Anti Federalist
02-23-2009, 06:39 PM
Charity yanks free house to vet over pot bust (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/emaf.nsf/Popup?ReadForm&db=stltoday\news\stories.nsf&docid=72C89D10ADC2AAD5862575640017D222)
By Phillip O'Connor
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, Feb. 22 2009
Branson, Mo. — Newlyweds Scott and Samantha West drove their SUV through the gate of the exclusive housing community, winding upward to an empty cul-de
sac that offers commanding views of the surrounding valleys.
For months, the young couple visited this site and dreamed of their bright
future, ever since a charity that serves wounded veterans announced last year
it was building a house for Scott at no charge.
The gift, like his new bride, seemed heaven-sent to Scott West, 23, who had
lost his legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq in December 2005. The new home would
feature wide hallways, voice-activated lighting and other amenities tailored to
Scott's needs.
And when a developer offered to give the Wests a free lot in Saddlebrooke, a
community where house prices range from $350,000 to more than $1 million, the
couple thought it was too good to be true.
"This was a place where I thought I could live the rest of my life and never
have to worry," West said.
On this night, the couple didn't linger long at the vacant lot. The winter wind
was bitter. So too, are the memories.
In January, just two days after the couple had returned from their honeymoon,
the charity took back its gift after learning that Scott West had been arrested
on marijuana charges in 2007 and pleaded guilty in December to a felony of
possession with intent to distribute. Last week, a judge placed West on five
years probation.
West acknowledges that he deserved to be punished. Despite his guilty plea, he
insists he never sold marijuana. He believes the charity, Massachusetts-based
Homes for Our Troops, overreacted. "It was something to help me," West said of
the donated house. "It wasn't like a privilege to be taken from me."
Homes for Our Troops founder John Gonsalves did not respond to several requests
for an interview. The nonprofit organization has built more than three dozen
homes nationwide since it was established in 2004. It has about two dozen more
homes under construction.
A spokeswoman for the charity said it was grateful for West's service and
sacrifice. She described the decision to drop West from the program as the most
painful Gonsalves has had to make.
"It hurts him; it haunts him," spokeswoman Vicki Thomas said.
NOT WHO HE IS
Scott West said he never tried alcohol in high school and only used marijuana
once. Then he graduated, joined the Army and reached his first duty station at
Fort Stewart, Ga.
"I was drinking and smoking a week later," he said.
Within a month, he deployed to Iraq where alcohol, marijuana and hashish were
available, he said.
West served as a reconnaissance scout in the 3rd Infantry Division. Three days
before he was scheduled to leave Iraq, a roadside bomb detonated beneath West's Humvee while on patrol. He spent 14 months recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, where he learned about Homes for Our Troops. He decided to apply.
He returned to Branson in February 2007 and moved into a two-bedroom
condominium he had purchased with a $100,000 insurance payment he received for his injuries. He was lauded in local news reports, granted honorary membership in local veterans organizations and spoke to elementary and high school students about overcoming adversity. And he smoked marijuana.
In October 2007, a police officer pulled West and two friends over for driving
without headlights or license plates.
That very day, West said he had cashed the first of his monthly $4,000
disability checks and had gone to an electronics store to buy a 65-inch
television, a laptop computer and other electronics. The purchases were in the
back of a pickup he'd recently purchased.
On the way home, he picked up a friend, who, West said, had gone to buy
marijuana for the group.
The police officer smelled marijuana and asked to search the vehicle. He
reported finding 2.5 pounds of marijuana in several containers, a scale and
several pipes. (It would later be determined the actual amount of marijuana was
less than 12 ounces.) The officer also found $800 in cash on West.
The Sheriff's Department seized the electronics, cash and the truck, which was
later repossessed. West spent three days in the Taney County Jail. "I'd never
been in trouble," he said.
Two weeks later, West ran into Samantha Eubanks at the local Wal-Mart. They
recognized each other from attending the same high school. Not long after they
met, he told her about his legal problems.
"I didn't meet a drug dealer," she said. "That's not who Scott is. I met the
real Scott."
She described him as outgoing, kindhearted and upbeat despite all that's
happened. Still, she told him she wouldn't put up with any drugs.
About two weeks after they met, West traveled to Brooke Army Medical Center in
Texas for more surgery on his leg. On many nights, he would fall asleep while
talking to Samantha on the phone. He returned to Branson and enrolled in a
substance abuse recovery program. In March, he proposed.
Then in May, Homes for Our Troops, notified West of his selection for a free
home. He signed a contract in July. "They never asked about the arrest or any
past information," West said. "I answered all their questions."
Meanwhile, the criminal case was moving forward.
West's attorney, Barney Naioti, said West was more likely to receive a lenient
sentence if he didn't fight the charge, so West pleaded guilty to the felony,
even though he says the drugs were for his personal use. A prosecutor said
West's plea speaks for itself.
Soon after, the Springfield News-Leader published a story about West receiving
the home. Afterward, the reporter received an anonymous tip about West's
conviction and called him to ask if it was true. West said he explained what
happened and thought nothing more of it.
While Samantha and Scott were on their honeymoon in Jamaica, the newspaper
contacted the charity, which was unaware of West's legal problems. When the
couple returned home, West's voice mail was filled with messages, including
from Homes for Our Troops.
When he called the organization, West said Gonsalves told him he was rescinding
the free house and lot because of the legal troubles.
The following day, the News-Leader ran a story about West losing the home
because of his drug arrest. West said he didn't want to be seen in public. "I
was embarrassed and ashamed."
'A DIFFERENT ROAD'
The couple still resides in West's small condo, where it's difficult to use a
wheelchair. At night, when he removes his prosthetics, he walks on his hands.
That makes it difficult to reach the sink or thermostat, or open cabinets or
the refrigerator.
Robert V. Holland, a Navy veteran of World War II and a member of a Disabled
American Veterans chapter in the Branson area, said many veterans used drugs to get through combat. Adjusting to civilian life afterward isn't easy, he added.
"It's a trap that it seems that not only him, but others fall into," said
Holland, 85. "But they went over there and fought just like I did."
West said he is sorry and feels he let many people down. He had hoped to have a new home, go to college, have children. Those plans seem less certain. For now, he delivers pizzas.
"What I did will have consequences for years to come," West said. "I'm going to
have to travel down a totally different road now."
poconnor@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8321
By Phillip O'Connor
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, Feb. 22 2009
Branson, Mo. — Newlyweds Scott and Samantha West drove their SUV through the gate of the exclusive housing community, winding upward to an empty cul-de
sac that offers commanding views of the surrounding valleys.
For months, the young couple visited this site and dreamed of their bright
future, ever since a charity that serves wounded veterans announced last year
it was building a house for Scott at no charge.
The gift, like his new bride, seemed heaven-sent to Scott West, 23, who had
lost his legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq in December 2005. The new home would
feature wide hallways, voice-activated lighting and other amenities tailored to
Scott's needs.
And when a developer offered to give the Wests a free lot in Saddlebrooke, a
community where house prices range from $350,000 to more than $1 million, the
couple thought it was too good to be true.
"This was a place where I thought I could live the rest of my life and never
have to worry," West said.
On this night, the couple didn't linger long at the vacant lot. The winter wind
was bitter. So too, are the memories.
In January, just two days after the couple had returned from their honeymoon,
the charity took back its gift after learning that Scott West had been arrested
on marijuana charges in 2007 and pleaded guilty in December to a felony of
possession with intent to distribute. Last week, a judge placed West on five
years probation.
West acknowledges that he deserved to be punished. Despite his guilty plea, he
insists he never sold marijuana. He believes the charity, Massachusetts-based
Homes for Our Troops, overreacted. "It was something to help me," West said of
the donated house. "It wasn't like a privilege to be taken from me."
Homes for Our Troops founder John Gonsalves did not respond to several requests
for an interview. The nonprofit organization has built more than three dozen
homes nationwide since it was established in 2004. It has about two dozen more
homes under construction.
A spokeswoman for the charity said it was grateful for West's service and
sacrifice. She described the decision to drop West from the program as the most
painful Gonsalves has had to make.
"It hurts him; it haunts him," spokeswoman Vicki Thomas said.
NOT WHO HE IS
Scott West said he never tried alcohol in high school and only used marijuana
once. Then he graduated, joined the Army and reached his first duty station at
Fort Stewart, Ga.
"I was drinking and smoking a week later," he said.
Within a month, he deployed to Iraq where alcohol, marijuana and hashish were
available, he said.
West served as a reconnaissance scout in the 3rd Infantry Division. Three days
before he was scheduled to leave Iraq, a roadside bomb detonated beneath West's Humvee while on patrol. He spent 14 months recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, where he learned about Homes for Our Troops. He decided to apply.
He returned to Branson in February 2007 and moved into a two-bedroom
condominium he had purchased with a $100,000 insurance payment he received for his injuries. He was lauded in local news reports, granted honorary membership in local veterans organizations and spoke to elementary and high school students about overcoming adversity. And he smoked marijuana.
In October 2007, a police officer pulled West and two friends over for driving
without headlights or license plates.
That very day, West said he had cashed the first of his monthly $4,000
disability checks and had gone to an electronics store to buy a 65-inch
television, a laptop computer and other electronics. The purchases were in the
back of a pickup he'd recently purchased.
On the way home, he picked up a friend, who, West said, had gone to buy
marijuana for the group.
The police officer smelled marijuana and asked to search the vehicle. He
reported finding 2.5 pounds of marijuana in several containers, a scale and
several pipes. (It would later be determined the actual amount of marijuana was
less than 12 ounces.) The officer also found $800 in cash on West.
The Sheriff's Department seized the electronics, cash and the truck, which was
later repossessed. West spent three days in the Taney County Jail. "I'd never
been in trouble," he said.
Two weeks later, West ran into Samantha Eubanks at the local Wal-Mart. They
recognized each other from attending the same high school. Not long after they
met, he told her about his legal problems.
"I didn't meet a drug dealer," she said. "That's not who Scott is. I met the
real Scott."
She described him as outgoing, kindhearted and upbeat despite all that's
happened. Still, she told him she wouldn't put up with any drugs.
About two weeks after they met, West traveled to Brooke Army Medical Center in
Texas for more surgery on his leg. On many nights, he would fall asleep while
talking to Samantha on the phone. He returned to Branson and enrolled in a
substance abuse recovery program. In March, he proposed.
Then in May, Homes for Our Troops, notified West of his selection for a free
home. He signed a contract in July. "They never asked about the arrest or any
past information," West said. "I answered all their questions."
Meanwhile, the criminal case was moving forward.
West's attorney, Barney Naioti, said West was more likely to receive a lenient
sentence if he didn't fight the charge, so West pleaded guilty to the felony,
even though he says the drugs were for his personal use. A prosecutor said
West's plea speaks for itself.
Soon after, the Springfield News-Leader published a story about West receiving
the home. Afterward, the reporter received an anonymous tip about West's
conviction and called him to ask if it was true. West said he explained what
happened and thought nothing more of it.
While Samantha and Scott were on their honeymoon in Jamaica, the newspaper
contacted the charity, which was unaware of West's legal problems. When the
couple returned home, West's voice mail was filled with messages, including
from Homes for Our Troops.
When he called the organization, West said Gonsalves told him he was rescinding
the free house and lot because of the legal troubles.
The following day, the News-Leader ran a story about West losing the home
because of his drug arrest. West said he didn't want to be seen in public. "I
was embarrassed and ashamed."
'A DIFFERENT ROAD'
The couple still resides in West's small condo, where it's difficult to use a
wheelchair. At night, when he removes his prosthetics, he walks on his hands.
That makes it difficult to reach the sink or thermostat, or open cabinets or
the refrigerator.
Robert V. Holland, a Navy veteran of World War II and a member of a Disabled
American Veterans chapter in the Branson area, said many veterans used drugs to get through combat. Adjusting to civilian life afterward isn't easy, he added.
"It's a trap that it seems that not only him, but others fall into," said
Holland, 85. "But they went over there and fought just like I did."
West said he is sorry and feels he let many people down. He had hoped to have a new home, go to college, have children. Those plans seem less certain. For now, he delivers pizzas.
"What I did will have consequences for years to come," West said. "I'm going to
have to travel down a totally different road now."
poconnor@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8321