Fairplay, Colo. - Following a two day jury trial in the District Court in Fairplay, Stuart Sorensen of Fairplay was convicted on June 21st of cultivation of marijuana and two counts of child abuse, all felonies, and possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, both petty offenses.

The charges against Sorensen arose last September, when his wife Lisa Sorensen called 911 to report a verbal domestic disturbance. Fairplay Police Officers Juan Gallegos and Edward Goodman and Deputy William Fikejs with the Park County Sheriff’s Office responded to 680 Front Street in Fairplay to investigate. There they met with Sorensen, who admitted to arguing with his wife. While talking to Stuart Sorensen, Officer Goodman noticed what appeared to be marijuana on a coffee table. When questioned about the substance, Sorensen claimed it was his wife’s, but admitted to having a grow operation upstairs that he was shutting down.

Upon searching the house, the officers found extensive grow equipment including halide lamps with transformers, ventilation ducting, a carbon dioxide canister, and growth and cloning compounds. Various items of drug paraphernalia were also discovered. However, no marijuana plants were found with the grow equipment.

Park County Deputy Kelly Reynolds arrived and spoke with Lisa Sorensen about the domestic disturbance and the grow operation. She told Reynolds that Stuart had threatened to kill her and take the kids, and that she hadn’t reported the grow operation for fear of having her 2 young boys taken away from her. She claimed that Stuart had removed approximately 60 marijuana plants from the house a few days earlier, and she identified a house in Summit County where she thought they might be found. A subsequent search of that house resulted in the discovery of a large-scale marijuana grow operation, and Brian Siebel with the Summit County Drug Task Force testified to the similarities of the equipment found in both of the houses.

At trial, Stuart Sorensen, representing himself, claimed that he was using the grow equipment to start an indoor herb and spices garden. He told the jury that a friend of his made him take three marijuana plants, but that he just put them in a closet and let them die before throwing them out in the garbage. Amy Beatty of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation confirmed that debris under one of the grow lamps was in fact marijuana. Deputy District Attorney Brian Green pointed out that Sorensen was growing marijuana for profit and was using the proceeds to support his family.

Sorensen was charged with two counts of child abuse for manufacturing marijuana on the premises where his two young children lived. The grow room was adjacent to one of the children’s bedrooms, and the defendant had partially covered an air vent that connected the two rooms.

The jury of twelve deliberated for approximately two and a half hours before returning the guilty verdicts. Judge Charles Barton ordered that Sorensen be taken into custody and the matter was set for sentencing on August 7, 2006.