One of the owners of the vintage Brainerd Army Store, who was charged by federal authorities with selling some $300,000 in materials used in the production of meth, had a planned guilty plea delayed on Tuesday afternoon.
His attorney, Steven Sadow, said, "Because of the position of the co-defendant," Tony Dewayne Honeycutt was not in a position to fulfill one of the requirements of the guilty plea - a "required pre-payment." The government is seeking a $300,000 money judgment for the alleged profit on the meth materials from January 2008 to October 2010. The government is also seeking to confiscate the land and store at 5102 Brainerd Road.
His co-defendant, his brother Terry Michael Honeycutt, has made no move toward a guilty plea. His attorney, Chris Townley, was at the Tuesday afternoon hearing.
The Honeycutts are charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
A new date of Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. was set for the Tony Dewayne Honeycutt guilty plea.
Tony Honeycutt, 49, told Federal Magistrate Court Judge Susan K. Lee that he had trouble hearing because of constant ringing in his ears and also has vision problems. He said his wife read the charges to him.
The prosecutor in the case, Jay Woods, was not at the hearing. Another assistant prosecutor was there in his place, causing some consternation for Magistrate Lee.
Tony Honeycutt was allowed to remain out on bond.
Authorities said earlier that the store was selling large amounts of Polar Ice, which contains a high amount of iodine - a key ingredient in the production of meth.
The case is being handled by an information in which the defendants and their attorneys are notified of the charges rather than an original indictment.
Tony Honeycutt has been the manager of the 19,000-square-foot Brainerd Army Store for a number of years. His father bought it in 1972 from a family that had two Army stores here.
Federal authorities prosecuted Joe Swafford, owner of Broadway Home and Garden on South Broad Street, on similar charges.
He was convicted by a jury and was handed a 30-year federal prison sentence in 2006.
The government wound up owning the garden center. It was eventually sold and is now a wedding gallery and meeting place.