received shipments of marijuana, and are accused of breaking down the large shipments into smaller packages for sale.

With the four guilty pleas on Monday and Tuesday, 11 of the 18 defendants have negotiated plea agreements with the prosecution.

While the investigation into the marijuana conspiracy was being conducted, TBI agents intercepted telephone calls among the four co-defendants in connection with the distribution of prescription pain medications, prosecutors allege.

As a result of the investigation, four defendants have been charged with conspiracy to sell Schedule II and Schedule III controlled substances. Defendants in the second conspiracy case are Mary Arms; Lisa Large, of Bybee; Thomas Hollifield Jr.; and Lucie A. Stuart, of 181 Highway 160.

Those offenses are alleged to have occurred between March and December of 2008, Marsh told the court.

In that case, the prosecution said investigators intercepted several calls from Arms to other defendants in the case concerning the distribution of Schedule II drugs.

Specifically, Mary Arms is alleged to have arranged to sell 15 methadone pills to Hollifield on September 11, 2008.

In that case, Arms pled guilty on Tuesday to conspiracy to deliver drugs and received a two-year sentence on supervised probation. That term of supervision will be served consecutively to the nine years of probation in the marijuana case.

She was also fined $2,000 plus court costs, under the terms of the plea-bargain.

 

Roberts enters plea

The second defendant who entered into a negotiated plea-bargain on Tuesday was Donna Roberts, 54, of Thorn Hill.

Roberts entered a "best interest" plea to facilitation of the delivery of marijuana and agreed to an eight-year jail sentence. A charge of conspiracy to sell marijuana was dismissed under the terms of the plea agreement.

In addition, the sentence to be imposed in a related case in Grainger County will be served concurrently with the Cocke County sentence.

Judge Hooper will determine the details of Roberts' sentence after a hearing on March 22.

Prosecutor Marsh said that during the TBI investigation, agents intercepted telephone calls from Roberts to Arms arranging for the delivery of marijuana.

Specifically, Roberts is alleged to have gone to the Arms residence on September 10, 2008, and "assisted in the weighing and repackaging of 105 pounds of marijuana," Marsh said.

By entering a "best interest" plea, Roberts did not admit to any criminal wrongdoing, but agreed that, based on the strength of the state's evidence against her, it is in her best interest to enter a guilty plea in the case.

 

Church plea

Another "best interest" plea in the marijuana conspiracy case came from Richard Lee Church Jr.

Church entered into a negotiated plea-bargain with state prosecutors and received an eight-year sentence, which was suspended to supervised probation. Church pled guilty to facilitation of the delivery of marijuana and other charges pending against him were dismissed.

 

Perry gets judicial deferral

And Tonya Perry was placed on judicial deferral after entering a guilty plea to facilitation of the delivery of marijuana. She will be supervised during the first year of the deferral period and the second year will be on unsupervised release.

If Perry successfully completes the deferral period with no further problems with the law, she may return to court and ask that the charge be dismissed and cleared from her record.