Timothy Olin Bennett of Walterboro, South Carolina, was sentenced to five years in federal prison at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Asheville, North Carolina, before Judge Lacy Thornburg.[1] The written judgment imposed the 60-month term on 3 October 2006, with four years of supervised release to follow.[2] Bennett had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana.[1][2]

The U.S. attorney’s office said Bennett, James Patrick Davis and Josh Lee Flynn maintained a marijuana garden inside the Nantahala National Forest in Macon County between October 2001 and November 2002, and were allegedly planning a third growing season in 2003.[1] The judgment gives 7 November 2002 as the date the conspiracy offence concluded.[2] Bennett was indicted that February in case 2:06cr6, with a second count dismissed on the government’s motion.[1][2] The court recommended him for substance-abuse treatment in prison and ordered him to support his dependents from prison earnings.[2]