Pot Farmer Killed by Own Booby Trap

An upstate New York marijuana farmer who was apparently paranoid about somebody snatching his crop ended up being not just killed but almost decapitated by one of his own security devices, the Albany Times Union reports. Daniel Ricketts was riding an all-terrain vehicle around his property in the middle of the afternoon Saturday when the 50-year-old ran into wire he had strung up around four large pot plants. The Albany County sheriff describes the wire as nearly impossible to see, and says it may have been piano wire.

As for how the wire protected the plants, the sheriff tells the paper it seemed to serve a limited purpose: It appeared able to harm only those on an ATV or motorcycle, he says. Barbed wire and a leg trap were also found near the plants. Alcohol may have contributed to the deadly accident, and an investigation continues. (Click for another crazy pot-related story, this one involving an arrow.)