Marriage Versus Marijuana

By Debbie Williams Reporter

An argument between a husband and wife escalates to violence and police are called. But wht started as a domestic violence call quickly turns into something very different. Marriage Versus Marijuana

Published: Wed, May 14, 2008 - 4:42 pm Last Updated: Thu, September 04, 2008 - 5:37 pm

Debbie Williams

An argument between a husband and wife escalates to violence and police are called. But wht started as a domestic violence call quickly turns into something very different.
When Escambia County Sheriff's deputies were called to Wishbone Road in Cantonment, they were going to break up a fight between a husband and wife. "Oh yes, she was crying and all said he was beating her up and he was going to kill her and stuff like that," says neighbor Geraldine Booker.
Neighbors say fights between the couple, weren't unusual. "They argued a lot. We hear them hollering at each other. We leave them alone, they leave us alone," says neighbor Jim Lee.
Deputies break up the fight and then find out what all the arguing was about, "She was arguing with her husband cause the husband was growing marijuana plants. So it gets better, the wife points them out in the backyard. So we go in the back yard and we find all these plants."
Five hundred and thirty-six marijuana plants had been growing on just about every available spot on the tiny lot where Johnny and Kathryn Holliday live, but that wasn't all according to Austin. "And then she says it's not only here.it's at another location he owns another house."
More than a hundred marijuana plants were found at a second location behind where Holliday's sister lives. She says he would never do something like this.
"It's not like something he would do, I've never seen anybody back there," says Wendy Barnes.
Water hoses lead officers to a couple of vegetable gardens all apparently a decoy for the real crop.
Holliday is being held in the Escambia County Jail on a host of charges including domestic violence, drug trafficking and a felon in possession of a firearm