University Daily Kansan / Thursday, April 26, 1990
7
Creamer is guilty in drug case
By Curtis Knapp
Kansan staff writer
A 43-year-old Lawrence man who advocates the legalization of marijuana was convicted of marriages in Douglas County and in Douglas County District Court.
Mark Creamer, who smoked a marijuana cigarette Sept. 5 in the Douglas County Law Enforcement Center, was found guilty of the misdemeanor charge by Judge James Paddock. Creamer waived his right to a jury trial. He could receive up to a year in the county jail and a $2,500 fine at his May 23 sentencing.
Creamer has announced he is campaigning for a seat as a U.S. representative but does not think conviction will hurt his chances.
Most people who know of him are aware that he smoked marijuana and assumed that he would be found guilty, he said. In addition to his decoration of marijuana will be one of his principal campaign issues.
During the trial, which lasted about an hour. District Attorney
Jim Flory called three Lawrence police officers to testify against Creamer.
Although he pleaded not guilty, Creamer testified that he smoked the cigarette Sept. 5, in response to a case against him that night about the war on drugs.
"I was watching carefully to see what was happening with the drug situation," Creamer said. "I felt I knew the answer to the drug problem."
He said legalizing marijuana was his answer.
"I felt that in my heart I needed to do something," he said. "I felt it would be a very strong statement to smoke marijuana in public to show that I didn't think there was anything wrong with marijuana."
In the closing argument, Jerry Harper, Creainer's attorney, said that Creainer's actions obviously were intentional.
“It’s also clear that his sole motivation was to express his opinion on an issue,” Harper said. “I suggest to the court that there was no criminal intent in this case.”
"In this particular case, the evidence is overwhelming," Flory said.
Flory said criminal intent had been established.
After the guilty verdict, Creamer and Harper said they would anneal the case.
Harper also filed a motion to dismiss the trial on the grounds that the prosecution did not prove enough evidence to support the verbiol.
Harper also said Creamer's charges were founded on an outdated statute.
The decision about the motions could be reached in a few days, Harper said.
After the trial, Creamer said he had waived his right to a jury trial because he doubted that he would be acquitted.
Creamer said the ordeal of his trial and conviction was worth his efforts because he had been able to express opinions about marijuana laws.
CLINTON DROWNING: A Kentucky woman drowned shortly before noon Tuesday in Clinton Lake after her boat capusted under the force of strong winds and chatter water, the county sheriff's department reported.
"I consider lying and cheating to be worse crimes than smoking marijuana," Creamer said.
The report described the scene in this way:
Anna Hay, 66, of Jamestown, Ky., had been fishing since 8 a.m. with her 41-year-old son, Helmut Hay of Lawrence. They started going to shore about 11:30 a.m. when the water caused the boat to overturn a quarter mile south of a jetty near the marina.
Helmut Hay, who cannot swim,
was able to get on top of the boat.
His mother was trapped beneath the
water. Both were wearing
life jackets.
Hay was rescued by two fisherman who heard him yelling and saw him on the boat.
Ko Tomolenda of Kansas City, Mo., and his son-in-law heard the cries and steered their boat toward Hay's boat. They were able to pull Hail from the hull of his overturned boat and take him back to shore.
Local briefs
Sherifis officers received the call just before noon and arrived at the lake at 12:10 p.m. Anna Hay was
pulled from the water about 1 p.m.
HAMMER ATTACKS A 32-year-old Lawrence woman was struck three times on the head with a hammer Tuesday afternoon at Clinton Lake by an unknown nude man, the Douglas county sheriff's department reported.
The woman, who was fully clothed,
had been sleeping on the side of a hill
40 yards southeast of the Clinton
overlook, according to the report.
The woman was treated at Lawrence Memorial Hospital and released. The suspect, who was not found, was described as a stocky white male in his 50s or 60s, 5 feet 9 inches tall, with white hair.
OPINIONS COINCIDE: A second pathologist issued an opinion that Chris Bread probably was struck by a van or truck, Douglas County Sheriff Loren Anderson said yesterday.
Bread, a 1989 Lawrence High School graduate, died shortly before 1 am on March 2. His body was placed in a casket at the intersection on the north side of 16th Street.
An opinion from Michael Graham, chief medical examiner for St. Louis County in Missouri, almost com-
plately coinedes with an opinion released by Kris Sperry, a pathologist from Atlanta, Anderson said.
Carol Modrrell, Douglas County medical examiner, said the two experts were consulted after she was determined that she was uncertain how Bread died.
Graham told Moddell in a telephone interview yesterday morning that all of Brend's injuries were treated at the same time, Moddell said.
Neither Moddrell nor Anderson would comment about the extent of the injuries.
EDUCATION COMPACT: Gov. Mike Hayden signed a bill yesterday in Topeka that would allow the state to join the Midwestern Education Committee. He said he would provide greater higher education opportunities in Midwestern states.
The compact will study such matters as student exchange programs within the region.
At least five states must join before the compact becomes effective.
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