Windsor Municipal Judge Michael E. Manning continued a sentencing hearing Thursday for the owner of a local medical marijuana dispensary.
Manning initially made a contempt of court ruling against Lazarus Pino, the owner of the now-defunct MediGrow dispensary, after Pino failed to show up at his sentencing hearing at 4:30 p.m.Thursday in municipal court at the Windsor Community Recreation Center.
Pino eventually showed up nearly an hour later. He told Manning that he thought the hearing was to be held at Town Hall.
Manning withdrew the contempt ruling and rescheduled Pino's sentencing hearing for 4:30 p.m. July 13 at Town Hall.
Pino was found guilty of 76 violations of the town's moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries on May 20.
Manning, however, dismissed the 65 building permit violations brought against Pino by the town.
Although Pino failed to show up on time for his sentencing hearing on Thursday, Manning went ahead and informed Pino's attorney Daniel Taylor that he would be willing to grant his motion to withdraw from representing Pino.
"I want you to send him notice and have him sign it, then send that to me and I'll grant your motion," Pino told Taylor. "I find the grounds for your motion to withdraw representation to be justified."
The town has been involved in legal action on three fronts against MediGrow since the town board issued a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in December. When the town passed the moratorium, it allowed two dispensaries, In Harmony Wellness and A New Dawn Wellness Clinic, to remain open. The original moratorium was passed for 75 days, and has been extended twice since then. It currently is set to expire Aug. 31.
The moratorium ordinance language stipulates a dispensary must have been open five days at least to avoid being closed for the duration of the moratorium, and MediGrow did not meet that requirement.
Because Pino decided to keep his business open in defiance of the moratorium, Windsor had been fining the business $600 per day, $300 for operating in defiance of the moratorium since Dec. 17 and $300 for being open without proper building permits since Jan. 5.
MediGrow was issued a total of $62,100 in fines through April 28, after which the fines were no longer issued.
The third part of the legal fight took place in Weld County District Court, where on April 28, Judge James E. Hartmann issued a preliminary injunction against MediGrow on the question of whether the business should have been exempted from the moratorium, shutting it down.
That preliminary injunction will remain in force through the Weld County district trial, which has not been scheduled.
The owner of the building housing Pino's business has gone to foreclosure, and the bank that now owns that property got an eviction order against Pino early in June, and the Weld County Sheriff's Office subsequently evicted him from the premises.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: WindsorBeacon.com
Author: Ashley Keesis-Wood
Contact: WindsorBeacon.com
Copyright: 2010 WindsorBeacon.com
Website: Judge continues sentencing hearing after dispensary owner show up late
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
Manning initially made a contempt of court ruling against Lazarus Pino, the owner of the now-defunct MediGrow dispensary, after Pino failed to show up at his sentencing hearing at 4:30 p.m.Thursday in municipal court at the Windsor Community Recreation Center.
Pino eventually showed up nearly an hour later. He told Manning that he thought the hearing was to be held at Town Hall.
Manning withdrew the contempt ruling and rescheduled Pino's sentencing hearing for 4:30 p.m. July 13 at Town Hall.
Pino was found guilty of 76 violations of the town's moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries on May 20.
Manning, however, dismissed the 65 building permit violations brought against Pino by the town.
Although Pino failed to show up on time for his sentencing hearing on Thursday, Manning went ahead and informed Pino's attorney Daniel Taylor that he would be willing to grant his motion to withdraw from representing Pino.
"I want you to send him notice and have him sign it, then send that to me and I'll grant your motion," Pino told Taylor. "I find the grounds for your motion to withdraw representation to be justified."
The town has been involved in legal action on three fronts against MediGrow since the town board issued a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in December. When the town passed the moratorium, it allowed two dispensaries, In Harmony Wellness and A New Dawn Wellness Clinic, to remain open. The original moratorium was passed for 75 days, and has been extended twice since then. It currently is set to expire Aug. 31.
The moratorium ordinance language stipulates a dispensary must have been open five days at least to avoid being closed for the duration of the moratorium, and MediGrow did not meet that requirement.
Because Pino decided to keep his business open in defiance of the moratorium, Windsor had been fining the business $600 per day, $300 for operating in defiance of the moratorium since Dec. 17 and $300 for being open without proper building permits since Jan. 5.
MediGrow was issued a total of $62,100 in fines through April 28, after which the fines were no longer issued.
The third part of the legal fight took place in Weld County District Court, where on April 28, Judge James E. Hartmann issued a preliminary injunction against MediGrow on the question of whether the business should have been exempted from the moratorium, shutting it down.
That preliminary injunction will remain in force through the Weld County district trial, which has not been scheduled.
The owner of the building housing Pino's business has gone to foreclosure, and the bank that now owns that property got an eviction order against Pino early in June, and the Weld County Sheriff's Office subsequently evicted him from the premises.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: WindsorBeacon.com
Author: Ashley Keesis-Wood
Contact: WindsorBeacon.com
Copyright: 2010 WindsorBeacon.com
Website: Judge continues sentencing hearing after dispensary owner show up late
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
