In a case closely watched by civil liberties groups and law enforcement, Philip Cobbs was found not guilty of possession of marijuana in a day-long jury trial.
Cobbs, a 54-year-old who takes care of his elderly mother, was arrested last summer after a marijuana eradication helicopter flew over his southeastern Albemarle home and spotted two pot plants near his house. A team of approximately 10 law enforcement agents drove up bearing semi-automatic weapons and confiscated the illegal plants. A month later, he received a summons to court.
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Citing the lack of photographic evidence from police, which offered up one picture of two pot plants, but none of the deer netting and stakes they said surrounded the plants, Kerlin said, "I personally did not believe that the prosecution proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt."
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