Kansas Man with Island Pot Farm Sentenced to Federal Prison

WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man who was growing marijuana on an island in the Neosho River was sentenced today to 65 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.

Scott Joseph Skibo, 55, Chetopa, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm following a felony conviction. In his plea, he admitted he was tending his marijuana garden on an island in the Neosho River in Chetopa, Kan., when investigators had him under surveillance.

When law enforcement officers moved in to arrest him, Skibo got in his boat and fled. Officers in their own boat pursued him about half a mile before catching him. They seized about 50 marijuana plants, as well as a backpack containing a loaded .40 caliber Glock handgun, spare ammunition, marijuana, scissors, green twine, a water bottle and rain gear.

McAllister commended the Labette County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Rodebaugh for their work on the case.