When growing pot, don't leave the crops' coordinates in your GPS receiver

We should start off by saying that growing and selling marijuana for a living isn't the best idea -- besides being illegal, it doesn't look very good on your resumé, and the lack of a 401k option is detrimental to your retirement plans. And if you're absolutely dead set on a career in chronic cultivation, driving around with 18 pounds of the stuff in your trunk is something that you'd want to avoid. But a gentleman in Racine, Wisconsin named Dean Brown must be far dimmer than the average dope grower, because not only was he caught with a car full of freshly-harvested wacky tobacky, he was actually stupid enough to have stored the coordinates of all his grow sites in a portable GPS receiver hanging around his neck. After sheriff's deputies discovered the huge stash in Brown's car, they proceeded to plug all of the locations from the nav unit into Google Earth, giving them a handy map that has led to four separate plots of pot so far. As a repeat drug offender, Brown faces up to 59 years in prison and a steep fine for his latest brush with law, although there's a slight chance that he'll get off if the arresting officers are unable to pull themselves away from their marathon screening session of "The Wizard of Oz" synced up to Pink Floyd's "The Wall."

[Via 27B Stroke 6]

[John Doe @ Oct 20th 2006 1:25AM]

I wonder if they could zoom in on Google Earth and see it? Heheh.

[Jay @ Oct 20th 2006 1:25AM]

That would be 'Dark Side of The Moon', not 'The Wall'.

[John @ Oct 20th 2006 1:25AM]

I'm pretty sure The Wizard of Oz syncs with Dark Side of the Moon, not The Wall. I'm just sayin'.

[theinvisiblemooseman @ Oct 20th 2006 3:36AM]

Your right, its supposed to sync up to darkside of the moon, the wall had its own movie!

[Mark @ Oct 20th 2006 1:41AM]

LOLLLLLLL

[Kai Cherry @ Oct 20th 2006 1:43AM]

That was funny. Oh and like they said: DSOTM.

-K

[Bryan @ Oct 20th 2006 1:44AM]

59 years!?

I wish I could get a count of how many murderers pleaded out of a life sentence, only to do about 10 years for "good behavior" subsequently being released on parole...
Sometimes I wonder about the legal system.

[Dempsey @ Oct 20th 2006 2:11AM]

John and Jay, did you know this guy?


(laughing to self. I'm so funny.)

[John Smith @ Oct 20th 2006 2:24AM]

"The Wizard of Oz" synced up to Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon "

WOOWWW !!! Far-out bro !!!

[kaztm @ Oct 20th 2006 2:47AM]

Good job, Engadget!
I thoroughly enjoyed this post.

Now, as for Mr. Brown, he did manage to get his retirement with free food and residence for up to 59 years by growing marijuana, didn't he?

[john russell @ Oct 20th 2006 3:03AM]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4935715412555856092
Check that out. Pre-synched goodness.

[NunyaBusiness @ Oct 20th 2006 5:24AM]

Heres the sample of the other one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOkx98oHjJM

[TZK @ Oct 20th 2006 6:31AM]

59 years in prison, and OJ is about to admit he killed 2 people in a hypothetical book "if I did it".

Not that it has anything to do with this story, I just think you would never cover an OJ this, so what the hell :-D

[Oddmanout @ Oct 20th 2006 8:21AM]

"I'm pretty sure The Wizard of Oz syncs with Dark Side of the Moon, not The Wall."

Well that really depends on WHAT and HOW MUCH you're smoking, doesn't it ? :)

[Kesey @ Oct 20th 2006 8:25AM]

Obviously you're not a golfer.

[Derek @ Oct 20th 2006 9:23AM]

59 Years? Oh, America...

[Matthew Bowes @ Oct 20th 2006 10:16AM]

All that beautiful bud wasted. :(

[lothar @ Oct 20th 2006 11:03AM]

59 years for growing plants? Lets let out some of the murderers and rapists to make room for the pot heads.

[JuanJohn @ Oct 20th 2006 12:58PM]

I live in Vegas and Nevada is voting to make marijuana legal, probably will not pass but you bet I will be voting for YES!! 59 years is ridicouolus, The Nixon days are OVER!

I don't smoke bud anymore but for being the Land of the Free, we have the right to decide whether a substance (dangerous or not) may enter OUR body. Enough with the protection and "babysitting," adress the important issues like improved healthcare system and trying not to piss off every country against us.

JQ

Sorry for the rant, I had a moment so I ran with it!

[desi hernandez @ Oct 20th 2006 1:42PM]

end the war on drugs! marijuana at least...if rich white folks in the south had sold marlboro with marijuana instead of tobacco we wouldnt be having this discussion....

[Jamie I @ Oct 20th 2006 8:07PM]

i wonder what he got pulled over for...
I wonder how many comments mention its not the wall but dark side of the moon... oh well.

[asaien @ Oct 20th 2006 10:47PM]

I actually used to live in Racine! Funny! I probably knew this guy by proxy. As far as legal ramifications it is pointless to continue prohibition. RPD and RCSD have way too much time on thier hands. They busted a "dance party" I was at and fined every single person thier with a $1000+ fine which later got dropped because we all contacted the ACLU. They like to waste tax payer money on a semi regular basis.
as for the guy with the GPS well I would suggest reading the posts on the news link. Funny stuff and some really good points. Why would you keep it around your neck? DUH! Why did the cops use Google maps? Are they not GPS literate?

[dj_tof @ Oct 21st 2006 5:27PM]

yeah it is DSOTM... yeah....

[Yubal @ Oct 21st 2006 9:48PM]

hey engadget, really nice from you to include the first and last name of the arrested fellow... even if he was really stupid by doing all of those things, you don't have to be so gossipy about it. In fact, he could be free the next day for police incompetence and what you gonna do? make another post to clean his name? nah, you remind me of local newspapers when I got arrested, everyone new I was in trouble, yet I was innocent. I know there are many people named dean brown but it still is bad.

[george @ Nov 22nd 2006 12:09PM]

Thats really a shame for all his hard work to be wasted. For anyone growing inside, I found this site yesterday www.polyshield.ca, A good video and a nice sence of security.