Sumpter Township accepts $1,000 from Po for ‘marijuana grow permit’

Nelson Po received a receipt from Sumpter Township for the $1,000 he paid the township for a “marijuana grow permit” on July 28.
Po had been prosecuted for a felony charge of growing more than the amount permitted, but on June 26 before Judge Ulysses W. Boykin he pled guilty to “attempt” to deliver/manufacture 5-45 kilograms of marijuana at his Harris Road home, a misdemeanor.
On July 17, Judge Boykin sentenced Po to one year of probation and $1,548 in fines payable over a year’s time.
Judge Boykin also ruled that Po may grow marijuana within state statutes and so Po applied for a permit from the township.
Po’s retained attorney is Ronald Ruark of Canton.
Po, 69, was arrested on Aug. 16 by Sumpter police after they were called to his home by a neighbor complaining of a skunky smell of marijuana. He was freed on personal recognizance bond of $10,000.
Meanwhile, Po has sued the State of Michigan and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy for what he says is $1 million worth of cash and items taken from him by civil forfeiture during that raid. A settlement conference is set for Aug. 8 before Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David J. Allen.
Also, Po has sued Sumpter Township and Police Detective John Toth in civil court over the Aug. 16 arrest.