The daughter of reggae legend Bob Marley pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges she grew marijuana in her Caln,Pa home then tried to get rid of it while police were waiting nearby.
Makeda Jahnesta Marley, 29, the youngest of the star’s 13 acknowledged children, had almost a dozen full marijuana plants and three smaller ones in the basement of a home she rented from friends when police arrived to investigate a dispute almost two years ago to the day of her plea.
Police reportedly caught Marley trying to sneak the pot plants out of the basement while they stood by with a boarder she was evicting.
At a brief hearing in front of Judge Tomas G. Gavin, she pleaded guilty to charges of manufacture of a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence. Dressed in a white blouse and black pants, Marley was accompanied by her attorney, Thomas Schindler of West Chester.
A formal sentencing hearing will be held in October after the completion of a pre-sentencing report.
Assistant District Attorney Carlos Barraza, who is prosecuting the case, said he had agreed to withdraw a mandatory one-year prison sentence for the amount of marijuana Marley had in her basement in return for the guilty plea.
A trial had been scheduled to start Tuesday in the case. Marley made no statement in court Tuesday, simply responding yes or no to Gavin’s questions about the rights she was giving up by entering the plea. Marley still faces the possibility of prison. State sentencing guidelines call for probation to a minimum of nine months in county prison for the crimes.
Marley is a graduate of Coatesville Area Senior High School and West Chester University. She was born in Miami on May 31, 1981, less than three weeks after her father died of cancer in the Florida city. Her mother, Yvette Crichton, is the last of several women with whom Bob Marley is officially recognized as fathering a child in addition to his widow, Rita Marley. Bob Marley also has extensive family ties in Delaware.
According to some published reports, Makeda Marley was a regular at Rita Marley’s house in Jamaica and later became a beneficiary of the Marley estate. She told Gavin earlier this year, however, that she had used up the proceeds of her estate and that she worked as a waitress in the county.
Her father was a popular and influential musician who helped promote reggae with songs such as “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Stir It Up,” “No Woman, No Cry” and “One Love.” He also brought attention to the Rastafarian movement, whose followers worship the late Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie and use marijuana as an aid to spiritual enlightenment. Followers were known by their wild dreadlocks and large marijuana smokes, called spliffs. Marley’s father was a habitual marijuana user and championed the drug as “Kaya” or “ganja.”
Caln police said they took 11 marijuana plants plus a variety of instruments used to grow it from her home on Sept. 10, 2008. Records say police were called to the home where Marley had lived for about 18 months to investigate a domestic dispute.
When they arrived, officers found Marley arguing with Howard Stinson, who had sublet a room from Marley at the house. She was demanding that he leave, and he wanted to get his belongings, including a washer and dryer he said was in the basement, records say.
When police reportedly asked Marley if Stinson could retrieve his property, she replied that the basement door was locked and that the key was in California with a friend.
Police then suggested that they would not interfere in a civil matter, and Stinson allegedly blurted out that Marley was growing marijuana in the basement.
Police next told Marley they would allow Stinson to break down the basement door, and she suggested that she might be able to get a key from her friends’ parents in Sadsburyville and she left with her son.
Police then spoke with their supervisor and the district attorney’s office about legally searching the property for evidence of marijuana cultivation. At some point, Stinson told police he saw Marley getting rid of the marijuana plants.
Police investigated and saw her in the backyard with a marijuana plant at her side. Marley was arrested and later signed a consent form allowing police to search the home.
Marley later sought to have the search declared illegal, but Gavin ruled against her request in July and advised her that her statement about trying to dispose of the plants could be used against her at trial.
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