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Federal agents arrested 13 people on Thursday as part of a drug-trafficking investigation that targeted a chain of marijuana dispensaries and an Orange County man known as "Pops" who is accused of running it.
The storefront dispensaries have distributed more than a ton of marijuana and generated tens of millions of dollars in income, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Most shut down after raids in 2010 and 2011, but at least one — Garden Grove Alternative Care — remains open.
An employee there, Amber Jenkins, said the dispensary reopened after a 2011 raid with a new owner, new employees and a new location, and has nothing to do with the people arrested Thursday.
Federal prosecutors have been cracking down since last year on what they describe as the "large, for-profit marijuana industry" that has flourished in California. State law allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes, but offers few guidelines for how patients can obtain it — a legal grey area into which stepped hundreds of supposedly not-for-profit dispensaries.
Federal law, however, still treats marijuana as a controlled substance. The 13 people arrested Thursday — many described in court papers as suppliers and dispensary managers — were all charged with conspiring to distribute the drug.
They pleaded not guilty during a court hearing on Thursday afternoon.
According to a federal indictment, John Melvin "Pops" Walker, 56, of San Clemente, controlled the chain of nine dispensaries in Orange and Los Angeles County. He has prior convictions for transporting and selling cocaine in the late 1970s and for possessing marijuana or hash for sale in the early 1990s, the indictment notes.
Walker reported no income from the dispensaries to the federal government and instructed his bookkeeper to destroy any records that would show income generated by them, according to the indictment. One of the dispensaries, Safe Harbor Collective in Dana Point, generated about $2.4 million in income in 2009, according to the indictment.
Walker's attorney, Katherine Corrigan, declined to comment except to say: "We look forward to seeing what they have and addressing the issues as they come up."
Walker had $390,000 in cash and a pistol, a shotgun and an assault rifle at his home when agents raided it last year, according to the indictment. In addition to the conspiracy charge, he also faces a charge for possessing firearms as a convicted felon.
The indictment also charges him or some of his managers with running marijuana dispensaries close to schools, possessing firearms as part of a conspiracy and knowingly destroying records. It notes that the government will seek forfeiture of any property used in connection with any conspiracy — a move that the Justice Department has used before against marijuana dispensaries.
The indictment names five dispensaries in Orange County: Safe Harbor in Dana Point, Santa Ana Superior Care in Santa Ana, Costa Mesa Patients Association in Costa Mesa, APCC in San Juan Capistrano and the former Garden Grove Alternative Care. All but Garden Grove had disconnected phone numbers, and attorneys who represent them either could not be located or did not return a phone call seeking comment.
At Garden Grove, Jenkins, the employee, said Walker "has nothing to do with us at all" since the change in ownership in 2011. She described the dispensary now as "definitely a nonprofit" — "We're not making a lot of money, pretty much, at all."
The other dispensaries named in the indictment were in Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs and Whittier. One of the Long Beach dispensaries, Belmont Shore Natural Care, also remains open, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
In addition to Walker, authorities arrested and charged 10 people accused of managing his dispensaries in Orange County and Los Angeles: Ryan Aparicio Mondragon, 30, of Westminster; Danielle Pamela Stebel, 25, of Long Beach; Ryan Scott Hunt, 36, of Fullerton; Perry Brooks Forehand, 33, of Mission Viejo; Nicholas Martin Butier III, 32, of Lakewood; Sierra Marina Serhan, 33, of Long Beach; Alvin Wesley Walker, 29, of Long Beach; Karen Lee Leto, 70, of Huntington Beach; Craig Lawrence Leto, 49, of Newport Beach; and Alan David Nixon, 59, of Long Beach.
Two men described in the indictment as suppliers were also arrested: John Eugene Scandalios, 59, of Lakewood, and Michael Alan Nixon, 33, of Long Beach.
Investigators were still searching for Nicholas Einar Lattu, 28, of Long Beach. The indictment described him as the owner of Shadow Ops Security, which provided security to the dispensaries.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: ocregister.com
Author: Doug Irving
Contact: Contacting the Orange County Register and OCRegister.com | contacting, county, ocregister - Home - The Orange County Register
Website: Federal agents target O.C. medical-marijuana chain - News - The Orange County Register
The storefront dispensaries have distributed more than a ton of marijuana and generated tens of millions of dollars in income, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Most shut down after raids in 2010 and 2011, but at least one — Garden Grove Alternative Care — remains open.
An employee there, Amber Jenkins, said the dispensary reopened after a 2011 raid with a new owner, new employees and a new location, and has nothing to do with the people arrested Thursday.
Federal prosecutors have been cracking down since last year on what they describe as the "large, for-profit marijuana industry" that has flourished in California. State law allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes, but offers few guidelines for how patients can obtain it — a legal grey area into which stepped hundreds of supposedly not-for-profit dispensaries.
Federal law, however, still treats marijuana as a controlled substance. The 13 people arrested Thursday — many described in court papers as suppliers and dispensary managers — were all charged with conspiring to distribute the drug.
They pleaded not guilty during a court hearing on Thursday afternoon.
According to a federal indictment, John Melvin "Pops" Walker, 56, of San Clemente, controlled the chain of nine dispensaries in Orange and Los Angeles County. He has prior convictions for transporting and selling cocaine in the late 1970s and for possessing marijuana or hash for sale in the early 1990s, the indictment notes.
Walker reported no income from the dispensaries to the federal government and instructed his bookkeeper to destroy any records that would show income generated by them, according to the indictment. One of the dispensaries, Safe Harbor Collective in Dana Point, generated about $2.4 million in income in 2009, according to the indictment.
Walker's attorney, Katherine Corrigan, declined to comment except to say: "We look forward to seeing what they have and addressing the issues as they come up."
Walker had $390,000 in cash and a pistol, a shotgun and an assault rifle at his home when agents raided it last year, according to the indictment. In addition to the conspiracy charge, he also faces a charge for possessing firearms as a convicted felon.
The indictment also charges him or some of his managers with running marijuana dispensaries close to schools, possessing firearms as part of a conspiracy and knowingly destroying records. It notes that the government will seek forfeiture of any property used in connection with any conspiracy — a move that the Justice Department has used before against marijuana dispensaries.
The indictment names five dispensaries in Orange County: Safe Harbor in Dana Point, Santa Ana Superior Care in Santa Ana, Costa Mesa Patients Association in Costa Mesa, APCC in San Juan Capistrano and the former Garden Grove Alternative Care. All but Garden Grove had disconnected phone numbers, and attorneys who represent them either could not be located or did not return a phone call seeking comment.
At Garden Grove, Jenkins, the employee, said Walker "has nothing to do with us at all" since the change in ownership in 2011. She described the dispensary now as "definitely a nonprofit" — "We're not making a lot of money, pretty much, at all."
The other dispensaries named in the indictment were in Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs and Whittier. One of the Long Beach dispensaries, Belmont Shore Natural Care, also remains open, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
In addition to Walker, authorities arrested and charged 10 people accused of managing his dispensaries in Orange County and Los Angeles: Ryan Aparicio Mondragon, 30, of Westminster; Danielle Pamela Stebel, 25, of Long Beach; Ryan Scott Hunt, 36, of Fullerton; Perry Brooks Forehand, 33, of Mission Viejo; Nicholas Martin Butier III, 32, of Lakewood; Sierra Marina Serhan, 33, of Long Beach; Alvin Wesley Walker, 29, of Long Beach; Karen Lee Leto, 70, of Huntington Beach; Craig Lawrence Leto, 49, of Newport Beach; and Alan David Nixon, 59, of Long Beach.
Two men described in the indictment as suppliers were also arrested: John Eugene Scandalios, 59, of Lakewood, and Michael Alan Nixon, 33, of Long Beach.
Investigators were still searching for Nicholas Einar Lattu, 28, of Long Beach. The indictment described him as the owner of Shadow Ops Security, which provided security to the dispensaries.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: ocregister.com
Author: Doug Irving
Contact: Contacting the Orange County Register and OCRegister.com | contacting, county, ocregister - Home - The Orange County Register
Website: Federal agents target O.C. medical-marijuana chain - News - The Orange County Register
