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PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Prosecutors have dropped a drug possession count against the creator of the "Girls Gone Wild" video series, but he still faces 43 other charges including a second possession count, racketeering and promoting the sexual performance of a child.
Lawyers Thursday said a charge of possessing hydrocodone against Joe Francis was dropped this week because Francis had a prescription for some of the pills Bay County sheriff's deputies found in a search during spring break at nearby Panama City Beach.
Prosecutors last month reduced the drug charges from trafficking to possession after defense lawyer Aaron Dyer presented another prescription that accounted for other pills. Francis, 30, of Lake Tahoe, Nev., still faces an oxycodone possession charge.
Penalties can range from probation to a maximum of five years for possession compared to 30 years for trafficking.
Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet on Thursday also ordered the state to return items deputies seized, including blank tapes, cellular telephones, still cameras and radio equipment, because they were neither covered by a search warrant, purchased through illegal activity nor contraband.
Overstreet gave Assistant State Attorney Mark Graham seven days to determine which of several digital recording devices seized held items of contraband or evidence. Those not being used in the state's case also are to be returned.
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