Co-op seeks to garnish grain

CHS Inc., doing business as Primeland Cooperatives, Aug. 6 filed for a writ of garnishment against James H. Hughes of Endicott. The application seeks $23,474 awarded the cooperative in a May 3 judgment for sums overdue on purchases Hughes made from Primeland.

The writ seeks to garnish assets from Columbia Grain where Primeland contends Hughes has property. In addition to the $23,474 judged due on the account, the writ seeks interest.

In a response to the garnishment action the Columbia Grain account manager at Clarkton said they have 3,230.02 bushels of unsold soft wheat on account under Hughes’ name.

Hughes still faces charges of grain theft from storage elevators in the Whitgro system of Whitman County. He has now been scheduled for a trial Oct. 14.

A jury in July of 2012 failed to reach a verdict on the charges after a week-long trial in superior court. Hughes faced 17 charges of first degree theft and two charges of second degree theft. The charges against Hughes allege he took unauthorized loads of grain from Whitgro storage elevators and delivered them to river terminals under his own name. Hughes was employed as a contract trucker for Whitgro.

Defense Attorney Steven Graham and Hughes contend the grain reported missing from Whitgro, based in St. John, was the result of poor record keeping by the cooperative. They contended the grain delivered to the terminals by Hughes in his name came from a family farm operation or from in-kind payments for the services of his trucking operation.

In the year since the trial, Graham has contended a review of the bookkeeping at Whitgro was underway and asked the court to delay the start of another trial until the in-house review was finished at the cooperative.