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| Sentence Delayed for Pot Grower |
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Posted by FoM on June 29, 2001 at 09:26:51 PT By Jeff Cole of the Journal Sentinel Staff Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 
An 80-year-old man who pleaded guilty three months ago to being a partner in one of the largest marijuana-growing operations ever discovered in Wisconsin may no longer be mentally competent, his attorney said Thursday.Eugene Burmesch was supposed to be sentenced by Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Walter Swietlik. As part of a plea bargain, Burmesch had pleaded guilty to felony charges of manufacturing marijuana and maintaining a drug trafficking place. "It is my duty to inform the court that there might be a slippage in Mr. Burmesch's mental competency," defense attorney Gerald Boyle said. "Mr. Burmesch is not legally competent to be sentenced." A psychiatrist who examined Burmesch concluded he doesn't understand what is happening to him, Boyle said. Boyle submitted that evaluation as evidence at the sentencing hearing. Swietlik ordered Burmesch to undergo a second evaluation. At the request of District Attorney Sandy Williams, this one will be conducted by a forensic psychiatrist who works for Milwaukee County, the judge said. Under state law, Swietlik could suspend the proceedings against Burmesch if the judge decides Burmesch is legally incompetent. Burmesch will be examined July 6, Swietlik said. Swietlik scheduled a hearing for Aug. 2 to hear the results of the Milwaukee examination and to rule on whether Burmesch understands what is going on. In March, Eugene Burmesch pleaded guilty to charges of manufacturing marijuana and maintaining a drug trafficking place. His brother, David, 75, pleaded no contest to the same charges. Swietlik sentenced David Burmesch on Tuesday to a year in the county jail and five years' probation. The judge also ordered David Burmesch to pay fines totaling $2,957 and perform 200 hours of community service. It was to David Burmesch's Town of Belgium farm that agents from the state Department of Justice's Division of Narcotic's Enforcement went on Sept. 1, 2000. The agents had received an anonymous tip that someone had a large-scale marijuana-growing operation at that location. What agents found was what they described as one of the largest growing operations ever uncovered in the state. In an 80- by 40-foot plot, they found 498 marijuana plants averaging 6 feet high. In a building next to the garden, they found 98.5 pounds of marijuana in bundles averaging between 1.5 pounds and 2.5 pounds. The Burmesch brothers were two of the older suspected growers ever arrested in Wisconsin. Eugene Burmesch told agents that he and his brother had been growing marijuana for between 20 and 25 years. He said that the brothers first obtained the seeds and tips on growing the plants from a co-worker at A.O. Smith Corp. Eugene Burmesch said they had trouble with the final crop because seedlings David Burmesch had first grown indoors did not grow when transplanted outdoors, the complaint says. Eugene Burmesch said the marijuana officers found growing in the field had sprouted on its own, according to the initial complaint. Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on June 29, 2001. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI) Related Articles: Pot Grower, 75, Given Year in Jail Brothers To Be Tried in Marijuana Case Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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