Alberta Kelley, Grandma, Says She Was Tricked Into Growing Pot By Bearded Stranger

Associated Press

UNIONTOWN, Pa. -- A southwestern Pennsylvania grandmother says she's no marijuana grower, just a woman who wanted something that would look pretty next to her tomatoes.

A Fayette County jury cleared 67-year-old Alberta Kelley of drug possession and manufacture charges on Wednesday after she told them she simply tossed a handful of seeds into her garden after a bearded stranger gave them to her.

Connellsville police charged Kelley a year ago after receiving a tip about Kelley's garden. Investigators say they found seven well-cultivated, four-foot marijuana plants behind her home.

But Kelley claimed she didn't know what she was growing. She said she'd been given the seeds by a stranger in a pointy hat who told her they were flower seeds.

Kelley tells WTAE-TV that to her, "weeds are weeds."