A Wrangell man was sentenced to three years on probation and 200 hours of community service after being convicted in U.S. District Court of felony marijuana cultivation near Rainbow Falls.
U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess in Anchorage sentenced Jeffery R. Cox, 37, of Wrangell, on Oct. 31 for his part in growing 95 marijuana plants on U.S. Forest Service property along the Rainbow Falls trail.
Forest Service law enforcement officer Doug Ault said it was an alert work crew that noticed Cox’s vehicle and presence on federal land.
“We obtained a description of Mr. Cox’s vehicle in the immediate area of the grow operation, and through further investigation were able to develop him as a suspect,” said Ault.
Ault also added that even though a large number of plants were discovered, Cox is anything but a homegrown drug lord.
“Mr. Cox’s methods were not sophisticated or complex. He acted alone in his cultivation efforts,” Ault said.
According to charging documents, Cox was growing the marijuana in three separate locations and was planning on both using and selling the drug.
Before sentencing Cox to probation, Judge Burgess indicated that the lenient sentence was based upon the “defendant’s lack of criminal history and the need to deter the defendant from any future criminal conduct.”
Cox was arrested in Wrangell on July 2, 2011 after the grow operation was discovered by a Forest Service work crew and an investigation by federal law enforcement officers.
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