MARY ANN DID NOT INHALE

This morning, when I struggled to wake up for my 7AM Altar Guild call, I saw a Fox interview with Dawn Wells (Mary Ann) who was reported to have been busted with pot, etc.   You might want to catch the video of the interview.   She was accused of having pot in her car, and the accusation has seriously injured the good things that she does.  Eventually someone confessed to having the pot, and she was completely exonerated.   Something Wells left unsaid but I find rather interesting is the fact that the same cop who “busted” her ticketed her for speeding about a year ago where she was going a law-breaking 7MPH over a posted speed limit.  One wonders if this cop doesn’t have a vendetta against her.  The cop, Teton County sheriff's Deputy Joseph Gutierrez, is now under investigation.

Something struck me about this story.  I admit, I was snarky about her arrest and jumped to snippy conclusions just like everyone else did.  For this I am indeed sorry.  We think of all of the lives that are ruined by this kind of publicity.  At least we can set the story straight about her, at least.

One Fox Version
“…A surprise birthday party for Dawn Wells, the actress who played Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island," ended with a nearly three-hour tour of the Teton County sheriff's office and jail when the 69-year-old was caught with marijuana in her vehicle while driving home. Wells is now serving six months' unsupervised probation for the crime. She was sentenced Feb. 29 to five days in jail, fined $410.50 and placed on probation after pleading guilty to one count of reckless driving. The guilty plea came as part of an agreement with prosecutors in which three misdemeanor counts — driving under the influence, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance — were dropped.

The case began the night of Oct. 18, when Teton County sheriff's Deputy Joseph Gutierrez arrested Wells as she was driving home from a surprise birthday party. She posted $4,000 bond and was arraigned on the charges the following day, pleading not guilty. A trial on the matter was scheduled for March 13, but was canceled because of the plea agreement…."I exited my patrol vehicle and immediately was able to smell a strong odor of burning marijuana," Gutierrez wrote in his report. "As I approached the vehicle I noticed all four window (sic) of the vehicle were lowered and the female driver was not wearing a jacket."

When Gutierrez asked why he could smell marijuana, Wells reportedly told him that she'd just given a ride to three hitchhikers and had dropped them off when they began smoking something. When Gutierrez searched the car, he found three half-smoked joints in the ashtray and console, according to the report. A second search after Wells' arrest netted a fourth half-smoked joint and two small cases used to store marijuana, Gutierrez said.

After Wells failed a field sobriety test, she was handcuffed and taken to the sheriff's office. Wells' attorney, Ron Swafford, of Idaho Falls, told the Post Register that a friend of Wells' voluntarily testified that he'd left a small amount of marijuana in the vehicle after having used the vehicle that day, and that Wells was unaware of it….”

Another version of the story:
“…"I need to put the kibosh on rumors," she tells our JANN CARL. "It was my birthday and I was coming from a dinner. The marijuana found in the car was not mine. The marijuana charge was dismissed and the person whom it belonged to went to jail. There was no DUI charge. I want to make it clear that I was charged with a traffic offense."While Wells also says the reports that she picked up hitchikers and that they are the ones who left the pot are untrue, she also disputes reports that she failed a sobriety test, insisting that the test was improperly done by an inexperienced officer, whom is also currently under investigation, but not pertaining to Wells' case. Wells says the DUI charges being dropped was not a result of a plea bargain. But she was charged with reckless driving and takes resposibilty for that. "I was weaving," she says. "I was trying to turn on the heater and was in an unfamiliar car. But I've only had one ticket in my life and I was going seven miles over the speed limit."…”

REPUTATION RUINED
Wells spoke about how the coverage of the incident has seriously damaged her reputation. http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/mar/14/dawn-wells-lecture-for-girl-scouts-canceled/
She was to be the keynote speaker for a major Girl Scouts event, but that was canceled.  It seems very few sources are willing to set the record straight.
“…lawyers have hit out at the media coverage of her recent arrest, branding the reports "extremely inaccurate and erroneous".
The 69-year-old was alleged to have been sentenced to five days in jail, placed on six months' probation and fined $410.50 (£255.25) at a hearing in Driggs, Idaho on 29 February (08) after pleading guilty to reckless driving following a recent arrest on suspicion of possessing marijuana.
She was stopped by cops on 18 October (07) as she was driving home from a surprise birthday party held for her, after officers spotted her vehicle swerving across a road.
Wells allegedly agreed to plead guilty under the terms of an agreement that saw three other charges - driving under the influence, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia - dropped.
However, her attorney Ron Swafford insists Wells did not serve a jail term and was only issued with a fine and "informal" probation. He also claims there was no "plea deal", reports ETonline.com.
The star had marijuana in her car as it had been borrowed by a "third party" earlier in the day, and swerved only because she was "reaching for her heater controls in an unfamiliar new car". The "third party" appeared in court and admitted responsibility for the drug possession.
Swafford adds any DUI charges were dropped due to "insufficient proof of excessive alcohol consumption", as none of the tests administered to Wells were carried out correctly. The officer who stopped the actress has since been suspended from his duties.
Swafford goes on to claim the offence will not appear on Wells' driving record due to her "cooperation, integrity and complete lack of criminal record"….”

Read the CBS spin on it.

A REMARKABLE BUSINESS
What do you know about Dawn Wells besides being on Gilligan’s Island?  She owns a company that makes decent looking clothes for people who have limited mobility. Go through her product.  This is remarkable – and she’s not getting rich off it by any means, charging a bare minimum for her products.