Ohio Man Sentenced to Probation for Possession of 112 Pounds of Marijuana

An Ohio man was sentenced to probation for possession of more than 100 pounds of marijuana in Albany County District Court today.

Michael Thomas Heater, 25, received three years of supervised probation.

Heater pled guilty to one count of possession of a controlled substance in September in exchange for the state agreeing to drop the second charge of possession with intent to deliver.

According to court documents, a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper stopped Heater for driving four miles over the speed limit Feb. 22. The trooper became suspicious of criminal activity after finding that Heater’s license was expired and briefly smelling marijuana.

The trooper deployed a K-9 unit and the dog alerted to the car. The trooper then searched the vehicle and found 112 pounds of marijuana.

Heater said he planned to take the drugs from California to Colombus, Ohio.

Prosecutor Kurt Britzius said in court that while he did not believe Heater needed to go to prison, he believed a large fine was in order to send a message to the community and to discourage those who wanted to “make a quick buck” via drug related activities.

Judge Tori Kricken said that she agreed that a fine was in order but not a large one. She ordered that Heater pays a $1,000 fine, the amount Heater said he was to be paid for transporting the marijuana.

She also ordered that Heater writes a letter of thanks and apology to his mother, who had spent time and money assisting Heater since his arrest.