MASON CITY – A man originally charged with three Class “D” felony counts of delivery of marijuana received a deferred judgment after pleading guilty to one of the counts.
An arrest warrant was issued for, now, 23-year-old Kurt Arthur Tappe on January 3rd, 2012 by a Cerro Gordo County Magistrate after local law enforcement entered a criminal citation following a drug investigation. Law enforcement alleged Tappe had delivered marijuana during an investigation on the 15th, 16th and again on the 23rd of August 2011.
Tappe was arrested on the warrant by a Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Deputy in the 900 block of North Federal Avenue in Mason City on January 7th and was charged with one serious misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana after he was allegedly found with marijuana at the time of his arrest.
Court records show a plea change hearing was scheduled for March 26th, one day before a scheduled trial. At the plea change hearing Tappe entered a guilty plea to the possession of marijuana charge and one felony count of delivery of marijuana with the understanding the other two delivery of marijuana charges would be dismissed.
At sentencing on Tuesday, May 29th, presiding District Court Judge Rustin T. Davenport handed down a deferred judgment on the 1st charge of delivery of marijuana. As part of the deferred judgment Tappe must perform 40 hours of community service and will be on probation with the Iowa Department of Corrections for a period of three years. Judge Davenport also imposed a $750 fine, $401 in court costs, $200 dollars in restitution, and a $125 surcharge. The imposed fines and such were taken from the $1500 Tappe posted for bond following his arrest.
In the possession of marijuana charge from the day of his arrest on the delivery charges Judge Davenport ordered Tappe to serve 2 days in jail with time served and pay $50 a month until $310 in court costs and $125 in surcharges is paid off. Tappe’s drivers license was also ordered to be revoked for 180 days.
A deferred judgment refers to a postponed or delayed judgment. In a deferred judgment, the court gives a defendant an opportunity to complete a probationary period before sentencing and prior to any entry of conviction. If the defendant successfully completes probation at the conclusion of the probationary period the court will review the defendant’s file and may dismiss the charges against him/her.
If the defendant does not follow all of the terms and conditions of probation the court may enter the conviction and sentence the defendant accordingly. Normally, if a person pleads guilty or is found guilty of new criminal charges the case proceeds to sentencing. When a deferred judgment is obtained the case is frozen between the guilty plea and sentencing.
Peter, et al.:
I have said it before, and will say it again. Pot is illegal. If you want to legalize it, give it a shot, however the majority of people still want it illegal, and approve of the consequences.
Your drughead logic in saying pot is natural makes no sense. Opium is natural, yet I don’t see you pushing it’s use and propagation. Natural does not make it legal.
The obvious social consequence here is, that people are willing to knowingly break our laws, for their own pleasure. Knowingly, and with wanton disregard for the rest of society. No one forces you to be a drughead and commit criminal acts, it is done on your own free will. Thus, if you break the law, you must serve the consequences. That is the way our society must run.
If you want something natural, try Hemlock. Poison Ivy. Rhubarb leaves. Horse nettle. Yup, go all natural.
Marijuana in its unrefined state can be used with no further processing, short of adding it to baked goods to stimulate the Tetrahydrolcannibol into an active state, placing it in a vaporizer for steam inhalation, or burning it in the conventional manner rolled as a cigarette “joint”, or placed in a bowl usually made out of ceramic, stone, glass, or water bong, which causes the smoke to pass thru water cooling it before it enters into the lungs. Marijuana is an expectorant and causes the cilia in the lungs to dilate and bring toxins to the surface for later removal by coughing. Much like culinary herbs, heating it activates its properties.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m for legalizing opium as well. ALL PLANTS are part of our global ecological garden, and have a use and function. People who are for eradicating certain species are denialists of the Creation, and they are ultimately enemies of Nature, and enemies of God. Opium has been used for thousands of years and is a useful medicine.
Just because some segments of society abuse it, does not mean the plants entirely need eradication and prohibition. I get very irritated when people speak of their “addictions” to cocaine, and other drugs, thereby causing police powers in this world to act as defacto “saviors” of pathetic addicts who cannot control their use of otherwise miraculous substances. They essentially ruin it for moderate people who would like to add cocaine, heroin, opium, marijuana to their apothecary as a useful substance to help deal with some of life’s down moments. I found cocaine to be wonderfully stimulating and helped get me out of a rut I was in psychologically, but would prefer the raw coca leaves as to the refined drug. Marijuana also has its time and place. I’ve never used heroin so I’m not familiar, but I could see myself using the more natural state of opium as well.
Extremists ruin it for others, and the moralist prohibitionists are right there catering to their fears. The reality is, and gun culture people don’t like to hear this, but the only reason that drugs are equated with gun violence in this country is because of the prevalence of guns in this society. Over in Europe I saw addicts, and they largely were passed out on the sidewalks and streets in certain districts. Since they had no access to guns like they do in America, they keep their overuse of drugs as affecting themselves only, and of course people who witness them all drugged out passed out on the sidewalks, like I did. BTW I phoned for Greek ambulance because one guy on the sidewalk I came across was barely breathing. They came about an hour later and then yelled at him to get up. He barely could walk, and then passed out again and fell to the ground. They kept yelling at him, and finally went away without him. My Greek friend I was with said they should all have an island where they can go and use drugs legally. I tend to agree with him. There should be legal zones where druggies can go to chase the dragon as they see fit, and of course suffer the consequences of their actions alone.
If anything I view it as a medical issue, but not a prison/ legal one. Freedom has consequences as they say, and the freedom to use drugs is one of them. The best policy is education to teach people to use their own freewill to decline drug use. The moment you throw a prohibition on it, certain segments are going to do it just to re-establish freedom and combat authority.
And that is not an absolute; it happens to be the current law. However, that should be reviewed and revised as appropriate.
Medical marijuana is one of the main issues on the democratic platform in Iowa to be tackled through the next election.
There is so much variance among the states – we all know in states where medical marijuana is legal, anyone who wants to smoke it can via a doctor’s note.
We should question how much resources we want going into prosecuting (and housing) casual and personal users and whether that really is in the best interest of the people of Iowa to do so.
True, you can attempt to cater to Iowa’s fiscal conservatism when approaching this issue, but that is not the ultimate reason why Iowans should decriminalize marijuana. They should do so because they came to a realization that prohibiting a natural plant that grows in nature is wrong, and they should look at it as a consumers choice as to what materials and substances they want to use or not use. It’s a freedom issue, and it’s an ecological issue. You cannot eradicate a species. You can control it in your own space, much like a weed or a pest, but you cannot eliminate it entirely, because YOU want it eradicated.
I feel that if Iowans decriminalize it because of some budget concern relating to housing costs of prisoners, they haven’t really come to maturity on the issue, and could easily be duped again in the future if the State were to find some way to incarcerate marijuana users cheaper. Would you accept the German people telling Hitler that the only reason they no longer want him to incarcerate Jews is because it’s all too costly? No. You would expect the German people to realize that incarcerating and exterminating Jews is wrong because of ethical and moral reasons, not monetary ones.
The same holds true for prohibition of marijuana. People in Iowa need to mature and embrace the ecology of our world…not run scared from it.
Revise Laws:
You definitely sound like the voice of reason. Are you a legislator, by any chance? Do you know for sure that medical marijuana will come up for a vote in the next legislative session? It’s overdue!
I’m the parent of a kid who was caught with a teeny piece of a bud at age 16 – the juvenile probation officer via the county attorney has now filed papers requesting my son be waived to adult court to be tried as an adult!
That’s where your tax dollars are going!!
I’m against smoking pot, but also against what the justice system does to people who do.
oops, got an error msg. on the first one – didn’t think it went through.
I’m the parent of a kid who got caught with a tiny piece of pot at age 16 – now the juvenile probation officer via the county attorney has filed papers attempting to have my son waived to adult court to be tried as an adult.
That’s where your tax dollars are going – to keep these people in jobs as they go about attempting to destroy people’s lives for smoking pot.
I’m against smoking pot, but am also against what happens to people criminally who do.
You are correct! Natural plants are not manufactured drugs. It definitely needs to be legal with regulations as to how much you can have & what not, but definitely not a crime by any means.
I don’t know Peter L., so I will not comment on his morals, but I completely agree with his comment. The prohibition of cannabis/marijuana is more harmful than the effects of people using the plant. 0-zero people have died from overdosing on it. Our government leaders are always complaining about not having resources to fight crime. So they raise taxes over and over. If they stopped wasting time and resources on pot prohibition, they could use the time and resources to combat “real” crime.
Yes, I agree. They don’t necessarily have to “legalize” it, they just have to decriminalize it, and stop spending resources and money trying to prosecute it…and if it is found on people, dismiss the charges or give them light fines, and no jail time…unless it is coupled with other criminal behavior such as burglary, robbery, etc. The best model to follow is what I believe British Columbia did, where they decriminalized it and allowed citizens to grow up to a certain amount of plants in their homes for personal use. If you did that 1. The Mexican Drug Cartels would fold overnight 2. People would mellow out and spend more time invested in their homes and personal situations 3. There would be less drinking and driving. 4. There would be less tobacco use. 5. People suffering from certain medical conditions would have a natural tool for their medical chest. 6. The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross would enjoy more viewers (IPTV) 7. Music and Art would increase as a whole in society 8. More creative businesses would spring up and life would be more enjoyable. 9. Max Weavers Grotto would get more visitors. 10. Maybe just maybe my bi-polar mother would try some and give me some relief! he he.
But I completely agree with Peter L. Even those of us who still wouldn’t touch the stuff can agree that a lesser burden on tax payers is a good idea. I’m sick of paying for a justice system that’s out to get people who’s only crime is that they want to get high. The reason why it’s so hard to stop the spread of this drug is because people can hide it without sticking out. What does this tell you? It’s not like those who do meth or other hard drugs are able to hide it very well because that stuff completely takes over their life. A little bit of Pot is absolutely no different than enjoying a drink from time to time. If done responsibily there are never any issues.
Damn Peter! That was some funny stuff and you’re RIGHT ON! BTW, i heard there’s gonna be a bike run on Friday night and a rally @ central park this Saturday. Just wanted to give you a heads up…I don’t think I’m going but I bet it’ll be loud.
Ever think of putting down the bong and moving out of your mom’s basement Peter?
Clear Lake. I think it is a group calle MAG (motorcycle awareness group) that is putting it on. I went last year. Not too bad it was for their 1st year. TTYL.
I stand corrected. Last year was the 2nd year. Motofest III starts tonight with the ride and activities in the park tomorrow.
Well Anonymous, at least Peter uses his own name and doesn’t hide behind Anonymous when he gives his opinion. Although I am not a pot user and never have been, I can somewhat see his point. Our jails are full of people just for using a natural herb while real criminals are set free evry day. We have spent millions (maybe billions) on trying to eleiminate the use of a drug that really isn’t any worse than tobacco. Maybe it is time to wake up and legalize and tax it so then it could be controlled. Just saying-if you are going to bad mouth someone use your real name or at least your initials.
Thanks LVS. If more people had an interest in the world and would comment on these stories that often times go thru the feed unmentioned, then my “constant commenting” wouldn’t seem to stand out so much.
I really get tired of Peter L posting on almost every story I read. This leaves me with the impression that Peter L is a know it all. Also, it is obvious from his posts that he is a drug user and has a limited moral compass.
Post if will, it is a free country, but you sound pretty stupid.