A Woosung man charged with possessing more than 5,000 grams of cannabis and 27 cannabis plants claims he had a legal right to grow cannabis plants in his home for his own medical use.

As such, Joshua T. Anderson said, all items seized during an April 24, 2024 search of his home should not be allowed as evidence.

Anderson, 39, appeared in court Tuesday, Oct. 7 with his attorney, Mitchell Johnson of Sterling, to request a “Franks hearing” to determine the legality of the 2024 search warrant.

A Franks hearing is a court proceeding to determine if a search warrant was issued based on a false statement made by officers who requested the warrant.

Anderson was arrested April 10, 2024, after the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Unit executed a search warrant at his home in the 700 block of South Central Street in Woosung.

Police said they seized more than 46 pounds of cannabis with an estimated street value of more than $200,000 after what they described as a lengthy investigation.

Anderson is charged with unlawful possession with the intent to deliver more than 5,000 grams of cannabis, possession of 20 to 50 cannabis plants, and possession of less than 15 grams of a substance containing the painkiller tramadol.

He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and testified May 1, 2024, that he has a medical marijuana card and was growing the plants for his own use.

On Tuesday, Oct. 7, Johnson told Ogle County Judge John “Ben” Roe that the search warrant did not meet legal standards because the judge who issued it was not told that Anderson was a Medical Cannabis Qualifying Patient, which allows him to grow plants for his own personal use at his own residence.

Johnson questioned if the search warrant would have been issued if Judge Clayton Lindsey had been aware of Anderson’s medical card.

“That fact was not conveyed to the judge issuing the search warrant,” Johnson said.

Johnson told the court that police had requested the search warrant based on information from a confidential source who said they could smell cannabis while standing outside the residence. He said officers told the judge that they had observed fans in the home’s windows, a silver tent inside the home, and bright light at night inside one of the rooms.

Johnson said officers told Lindsey they had seen social media posts that they claimed were made by Anderson regarding cannabis.

“These are alleged Facebook posts about alleged cannabis seeds,” said Johnson, arguing that the posts may not have been made by his client.

“My client can legally cultivate cannabis. A Franks hearing is warranted,” he said.

Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten said the omission of mentioning the medical card was not enough to disallow the search warrant.

“That omission is not fatal to the search warrant,” said Leisten, arguing that enough probable cause existed to grant the search warrant.

Leisten said Anderson’s medical card only allows him to grow cannabis in his home for his own consumption. “It does not permit the authority to grow as much marijuana as you want, wherever you want,” Leisten said.

Roe reserved ruling on the motion to allow time for him to review case law and attorney arguments. He set the next hearing for 9 a.m. Nov. 5.

During Anderson’s preliminary hearing in April, Deputy John Shippert, a member of the Special Operations Unit for the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office, said 27 cannabis plants taller than 6 inches were seized during the search, as were vacuum bags, a bag sealer and scales. He said those items indicated to him that there was an intent to deliver the cannabis. He said ledgers also were found but not investigated.

Anderson testified at that hearing that he has had a medical marijuana card for at least eight years, and some of the plants were slated to be destroyed after the strongest ones were selected to complete their growing cycle.

Anderson said the ledgers kept track of his “cannabis-consulting clients” and all of the cannabis found was slated for his personal use.