JUNEAU, Alaska – The Juneau district attorney says he probably will not file charges against a 24-year-old man suspected of eating a marijuana joint two weeks ago as he was approached by a police officer at a downtown intersection.
Prosecutors considered charging the man with felony evidence tampering, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
But District Attorney David Brower tells the Juneau Empire that would have been far more harsh than public possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor with maximum penalties of 90 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Brower says that to prove the felony, his office would have had to pay for expert testimony and the convening of a grand jury.
He says the charge would be disproportional to the resources of his office.
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