(Stillwater) — A former Cushing man has been placed on three years’ probation for possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute near the Cushing Senior Citizens’ Center, maintaining a house where drugs were kept, and possessing drug paraphernalia.
William Henry Steen II, 21, who told a probation officer that he is now homeless and living in Stillwater with friends, was also ordered to pay $900 in fines and assessments by District Judge Donald Worthington on March 20.
Steen, who had pleaded guilty to the three-count charge, must also perform 50 hours of community service by Sept. 20, the judge ordered. Since he was given a deferred sentence, Steen will not have a criminal record if he successfully completes his probation.
His co-defendants, Rachel Renee Gibson and Jewell Ann Gibson, both 20, of Cushing, who were living with him at the time of the drug bust, had also pleaded guilty to the three-count charge and were placed on two years’ probation in 2007, court records show.
They were also ordered to have drug and alcohol assessments and any recommended follow-up, complete 100 hours of community service within a year, and pay $700 in fines and assessments.
Since the Gibsons were also given deferred sentences, they will not have criminal records if they successfully complete their probation, which is due to end in November, court records show.
The three were charged together following a May 5, 2007, drug bust by Cushing Police Officer Cody Manuel at their then-residence in the 100 block of East Cherry Street, located 359 feet from the Cushing Senior Citizens’ Center, court records show.
Steen slept in the living room on a spare mattress, while Rachel Gibson had the west bedroom and Jewell Gibson had the east bedroom, Manuel’s affidavit said.
“From the living room south wall, I seized a decorative skull that contained a loose green leafy substance, a pack of rolling papers, and a hemostat with a burn tip,” Manuel wrote in his affidavit.
He also seized a set of gravity scales from a nightstand in the east bedroom and a set of electronic scales and four packaged marijuana seeds from the east bedroom television stand, the affidavit said.
The officer also found a glass smoking pipe with a partially burnt residue in a drawer in the west bedroom, the affidavit said.
A cut plastic bottle containing moist soil was found in a closet in the east bedroom, the affidavit said. A reflector, lamp, plant nutrient stick and watering cup were present by the bottle, the affidavit said.
“I field-tested a small portion of the green leafy substance resulting a presumptive positive result for the presence of marijuana,” the officer wrote in his affidavit.
