Popcorn held on charges without bond

Mar 19, 2008 (The Mountaineer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- NO MATCHES FOUND. | news | PowerRating | PR Charts -- Federal authorities proved Friday that Maggie Valley's self-proclaimed legendary moonshiner, Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton, 61, isn't quite as sly as he once proclaimed to be.

Sutton, who often prided himself on making good liquor and escaping the law, is being held in custody of the Greene County Detention Center, without bond, facing federal charges related to the manufacturing, possessing and selling of untaxed whiskey or "moonshine" and one charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Federal agents executed three search warrants Thursday in Parrottsville, Tenn., that resulted in the seizure of three 1,000 gallon capacity stills, over 850 gallons of moonshine, hundreds of gallons of mash -- ingredients used to make the liquor-- firearms and ammunition.

Sutton is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing and a preliminary hearing on March 28. He will remain in police custody until that time.

Following Sutton's arrest in Tennessee, the Haywood County Sheriff's Office received additional information Monday that led them to execute a search warrant on two storage units rented by Sutton at a Dellwood Road storage facility.

Pursuant to the search, an additional 797 gallons of non tax-paid liquor -- valued at more than $ 22,000 -- was seized, including one case of moonshine-soaked cherries.

Sheriff Tom Alexander said a warrant has been issued for misdemeanor possession, but charges have not yet been filed pursuant to the case's most recent developments.

"We have contacted the U.S. Attorney's office in Knoxville to notify them of our findings," he said. "If it will help their case, we will let them have it. If not, we've already got the warrant drawn, and we will pursue charges accordingly."

Furthermore, related paperwork will be sent to the Internal Revenue Services, and Sutton will have to pay taxes on all the seized liquor, Alexander said.

Calling himself a "smooth operator," Popcorn claimed during an April 2006 interview with The Mountaineer, "I've been a law breaker all my life, and I'm proud of it," adding it's always been his lifelong dream to make liquor.

Of all counts currently pending against Sutton, he faces the stiffest sentence for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

According to a press release issued by U.S. Attorney James R. Dedrick's office, for the eastern district of Tennessee, Sutton faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted of the firearms charge and up to five years in prison for each moonshining charge. He also faces up to a $ 250,000 fine on each count.

Sutton is being held in police custody without bond since he was already on probation when arrested Friday. A Cocke County, Tenn., criminal court judge placed Sutton on probation following a July conviction for possession of a still and possession of untaxed liquor.

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