Pot plants, dead dog lead to jail time

COEUR d’ALENE — Melvin R. Gover, 64, was sentenced last week to eight years in prison and a $5,000 fine for felony trafficking in marijuana, after leading police to his grow operation.

Gover will serve one year of the sentence; the seven remaining years are indeterminate.

Gover was arrested on Aug. 28 after leading Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies to dozens of marijuana plants that he was growing for what he told police was for personal use.

Deputies were called by the owners of the property where Gover was living in a trailer. The landlord wanted deputies to check on Gover’s welfare because he had made suicidal comments recently.

When deputies arrived the landowner also showed them Gover’s deceased service dog. According to the report, deputies said the dog appeared to have been strangled to death.

Deputies went to check on Gover who was in the trailer listening to the radio or television.

“I explained to Gover that his dog had been found dead on the trail west of the house,” the officer said in his report, adding that Gover was upset at the landowners for spending too much time with his dog. “Gover stated that he just couldn’t take it any more, so he killed him.”

Gover admitted to police that he had killed the dog with a rope. While talking with Gover, deputies noticed a slight smell of marijuana and asked Gover if he had been smoking.

“I told Gover that I wasn’t concerned about a little bit of marijuana, and I understood that some people used marijuana for coping with things like cancer,” the officer wrote in his report. “I also told him that since marijuana is illegal in Idaho, he should be careful.”

The other detective on scene also noticed the smell of marijuana, then Gover told them he had a couple of plants.

The deputies asked to see the plants and Gover led them to a small patch of marijuana containing 28 plants. At that point the deputies called in detectives who found several more starter plants in Gover’s trailer.

Gover was then arrested and taken into custody.

Gover will receive credit for serving 61 days in jail, and as part of his sentence, the judge asked the Idaho Department of Correction to provide chemical dependency treatment to Gover.