Marijuana Farmer Gets 2-Year Prison Term

A judge on Monday sentenced a Kootenai County farmer to two years in prison after the farmer confessed that greed led him to grow nearly 100 marijuana plants on his property.

Harley M. Hansen, 35, will become eligible for parole after a year, 1st District Court Judge James Judd said. Hansen pleaded guilty to trafficking in marijuana and could have been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

State drug agents seized 93 marijuana plants during a December raid on Hansen’s farm. In January, Hansen became the third person to be charged in connection with related marijuana busts that netted nearly 400 plants.

David H. Litzkow, 43, and David A. Thompson, 41, both of Rockford, Wash., each pleaded guilty to manufacturing marijuana earlier this year. Both were granted withheld judgments and placed on five years probation.

Litzkow served 30 days in jail; Thompson spent 45.

Agents said they found 284 marijuana plants and growing equipment in November 1996 when they raided a pole barn Litzkow and Thompson owned on Loff’s Bay Road, near Rockford Bay. Both later agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Hansen complained Monday that his attempts to cooperate with prosecutors were ignored, making his sentence more harsh.