Barrow man caught growing 54 marijuana plants

Posted by
Mike Buffington
in Public Safety Archives
Saturday, June 25. 2011
Comments (31)
A Barrow County man was arrested June 23 after a state operation led to the discovery of 54 marijuana plants growing in a wooded area off Argonne Road in Winder.

Barrow County Crime Task Force seized the plants, which exceed $64,000 in street value if sold in pounds.

Robert Evan Miller, 50, of Winder, has been charged with one count of manufacturing marijuana.

According to police, five helicopters from the Governor’s Task Force left the Winder Airport at approximately 10 a.m. on Thursday as part of a coordinated effort to locate marijuana-growing operations in Barrow and surrounding counties.

One of the aviation units located marijuana from the air and notified following ground units who quickly swooped in to the area and seized the plants.

When investigators approached the marijuana plants, they located Miller attempting to destroy them. He was apprehended immediately. Miller was living on the property at the time the plants were located.

The discovery was a joint-effort between the Georgia State Patrol, Department of Natural Resources, Georgia National Guard, Barrow County Sheriff’s Office and Winder Police Department.
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#1 lol on 06/25/11 at 02:52 PM [Reply]
64,000 in pot and 100,000+ in equipment (fuel) and man hours (multiple jurisdiction cops). great bust, lol. war on drugs=joke....
#1.1 Matthew Bradley on 06/25/11 at 03:21 PM [Reply]
You're grossly overstating the amount of man power and costs that went into this bust. I suppose we should have just let this wonderful outstanding American citizen continue to maintain his "garden" in the privacy of his own home. After all, who is he hurting? The drugs he was selling I'm sure were going to equally outstanding moral citizens of Barrow County. In fact, I'm positive the contributions to society these pot smokers give is unmeasurable. I mean just look at the guy - why on Earth would ANYONE lump this man into any stereotype?? He looks like someone I could leave my kids with, for sure and I'm equally confident all those wonderful people he's selling to are just a hoot to be around. The war on drugs isn't a joke my friend. The people who do them are the ones who are a joke.
#1.1.1 Frank on 06/25/11 at 03:44 PM [Reply]
HAVE U EVER NOTICED A BUNCH OF ALCOHOLICS HOW SHABBY THEY LOOK....ALCOHOL IS FAR MORE DANGEROUS THAN POT..25,000 DIE EVERY YEAR FROM DRUNK DRIVERS,NEVER HEARD OF AUTO DEATHS FROM POT SMOKERS AND I DON'T SMOKE.THIS NATION IS A BUNCH OF HIPOCRATES..WE LEGALIZED ALCOHOL AND CRIME WENT DOWN,PROBABLY WOULD DO THE SAME FOR POT.
#1.1.1.1 Matthew Bradley on 06/25/11 at 07:18 PM [Reply]
No Frank but I've seen entire families destroyed from pot. I've seen divorces. I've seen it as a gateway drug. I've seen people so addicted to the stuff that they waste away like sloths, bouncing between jobs and turning into bumbling idiots. Sure drug related crime would drop if we made it legal but do you really want to live in a society where we all look like the guy in that picture? Where the average IQ of your population is that of a paper clip? You think America is obese now?
#1.1.1.1.1 Anonymous on 06/26/11 at 05:04 AM [Reply]
ALL THE DESTRUCTION U SAID U HAVE SEEN FROM POT HAPPENS EVERYDAY FROM ALCOHOLISM...BUT THAT IS LEGAL...DUH!!! WAKE UP AMERICA!!!ARE WE REALLY THAT THIRSTY???..NO!! WE ARE JUST IRRESPONSIBLE.
#1.1.1.1.1.1 Matthew Bradley on 06/26/11 at 09:30 AM [Reply]
Frank, alcoholism is not legal. Its a disease. Being obese is a product of eating food. It also causes multiple diseases and cuts life short. Are we also going to outlaw food? You are trying to justify one evil by comparing it to the evils of another.
#1.1.1.1.1.1.1 Anonymous on 06/26/11 at 01:15 PM [Reply]
ALL I AM SAYING IS DRINKING ALCOHOL IS LEGAL,BUT SO DANGEROUS U HAVE TO BE 21 YEARS OLD..AND I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY ALCOHOL IS CONSUMED 10-1 OVER POT. CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL POLICE AND SEE HOW MANY DUI AND ALCOHOL ARRESTS ARE MADE MONTHLY COMPARED TO POT,BUT WE DON;T MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO GET SMASHED OUT OF YOUR MIND NOW DO WE?
#1.1.2 Jus sayin on 06/25/11 at 08:50 PM [Reply]
who said anything about him selling Marijuana?
#1.1.3 Stephanie Bowen Lewis on 06/25/11 at 10:05 PM [Reply]
Well aren't you just the religious little church at Winder man. "Just look at the man." That's so rude and judgmental. Why don't you read your bible and learn about what God is really about and maybe you will see that God is love and you will learn that you are not here to judge. You are a mere human just like this man and if you have sinned (which you have just as everyone has) that you are NO better than him. Maybe you should show the love of God instead of being a Judgmental "religious" person. Maybe then more people would want Jesus.
#1.1.3.1 Matthew Bradley on 06/25/11 at 10:38 PM [Reply]
Apparently you didn't read my post in its entirety. I was being sarcastic. The man looks that way because he smokes pot and chooses a lifestyle that caters to his "hobby". There is no judgement in that. I didn't say the man was ugly and lets all laugh at him. That personal attack was a little uncalled for, and frankly a little hypocritical.
#1.1.3.2 r on 06/25/11 at 11:15 PM [Reply]
Judgemental? The only one judging here is you. Are you seriously defending this pot grower??

And nowhere did the writer make any religious comments. Only you. Keep it up. The only one digging the indignant hole deeper is you.

If you're going to argue, at least bring some intelligence to the table.
#1.1.4 smokey McPot on 06/26/11 at 02:50 PM [Reply]
@ Mathew Bradley.....
Famous quotes on marijuana from some of America's most famous smokers

"Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!"
- George Washington

"The greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture."
- Thomas Jefferson

"We shall, by and by, want a world of hemp more for our own consumption."
- John Adams

"Prohibition... goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."
- Abraham Lincoln, December 1840

"The importation and sale of marijuana is condemned and punished as a serious crime, but we accept as legitimate the manufacture and sale of an infinitely more addictive and deadly drug: the nicotine in cigarettes that cost the lives of 390,000 American citizens last year."
- Jimmy Carter, 1990

“When I was a kid, I inhaled… frequently. That was the point.”
- Barack Obama

"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this."
- Albert Einstein

"Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could."
- William F. Buckley Jr.

"It really puzzles me to see marijuana connected with narcotics . . . dope and all that crap. It's a thousand times better than whiskey - it's an assistant - a friend."
- Louis Armstrong

"Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?"
- Henry Ford

All of these men, grew and smoked Marijuana. All of these men were influential For America to grow and progress as we have. None of these men fit the profile as you say "pot smokers". Your uneducated and uninformed on the subject, and when you speak out on a public forum where anyone can read your comments, you really seem to show your ignorance. Legalize today to make for a better tomorrow
#1.1.4.1 Hart Beet on 06/26/11 at 04:00 PM [Reply]
You must realize that the narrow-minded
bible-thumping fascist crowd dominates here. They also get blind staggering stinking falling-down drunk on a weekly basis. Finally, these cretins have never even heard of Wm. F. Buckley and would be appalled at his stripe of libertarian conservatism if they had. This newspaper panders to such a bunch. Thus, they gleefully crow over such a "pot bust." BTW, I don't smoke pot, but believe that it is the right of every adult to choose to pollute or enhance his own body as he sees fit.
#1.1.4.2 Matthew Bradley on 06/26/11 at 06:41 PM [Reply]
Copying and pasting is certainly a mastered skill you have there, however while you're at it you may want to go ahead and paste (or research, rather) the rest of the context in which most of those quotes were taken. For example - Thomas Jefferson was NOT speaking about hemp "..especially a bread grain. next in value to bread, is oil." Jimmy Carter also never wanted to outright legalize hemp, but rather lessen the punishments. He hated seeing teenagers in jail and would have rather seen the money spent on treatment programs (which I agree with). Abraham Lincoln... man you are REALLY stretching hemp proponent quotes there. Also, using a quote from Obama is hardly proof of anything. I seem to remember him smoking tobacco in the White House. Seeing that you would rather insult than take place in a mature debate I'll rest my argument with you.
#1.1.4.2.1 Anon Y. Mous on 06/26/11 at 06:59 PM [Reply]
Neither the government nor you has any business whatsoever in deciding what substance an adult introduces into his own body. It has nothing to do with whether or not abuse of marijuana makes one fat & stupid. If somebody wants to be "obese" (to use your term, which you seem to equate with a terminal sin), it's not your concern. But, you think it is. and, you have the law on your side, so your equate that with being "right." Well, slavery and segregation were once as legal as marijuana prohibition is now, but that didn't make either of them "right." So, enjoy your legal certitude. But, your "war on drugs" is as big a waste of taxpayer money as is found in government.
#1.1.4.2.1.1 Matthew Bradley on 06/26/11 at 07:47 PM [Reply]
Ok, anonymous, where do you want to draw that government involvement line? I think you're confusing federal involvement with state. I'm all for freedoms being given back to the state level. Less federal involvement the better. We see part of this at work in New York right now. I realize this is a federal law we're talking about but it was the Governors task force after all who initiated this bust. Be careful with your wording of "government involvement" however. You can come across looking like an anarchist. Maybe that IS what you're shooting for, I don't know, but I doubt it. We can't just have one law: "if it doesn't hurt ME and MY family, then let it be!". The world doesn't work that way, anonymous. At the same time, you're right. I really don't want the federal government dictating what I can and cannot put in my body. Until they give more freedoms over to the states to make these decisions, I'm afraid we're stuck with voting for federal representation for the state. No one ever said democracy was perfect.
#1.1.4.2.1.1.1 Anon Y. Mous on 06/26/11 at 09:33 PM [Reply]
I think you are the one who is "confused." I made no reference to lovely state vs. evil feds. You are the one who brought in your mindless hatred of Washington, D.C. Next, let me TRY and clear up more of your apparent "confusion." Who said it related to your simplistic "if it dont' hurt me & muh kin, then let 'er be"? Please don't insert your addled thoughts into my logic. i didn't saw all laws should be abolished. If you cannot distinguish between things that are clearly wrong, e.g., murder and theft, and things that law in this country says are prohibited, e.g., marijuana, then you are way too dumb to debate. To reiterate, I said that neither government nor individual buttinsky has any business in prohibiting a foreign substance introduced into an adult's body. Even if that --horrors!-- makes said adult fat & stupid. IOW, if adults want to be fat & stupid, you need to MYOB. But, those "good" folks like yourself love to tell other people what is good for them and enforce it under color of law. Just like the bible-thumpers would love to tell a woman what to do with the contents of her womb. The law, however, supports the reverse position on that settled issue. in the instant case, I, like the late Mr. Buckley, support the decriminalization of those "evil" drugs. (And, no, not because I desire to ingest any of them. If you booze it up, then you take more drugs than I do. The difference is I don't enjoy lecturing pot-heads, as you apparently do, and reveling in the intrepid exploits of a pack of crypto-nazis.)

I don't expect you consider that anything I said contains a scintilla of merit. I merely wanted to provide a smattering of counterbalance to your neanderthal caterwaul.
#1.1.4.2.1.1.1.1 Matthew Bradley on 06/26/11 at 10:48 PM [Reply]
Anonymous (a little cowardly, btw), if you insist upon bantering by way of insidiously immature insults, I doubt your opinion will ever give much merit to me or anyone else for that matter. Get back to me when you learn how to debate in a more logical, rational manner.
#1.2 Smoke another on 06/25/11 at 06:46 PM [Reply]
Actually about a million in equipment,fuel etc. Didn't cost you a dime it is under a federal grant and governors office. The find was actually an accident the helicopters were fueling up at winder airport and en rout back to Walton and newton county. They just happen to flynover andnsee it. That's what that stuff does too your brain, too dumb to grow it in an area wheremit can be seen that easy. Oh well and the world will keep turning..
#2 Odins Eye on 06/25/11 at 03:10 PM [Reply]
Free the Weed....Free your Mind.

[According to police, five helicopters from the Governor’s Task Force left the Winder Airport at approximately 10 a.m.]

[Georgia State Patrol, Department of Natural Resources, Georgia National Guard, Barrow County Sheriff’s Office and Winder Police Department]

I thought Barrow county was broke WTF



Wow..what a waste of taxpayers money..5 choppers in the air...thats a lot money in operating and pilot costs.
5 LEO agencies...you got to be kiddimg?

All for an herb garden...lol...an herb that grows naturally all around the world and has since the begining of recorded history.

And these fools with badges think they can erradicate it in one fell swoop.


Our friendly local sheriffs has turned into a para-military goon squads equal to those of Hitler and Stalin.

One day soon we will wake up to a razor wire fence around Barrow county.

Free Robert E Miller...Prisoner of War.


End the WAR on Drugs

free people for a free society

-Odin Eye
#2.1 Sommer on 06/25/11 at 07:54 PM [Reply]
I live in Barrow they don't have enough to do damn wit tht bust they should fix Mt Moriah Rd this Dumb Law enforcement officers don't have a Brain.....Just "THE GOOD OLE BOYS" Ya "I knw Bout U Boys....All eyes On U...Barrow.... Free The WEED AND BE FREE>>>>> Maybe then All us Winder,Barrow People could Be happy....It's better then Drinking Or METH......... Just think ppl wouldn't be Speeding down the rd we all be driving 10 miles under and Just,Just maybe We could ALL Get Along....Cause u Can't Tell me there's not a Cop (cops) that haven't touched drugs or Anything Else.... Well,TA TA for Now Damn It's 420 do U knw where my Bong IS....I Love the HERB...THE TREES>>>> AHHH PUFF PUFF PASS HERE"S the good good, No matter how Smart these POLICE Officers and So Called Man's UNIT r....They Sit like Squatting ducks....I mean could u be So obvious Just Cause we/Might/...Doesn't mean that some of us R actually Watching U.....HAHAHa HEHE Good Luck cleaning all the Drugs off the Street Cause u be doing it for a long long long Damn Time......................
#2.1.1 Matthew Bradley on 06/25/11 at 09:51 PM [Reply]
Sommer, were you high when you "wrote" that?
#2.1.2 sommer on 06/26/11 at 08:44 PM [Reply]
Hello and no i wasn't High it's just my short hand That's just how I do it. Sorry... R U
#2.2 Beth on 06/27/11 at 10:55 AM [Reply]
Well said Odin................Wait, I think I hear them putting up the fence!!!!!!! LOL

END the war on drugs!!!!!!!!!!!!
#2.2.1 Matthew Bradley on 06/27/11 at 12:36 PM [Reply]
Beth, Odin compared Judd Smith to Hitler and Stalin. Be careful before you go praising someones comments in their entirety.
#2.2.1.1 Beth on 06/27/11 at 03:25 PM [Reply]
No, he compared the ENTIRE Sheriff's Department(i.e. "Goon Squad" to be exact) to those of Stalin and Hitler! and WHY would I want to be careful?
I agree with his comments in their entirety.
#2.2.1.2 Odins Eye on 06/28/11 at 08:47 AM [Reply]
Mathew Bradley; ["Be careful before you go praising someones comments in their entirety".]

Coercion: force or the power to use force in gaining compliance, as by a government or police force.

A tactic often used by those who are enemies of freedom and self determination.

Typically used by tyrannical goverments and megalomaniac despots or those who strive to enslave the population.

Don't allow these fear mongers to control your lives.

Who instills more fear.

The man with the badge, the hand cuffs, the night stick, the taser, the pepper spray, the flack jacket, the hand gun, the riot helmet, the mediocre education, the authority to use deadly force.

Or

The man with the garden, the beard, the tie-dye shirt, the bare feet and the bong.

Wake up people.

Be aware and Beware.


-Harr
#3 Jus Sayin on 06/25/11 at 06:18 PM [Reply]
Another case of Law enforcement patting themselves on the back, "$64,000 STREET VALUE" The plants had no buds on them at all!Look at the pictures!More government lies!
#3.1 Anonymous on 06/27/11 at 07:08 AM [Reply]
You are so right with no value due to no buds. And these are suppose to be knowledable law enforcement agents. Should have waited until late in the fall and then maybe, just maybe it would have been worth that. They haven't even showed their gender yet! Legalize it now and especially for medicinal purposes and not that supposed synthetic crap that they offer cancer patients!
#4 Learning Exp. on 06/26/11 at 12:46 AM [Reply]
It's not the plant that grows it's self that's so great when it hits the streets! It's the added chemicals! That's how it's labeled commercial, perp, dro, skunk & many other levels that cost different prices the more expensive the better high you get!

Some doctors it's good for you!

If weed was legal and taxed the economy would not be so bad! It would help our government get out of debt!

I did a research paper on this a few months ago!
& found that there are so many people who smoke ever day it may be more used than cigarettes!
#5 Libby Tarrian on 06/26/11 at 12:52 PM [Reply]
Extra! Extra! Newspaper Publishing on Its Last Legs

While book publishers avoided making the list this time around, another often discussed casualty of our all-conquering obsession with everything digital is on it: newspaper publishing.

Why the decline: The move to online news and the competition from a plethora of new media information sources are obvious culprits. Will paywalls, iPad apps and frantic innovating online save the traditional newsroom even if it doesn't save old-style inky paper? Maybe, but don't hold your breath. The numbers facing the newspaper biz are stark:

• Decline in revenue last decade: -35.9 percent.

• Forecasted decline in revenue in the next decade: -18.8 percent.

• Forecasted decline in the number of establishments next decade: -17.6 percent.

Marijuana will be around after newspapers vanish.
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