“I hope he got a hell of a high out of that.” Though considering that Thornton’s body was found with several epigrams, including the cheery quotation, “There is only one tactical principle not subject to change: It is to inflict the maximum amount of wounds, death and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time,” it’s perhaps not surprising that this was a guy who made more than a few enemies during his lifetime.ĭrug Decriminalization Goes Into Effect in Oregon “I’m glad his parachute didn’t open,” the district attorney who prosecuted him on the 1981 marijuana trafficking charge told the LA Times after he died. In addition to the bizarre circumstances surrounding his death, Thornton is also notable for inspiring perhaps the most vicious quote ever to be featured in an obituary. ![]() They determined that he had attempted to jump from the plane, but his parachute had failed to open. ![]() Authorities later found his plane, which had been on autopilot, about 60 miles away. ![]() He was heavily armed and wearing a bulletproof vest, and was also carrying a membership card to the Miami Jockey Club. On September 11th, 1985, his body was found in a driveway in Knoxville, Tennessee, wearing a parachute and carrying about 77 pounds of cocaine, which was later valued to be worth about $14 million. He pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to six months in prison and a $500 fine as part of the terms of his sentence, he also had his law license revoked.īut Thornton’s days of drug smuggling were far from over. After fleeing the state, he was found heavily armed in North Carolina and brought back to California to face reduced misdemeanor drug charges. Initially, Thornton was slapped with two felony charges of conspiracy to import and distribute a controlled substance, to which he pleaded not guilty. There are many questions raised by this project: from what perspective will the story be told, that of the drug trafficker or that of the bear? If the latter, would the film focus on the bear’s everyday life, consisting largely of footage of salmon fishing and developing fecal plugs (Google it) for hibernation? Or would Cocaine Bear follow more of a Lifetime-inspired trajectory and depict the bear’s descent into addiction, complete with frenetic dance montages set to EDM and at least one scene of the bear performing with a woodpecker in a sex show for drug money? The unfortunate bear in question happened to chance upon 40 containers of cocaine and died of an overdose. So on Tuesday, when Variety reported that actor Elizabeth Banks’ upcoming project would focus heavily on a bear involved in a botched drug smuggling operation, people on social media reacted in much the same way a coke-addicted ursine would if someone broke out a credit card and a rolled-up $20 at a party: with extreme interest and excitement.ĭescribed as a “character-driven thriller inspired by true events that took place in Kentucky in 1985,” the film, which aptly has the working title Cocaine Bear, is reportedly based on a true story of a convicted drug smuggler who died while parachuting from a plane carrying an extremely heavy load of drugs. ![]() If there’s anything people on the internet love more than cute animals, it’s tales of Reagan-era drug-induced depravity.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |