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Bigstaff enters not guilty plea in marijuana case

9/21/2018


By Tom Marshall
Senior Advocate writer

Thomas J. “T.J.” Bigstaff III entered a not guilty plea Tuesday in U.S. District Court to a charge that he “did knowingly and intentionally manufacture 100 or more marijuana plants.”

Police reportedly found more than 6,000 marijuana plants on his Montgomery County property last September.

Bigstaff was indicted by a federal grand jury last week.

Tuesday he pleaded not guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph M. Hood, who scheduled a three-day trial to get under way Dec. 4 at 9 a.m.
There was no objection to extending the trial date beyond the 70 days required by the Speedy Trial Act, according to court documents.

Hood, according to the documents, found that “the continuance is necessary for the defendant to have properly prepared counsel.”
During an initial court appearance Sept. 12 Bigstaff was explained his rights and was temporarily assigned Mark A. Wohlander as his court appointed attorney, court documents show.

Bigstaff, however, indicated that he planned to hire his own counsel.
A detention hearing was scheduled for last Friday, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office withdrew a motion for pretrial detention, according to court documents.

That came after Bigstaff provided an update to a pretrial services report that included the removal of a holder from Owen County, where a previous felony case has been dismissed, the documents show.

Bigstaff, under court order, is to provide an update on dismissal of this charge within 30 days to the pretrial services office.

Details of that case were not known by press time.

Under the conditions of Bigstaff’s release, his travel is restricted to the Eastern District of Kentucky and he is to avoid contact, directly or indirectly, with any person who is or may be victim or witness in the investigation or prosecution, except through counsel.
The United States Probation Office states that contact with family members who may be witnesses is permissible, but no discussion of the case except through counsel.

Bigstaff is prohibited from consuming alcohol or narcotic drugs or other controlled substances as part of a court order. He must also submit to testing for prohibited substances.

The charge against Bigstaff is punishable by not less than five years nor more than 40 years imprisonment, not more than a $5 million fine and not less than four years supervised release.

Authorities reportedly seized 6,791 marijuana plants on Bigstaff’s property located on Paris Pike Sept. 11, 2017.

The plants were spotted by a helicopter with the Kentucky State Police Cannibas Suppression Branch and were eradicated with the help of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

The plants were then burned in Midland Trail Industrial Park.
They were located on property belonging to Montgomery County Greenhouses owned by T.J. Bigstaff at 2603 Paris Pike.

Twelve suspected illegal immigrants were also located on the property and were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The KSP said at the time that it was one of their largest seizures of the year.