A 77-year-old man grew 1,700 marijuana plants, police say. He's sentenced to 10 years

Judge Douglas Harpool had a tough time handing down a 10-year sentence to 77-year-old Charles White.

Investigators found in 2012 that White was growing more than 1,700 marijuana plants in his Polk County, Missouri home, according to the Springfield News-Leader.

Harpool reportedly searched for ways to lessen the 10-year-minimum sentence, but he couldn’t find one, the Springfield News-Leader reported.

"This is not a sentence I feel particularly good about," Harpool said.

White’s attorneys fought long and hard to get the case thrown out, arguing that White was unjustly treated by law enforcement. They argued that police illegally stepped onto White’s property in 2012 and violated his rights, the News-Leader reported.

Detectives said they didn’t notice a “No Trespassing” sign on a gate White’s property before driving down White’s driveway. However, White argued that the gate was closed and they had no right to enter.

And court records showed that before getting a search warrant, investigators entered white’s property twice, according to the News-Leader.

White’s lawyers also filed another motion to get the case dismissed in 2015, but to no avail. White pleaded guilty to manufacturing the plants. White also has a criminal past -- he was convicted in 1990 and 2004 for manufacturing marijuana plants, according to the News-Leader

After the sentence was handed down, Valerie Patterson, White’s step daughter, defended him.

"He's a good man. He's always been happy and cheerful,” Patterson told the News-Leader. "He's never had a history of violence."

Robert Murphy, one of White’s friends, also told the News-Leader that the police officers acted unlawfully.

"He's a farmer. He's always been a farmer," Murphy said. "When he was busted, he was busted illegally."

There have been similar cases to White’s in recent years. In 2014 in Dothan, Alabama, 75-year-old Lee Carroll Brooker was found guilty of felony drug trafficking marijuana.

Brooker was sentenced to life without parole after authorities seized 42 marijuana plants, according to the Dothan Eagle.

In 2016, authorities found more than 180 marijuana plants on 77-year-old Flo Matheson’s property. She was a congressional candidate in Tennessee, KXAN reported.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said Lee Brooker received a resentencing of five years probation. The story now reflects that he is still serving life without parole.

This story was originally published September 23, 2017 at 5:53 PM with the headline "A 77-year-old man grew 1,700 marijuana plants, police say. He's sentenced to 10 years."