The case against Joshua and Dayli Braun, owners of the HortiPharm dispensary on upper State Street, and nine co-defendants will next come before Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Frank Ochoa on Nov. 30, when a date is expected to be selected for a preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to order the suspects to stand trial.
Suspect Nicole McKernan, 24, described by a friend as a low-level employee, has filed a motion to have the charges against her dismissed. A hearing on the motion will be heard by Judge Ochoa on Nov. 30 and should McKernan’s request be denied, her own preliminary hearing would be set within two weeks of that date, Judge Ochoa ordered on Tuesday.
Joshua Lynn, the former acting county district attorney and now the defense counsel for Joshua Braun, 33, said the issue of what constitutes operating legally under California medical marijuana laws is fraught with gray areas and inconsistent enforcement.
Why, for instance, does the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department allow such businesses to operate for years before cracking down, he asked outside the courtroom.
Within the last week, the Sheriff’s Department has trumpeted the seizure of millions of dollars worth of allegedly illegal pot growing within the county and an anti-marijuana activist in the San Roque area said signs posted at her residence supporting a local dispensary ban initiative, Measure T, were torched by arsonists, sparking an outcry from Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City Councilman Dale Francisco.
Against that backdrop is ballot measure Proposition 19, which would authorize the state to regulate and tax marijuana for adult recreational use.
The other defendants in the case are Carl Quinn, Tiffany Shinn, George Wardlaw, Benjamin Wilmore, Gustavo Lizarraga, Briana Powell, Michael Shane and Andrew Edison, 35. All face drug-related charges except for Edison, who was charged with resisting arrest.
HortiPharm, 3516 State St., was raided by the Sheriff’s Department on June 11. In addition to being suspected of illegal operation of the dispensary, the Brauns, are alleged to have laundered illegal dispensary profits through an upper State Street eatery they own called Pizza Guru, located nearby at 3534 State Street.
At the time of the raid, authorities served search warrants at three addresses in Goleta - including a storage facility, a home on Almond Avenue in Santa Barbara that was allegedly being used as an indoor grow-house, and at 5423 Santa Rita Rd. in Lompoc.
During the raids, which were executed by the Santa Barbara Police Department and the sheriff’s department, detectives seized a large amount of marijuana, hashish and other marijuana products and paraphernalia, they said. Police also seized “sophisticated equipment used to grow large quantities of marijuana,” according to a news release issued by the sheriff’s department at the time.
The Brauns were arrested at a hotel in Goleta several hours after the initial wave of raids and were booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail with bail set at $1 million apiece. Within two weeks, they were released on their own recognizance, but required to check in telephonically with authorities. They had been ordered to make weekly in-person appearances, but Mr. Lynn requested that the requirement be lifted and Judge Ochoa on Tuesday acceded.
Deputy District Attorney Lee Carter, the lead prosecutor in the case, did not return calls seeking comment.
Source: The Daily Sound
MERCHANT CREDIT CARD PROCESSING
New or Existing Medical Marijuana Dispensaries.
Best Rates Available.
Contact Tony Mosqueda
anthonymosqueda@sbcglobal.net
818.397.1078 (24 hours a day)
New or Existing Medical Marijuana Dispensaries.
Best Rates Available.
Contact Tony Mosqueda
anthonymosqueda@sbcglobal.net
818.397.1078 (24 hours a day)
Posts
