Smell something funny?
A pungent smell and claims that Kenny Champ of Houston, Alaska, was illegally dumping raw sewage into a creek near Bench Lake led Alaska State Troopers to investigate, according to the Mat-Su Frontiersman. When they arrived, the 49-year-old Champ greeted troopers with a sawed-off shotgun and threats that he'd shoot if they didn't leave his property.
Sawed-off shotguns are illegal; so is threatening to kill police. Next, troopers discovered 1,700 marijuana plants on the Champ property. Finally, they discovered that he had, indeed, been polluting the stream.
All told that stinky stream led to the following charges:
- Possession of an illegal weapon (sawed-off shotgun)
- Assault charges (threatening troopers)
- Manufacturing marijuana
- Water pollution
The Frontiersman reports that one of those matters has been settled. Champ pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to federal weapon and drug charges and will serve two years, four months in prison, followed by five years of probation. Marijuana manufacture charges typically bring a 10-year minimum; however, Champ's sentence was reduced because he had no serious criminal history.
Champ has not yet been sentenced for his multiple state crimes. Read much more -- and the explanations his attorney offered for the federal convictions -- at the Mat-Su Frontiersman.