Central VA Man Acquitted on Marijuana Charge - NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA News, Sports and Weather

Central VA Man Acquitted on Aerial Surveillance Marijuana Charge

A central Virginia man has been acquitted of a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge stemming from what civil liberties attorneys call a SWAT team-like raid on his land.

The Rutherford Institute says 54-year-old Philip Cobbs was cleared by an Albemarle County Circuit Court jury Wednesday. The law firm of Sneathern & Lhospital represented Cobbs pro bono at the request of the institute.

They claimed police violated Cobbs' 4th Amendment rights when they conducted helicopter surveillance and a warrantless raid on his 38-acre property in July 2011 and found two plants they claimed to be marijuana. Cobbs denied any knowledge of the plants.

Rutherford president John Whitehead calls the acquittal a victory for both Cobbs and the 4th Amendment.

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