Man With Pot Given Choice: Jail or Military

A Salinas man will have to choose between going to jail or joining the military as his punishment for possession of marijuana.

A judge surprised both the prosecution and defense yesterday when he told Brian Barr that he could avoid a jail term by enlisting in the military.

The 24-year-old Barr was charged with marijuana possession after shooting a would-be robber who had entered his apartment with two others.

www.kron.com...

So joining the military is punishment now? The only time I've ever heard of such a thing was in the movies. I guess either way he will be a ward of the state, unfit for freedom. All because of those stupid movies in the '50s. Don't worry, the government knows what's best. You might hurt yourself, so close your eyes and say Big Brother protect me from myself, I don't deserve freedom.

[edit on 18-11-2004 by Jamuhn]

"charged with marijuana possession after shooting a would-be robber who had entered his apartment with two others."

This guy should get a medal not jail time. The cops that came to this guys house must have been pricks. If I came to a self defense shooting I wouldnt be trying to bust the guy that was defending his house.

Well, Shadow, I bet you that the robbers came because they knew he sold pot and had money. That's a real shady business they have there, but it was good to see the Judge stick up for him in that respect nevertheless!

me too 25 years ago a judge said to me son jail or the Army, I joined the Army Reserves 23thrd Service Battalion, MP�s, paper pushers and mechanics I did less time in the Army.
At that time it was my second pot bust.

[edit on 18/11/2004 by Sauron]

Hold on a second. You don't go to Jail just for Possession. Possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor under California Health and Safety Code Section 11357. It is a felony if they charge you with Intent to Sell, but that isn't what the article said. Nor did they charge him with anything else so unless this article is B.S. or they left something out, all this guy is looking at is a Fine and Probation.

Originally posted by Jamuhn
Well, Shadow, I bet you that the robbers came because they knew he sold pot and had money. That's a real shady business they have there, but it was good to see the Judge stick up for him in that respect nevertheless!

I missed the part that said he was selling pot I assumed he had some just for his own use. Drug dealing is indeed a shady business so I dont feel bad for the guy now. He should just get jail time not the military though, unless he wanted to go into the military instead.

If that was the case it might be good for him but he shouldnt be forced to join

You Who!,

After the election Bush reversed his position on illegal aliens and now wishes to offer them citizenship in exchange for military service. He has activated 26 field groups of agents to round them up This is why he claims there will be no draft. What a gamble. We could not catch them at the border but we can catch them now, because they are mowing the lawns of politicians. Your vote counts

Polar Bear

If true, it's the same old story. French gave convict a choice: you stay in jail (17th century jails) or go colonize Louisiana (back then it was that a stretch of wild territory along the Mississipi). British were even stricter: convicts were either deported to Van Diemen's Land (Australia) or sent to join the Navy. There was no choice possible and, back then, Navy discipline was even worse than jail (grog, whips and sodomy, as Winston Churchill remarked). The Germans, during the closing years of WWII, formed a unit (Brigade Dirlewanger) out of hard criminals, which was mainly used to suppress uprisings and fight off insurgents: they were reckoned to be so brutal that even Gestapo officers didn't want to have anything to do with them. During the Anglo-Boer war of 1899-1902 the British formed several units of "rangers" out of "paroled" criminals: discipline was very strict and, not supringsly, they were reckoned to be excellent fighters. French always kept a couple of "disciplinary" battallions in North Africa: as before these were men given the choice. Hard military service or jail. Venetians initiated the practice of sending convicts to "the galleys": they always needed stout arms for the oars. I could go on forever but, as you see, there is nothing new under the sun.

So....how do they get around the Armed Forces requirement of NO DRUG policy...I remember when I was at the Navy Enlistment office, and they asked this kid if he had ever done drugs..he was honest and said, I smoked pot once..the recruiter said "Goodbye".

When I was in the Army (late 80�s) there were about a dozen folks I knew who were given the choice of Army or Jail. The Army cleaned �em up and gave them a new lease on life. The drill sergeants made sure they made life a living hell on them (we had one ex-drug user pass out more than once in our boot camp). Once they sweated the crap out of their system they got back their lives, served the country in a meaningful way, and then had a chance to go back into civilian life with a clean record.

This is a good policy and I hope they are still doing it.

There is nothing new here, Marines have been "cleaning up" thugs since around 1775. Sometimes it works sometimes they get rehabilitated in combat.

Wow, comparing now with the 17th and 18th centuries.

You guys sure do set your sights high(!) in your ideas for advancing your 'US civillisation'.

This shold be a viable choice for non-violent offenders. Lots of time a person needs the bubble to burst to change or be lost forever in the world of hospitality jobs and recreational drug use. Not that this is bad, but these people start having kids.

The article states possesion, but if it more than an ounce and they can find baggies in your house it becomes 'intent to sell'. If you have in on you in your car they can take on trafficking.

This guy was getting robbed, and he shot someone. He was given a good choice. MAybe the milatary will show him how to be more productive, #, we know he can shoot!!!

Why is marijuana not legal?
It's a natural plant that grows in the dirt.
Do you know what's not natural?
80 year old dudes with hard-ons. That's not natural.
But we got pills for that.
We're dedicating all our medical resources to keeping the old guys erect,
but we're putting people in jail for something that grows in the dirt?


Weed is good....I'm not a druggie, I just relax with grass in front of TV after a big hard day at work!

Ameliaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My cousin was given a similar option....

When he was 17 years old some guys he knew, broke into a church and stole electronic equipment and hid the stuff underneath my cousins house in the crawl space...

My cousin swears he wasn't with them, when they did this, but had been with them earlier in the day...

They went to court and the judge threw the book at 3 of the boys... they got in big trouble, the judge told my cousin, he thought that he didn't actually take the stuff, but knew what was happening... so he told my cousin, join the military and get a life or go to jail.

He went on to join the Navy and will retire in a couple of years !



[edit on 18-11-2004 by elevatedone]

Looks like we may have just one of the aspects of Bush's much needed (by him) back door drafts, hmm??? Sure, I know this has gone on a while, but I bet this option gets more and more offered as a deal....

Thats how I wound up in the Army

It was SOP in the South during the Vietnam war, every one from my town that wound up over there were what we refer to as "White Trash" or Blacks. You get caught in some minor crime, to many bar fights, pot, etc you had your choice military or prision

I notice theres no mention of the punishment for the two who were trying to rob Barr. Seems odd to have marijuana a bigger deal than breaking and entering. Of course even without the whole weed bit he would have still be busted, since its basically illegal to defend your home these days.

Looks like Bush and his cronies are desperate for cannon fodder.

What next ? - 'You were caught doing 56 in a 55 speed zone - you're going to Iraq'

:shk:

Originally posted by alternateheaven
I notice theres no mention of the punishment for the two who were trying to rob Barr. Seems odd to have marijuana a bigger deal than breaking and entering. Of course even without the whole weed bit he would have still be busted, since its basically illegal to defend your home these days.

That's what seems strange about the whole thing to me too.
1.) No mention of what happened to the other guys that got shot.
2.) No mention of being charged with 'Intent to Sell'.

Wait, hold on....I found a better article explaining what really happened here and why!!

SALINAS, Calif. (AP) - A judge told a Salinas marijuana peddler who killed a would-be robber that he can avoid a jail term by enlisting in the military - an offer that caught the prosecutor and defense lawyer by surprise.

Brian Barr, 24, was scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday for felony possession of marijuana for sale, a charge he admitted last month.

The charge stemmed from a March 22 robbery at Barr's South Salinas apartment. He shot and killed intruder John Herrera, 34, who had entered the apartment with two others, searching for money and marijuana.

Barr was charged with marijuana possession after investigators determined he had hidden his marijuana supply after the shooting and gone through Herrera's pockets to retrieve marijuana.

Monterey County Judge Robert Moody said Tuesday that Herrera's shooting was justified and that gun possession, not the shooting, was the aggravating factor. After announcing that probation officials had recommended eight months in jail, Moody gave Barr the option of enlistment instead.

"There's an awful lot of good in this young man," said Moody, citing Barr's academic record, civic involvement, and his intervention in a bank robbery last year.

Deputy District Attorney Todd Hornik and defense lawyer Sam Lavorato Jr. said they were caught off-guard by the offer. Hornik said it was rare to let a defendant a choose between jail and the Army, though it was common during the 1960s and 1970s.

Barr is scheduled to return to court next month.
www.mercedsun-star.com...

Now the story makes sense. At first it seemed like some kind of B.S. Propaganda News to scare all the Pot Smokers or something.

When ya think about it, it's a 'Win-Win' situation for both Him and the Military if he does join up. It's already established that he can handle a gun, he's obviously not too bad of a shot and he has experience in combat situations!!