TRENTON
– A Franklin Township man was sentenced
to state prison today on charges of manufacturing
marijuana and possessing psychedelic mushrooms.
John Ray Wilson, 37, of
Franklin Township, was sentenced to five
years in state prison by Superior Court
Judge Robert B. Reed. A Somerset County
jury convicted Wilson at trial on Dec. 17
of second-degree manufacturing of marijuana
and third-degree possession of psychedelic
psilocybin mushrooms.
Judge Reed sentenced Wilson
to five years on the manufacturing charge
and three years on the possession charge,
with the sentences to be served concurrently.
On Aug. 18, 2008, a National
Guard pilot flying a helicopter over a residential
area of Franklin Township spotted marijuana
growing behind a home and alerted the New
Jersey State Police. On that day, members
of the State Police Marijuana Eradication
Squad located the marijuana plants behind
408 Skillmans Lane, where Wilson lived.
State Police detectives
obtained Wilson’s consent to search
the grounds and home. They found 17 marijuana
plants, some as tall as 6 feet, growing
behind the house. Inside the house, they
found a small quantity of psilocybin mushrooms.
Wilson was arrested that day and later released
on bail.
The Division of Criminal
Justice obtained a state grand jury indictment
charging Wilson on Sept. 4, 2008. Deputy
Attorney General Russell J. Curley obtained
the indictment and conducted the trial for
the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs &
Organized Crime Bureau. Deputy Attorney
General Daniel Bornstein represented the
state at the sentencing.
Wilson was acquitted of
a first-degree charge of maintaining or
operating a marijuana production facility,
but he was convicted at trial of the two
other charges in the indictment.
The investigation was led
for the New Jersey State Police Marijuana
Eradication Squad by Detective Matt Mancil
and Sgt. 1st Class William Peacock. Lt.
Dennis Donovan of the State Police provided
assistance in the prosecution.
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