A North Carolina man, a veteran with no criminal record, went to prison on Wednesday after getting caught driving a U-Haul across Nebraska with more than a half-ton of marijuana and four guns inside.
John Silsby, 42, wanted the judge to know he had no idea it was illegal, a statement Lancaster County District Judge Jodi Nelson said she simply didn't believe.
"Whether marijuana is legal or not, there is no state in this country where you can transport, as a private person, 1,200 pounds of it legally," she said.
Nelson said if he had believed that, Silsby would've told the sheriff's deputy that when he stopped him in the rented U-Haul at about noon March 7, not far from the Waverly exit of Interstate 80, for swerving in his lane.
She said Silsby also didn't tell deputies the truth about what was in the truck or the loaded weapon he had on him. Now, he wants her to believe he was duped.
"I don't believe that for a minute," the judge said.
After a drug dog alerted to the smell of drugs, deputies searched the U-Haul and in a locked cargo area found 1,129 pounds of marijuana, 1 pound of concentrated marijuana, 3 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms and about 133 pounds of THC products, according to the affidavit for Silsby's arrest.
Deputies also found three more firearms inside the truck, along with several knives and $1,116 cash.
He pleaded no contest to possession with intent to deliver marijuana and possession of a firearm while doing it.
At sentencing Wednesday, his attorney, Abbie Steiner, argued for probation, given his history of military service and a traumatic brain injury that affected his decision-making.
Nelson said the case was unique because Silsby had a decorated military history and led a law-abiding life before this. But she said he has committed serious felonies.
She said she believes he was lured by fast money.
Silsby admitted he was getting paid $10,000 for flying to California to pick up the U-Haul and driving it across the country, which he said was "not enough" when he got caught. He said he'd done it once before.
Nelson called it a business deal where Silsby had weighed the risks and rewards.
"This is not something I can ignore," she said, sentencing him to six to 10 years in prison.
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