Two Athol residents plead guilty to drug charges from 2019 incident
Published: 2/16/2021 4:04:03 PM
GREENFIELD Judge Mark D. Mason accepted guilty pleas and a joint recommendation in Franklin County Superior Court on Tuesday, sentencing a pair of Athol residents to two years’ probation for drug crimes.
Mariah K. LaFountain, 26, and Bryce M. Cass, 31, each agreed to plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute (heroin) and conspiracy to violate drug laws. Each charge carries a maximum of 10 years in state prison. The sentences will be served concurrently. The two must abstain from using illicit drugs and submit to random screenings.
LaFountain’s and Cass’ lawyers, Lucy DeLaCour and Stephen Shea, respectively, said their clients take responsibility for their actions.
Courtesy of Franklin County, Wash.
In southeast Washington, the welfare of more than 50,000 head of cattle is worrying Tyson Fresh Meats.
Can the herd continue to be fed and cared for while the company set up to guard over them, Easterday Ranches, files for federal bankruptcy?
“The immediate problem is the remaining 54,000 cattle, which have to be fed, managed, and grown to maturity for delivery to Plaintiff s processing plant [Tyson],” Tyson said in a superior court lawsuit filed last month, asking for a neutral third party to take over. “… financial distress (including insufficient operating cash and potential imminent dissipation of valuable assets), poses a significant and material risk to the health and value of the cattle. Moreover, there is real and significant risk to the public if proper care for the large herd is not maintained.”
By Mackenzie Johnston, Reporter
At the end of January, Tyson Fresh Meats filed a lawsuit against one of the largest farming and ranching families in Washington, Easterday Ranches, in an effort to recover losses from fictitious fed cattle sales and feed costs. Additionally, Tyson was hoping to recover 54,000 head of cattle still standing in an Easterday feedlot north of Pasco, Washington. The lawsuit was filed in Franklin County Superior Court in Pasco.
On February 1, days after Tyson sued Easterday Ranches, the ranching operation filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court. Official Form 204 in Easterday Ranches’ bankruptcy filings lists twenty of their largest unsecured claims. The top unsecured claim comes from Tyson Fresh Meats with at least $225 million. The second largest unsecured claim comes from Segale Properties at $8,647,408.57. All twenty unsecured claims add up to $236,671,645.
Carthage man accused of threatening a Farmington man
Spencer Knox, 26, of Carthage is on probation for a previous arson conviction in 2018.
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CARTHAGE A local man is accused of threatening another man with a BB gun last week at a West Side Road residence in Carthage.
Spencer Knox
Franklin County Detention Center Photo
Maine State Police Trooper Andrew Hardy arrested Spencer C. Knox, 26, of Carthage on a charge of terrorizing. After review of the charge by the District Attorney’s Office, it was changed to criminal threatening. He is being held on a probation violation.
Knox pleaded guilty in March 2018 in Franklin County Superior Court in Farmington to arson and violation of release for a connected case. He was sentenced to serve 20 months of a five-year sentence, followed by four years probation for burning his father’s truck in December 2017. A second charge of arson and charges of aggravated criminal mischief and tampering with a witness, informant, juror or v
Courtesy of Franklin County, Washington
Originally published on January 28, 2021 10:05 pm
In a deepening cattle war, Easterday Ranches, Inc. has sold its so-called “North Lot” property in Franklin County, Washington, to a beef competitor of Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc.
As the public media Northwest News Network reported Wednesday, Tyson recently filed a suit against Washington-based Easterday Ranches seeking to get a neutral third party to take over the business until accounts could be settled. It came after Easterday allegedly made up hundreds of thousands of cattle on paper and fictitiously fed them, costing Tyson more than $225 million.
But now, in a twist, Easterday Ranches has sold its major feedlot property in Franklin County known as the “North Lot” to a competitor: AB Livestock of Boise, Idaho.