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More than three months after police raided his Eugene medical marijuana club and arrested him, the owner of the now-shuttered business was formally charged Wednesday with racketeering, money laundering, and illegally growing and selling pot.
Kannabosm owner Curtis Dean Shimmin, 54, did not enter a plea after being arraigned in Lane County Circuit Court. He is scheduled to return to court next month.
Shimmin – who has accused police of illegally arresting him and confiscating his property – remains free pending the outcome of the case. He could be sentenced to prison if convicted.
Shimmin's attorney, Brian Michaels of Eugene, said Wednesday that prosecutors have "terribly overcharged" Shimmin with seven felonies and one misdemeanor. Michaels said his client ran a legal medical marijuana club.
"All he was doing was distributing medicine to people who need it," Michaels said.
He added that the felony charge of racketeering typically applies to "a large criminal enterprise" that makes money through illegal business dealings. Shimmin owned "a small, legitimate operation," Michaels said.
Assistant Lane County District Attorney Patty Perlow declined to comment on the case.
Shimmin was arrested Aug. 30, the day that police emptied his club at 401 W. 11th Ave. of pot intended for state-registered medical marijuana cardholders. Shimmin was held briefly in the Lane County Jail before being released.
Detectives with Lane County's Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team seized $60,637 in cash, a sport utility vehicle and an automated teller machine from Shimmin and his club on the day of the raid.
Lane County authorities have asked a judge to allow the county to keep the confiscated cash and property because they believe it is connected to a criminal drug operation involving Shimmin.
Last Friday, Shimmin filed a countersuit against the county, the interagency drug team and the city of Eugene, alleging that police arrested him without probable cause and illegally seized his property after "deceiving" a judge into signing search warrants.
The countersuit asks a judge to award Shimmin an unspecified amount of money to recover actual damages and attorney fees.
Shimmin, a rural Douglas County resident who is a state-licensed medical marijuana grower, opened Kannabosm during the summer of 2011. Detectives began an investigation in October of that year, after a confidential informant reported that medical marijuana cardholders were purchasing pot from Shimmin's club at "street level prices" after paying a club membership fee, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in court by state police Detective David Glass.
The informant subsequently bought marijuana from Kannabosm four times, using the interagency drug team's funds to purchase the pot while under detectives' surveillance, according to the affidavit.
Besides accusing Shimmin of illegally distributing marijuana, police suspect he has used his bank accounts to hide or "launder" the proceeds of allegedly illicit drug sales, Glass wrote in the affidavit.
Kannabosm is one of several medical marijuana clubs raided by police in Oregon since late summer. Dozens of similar dispensaries remain open elsewhere across the state.
While medical marijuana is legal in Oregon, its sale is considered illegal. Patients who don't grow their own pot may find someone else to grow it for them, but growers may only recoup the costs of producing the marijuana, without making a profit.
During an August 2011 interview with The Register-Guard, Shimmin said the cash-for-pot transactions that occurred at Kannabosm were not technically sales. He said most of the money paid by Kannabosm members for access to marijuana was used to reimburse growers, who returned a "small amount" of cash to the club for "storage and handling."
Under state law, patients may give excess marijuana to another cardholder
Shimmin said last year that his club distributed only excess pot that growers were left with after their patients took what they needed. By allowing growers to pass along marijuana to Kannabosm, cardholders were essentially giving it to other cardholders, Shimmin said.
More than 6,000 people in Lane County are registered medical marijuana patients, according to statistics kept by the state agency that administers the program.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: registerguard.com
Author: Jack Moran
Contact: feedback@registerguard.com
Website: Owner of Eugene medical marijuana club charged with seven felonies
Kannabosm owner Curtis Dean Shimmin, 54, did not enter a plea after being arraigned in Lane County Circuit Court. He is scheduled to return to court next month.
Shimmin – who has accused police of illegally arresting him and confiscating his property – remains free pending the outcome of the case. He could be sentenced to prison if convicted.
Shimmin's attorney, Brian Michaels of Eugene, said Wednesday that prosecutors have "terribly overcharged" Shimmin with seven felonies and one misdemeanor. Michaels said his client ran a legal medical marijuana club.
"All he was doing was distributing medicine to people who need it," Michaels said.
He added that the felony charge of racketeering typically applies to "a large criminal enterprise" that makes money through illegal business dealings. Shimmin owned "a small, legitimate operation," Michaels said.
Assistant Lane County District Attorney Patty Perlow declined to comment on the case.
Shimmin was arrested Aug. 30, the day that police emptied his club at 401 W. 11th Ave. of pot intended for state-registered medical marijuana cardholders. Shimmin was held briefly in the Lane County Jail before being released.
Detectives with Lane County's Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team seized $60,637 in cash, a sport utility vehicle and an automated teller machine from Shimmin and his club on the day of the raid.
Lane County authorities have asked a judge to allow the county to keep the confiscated cash and property because they believe it is connected to a criminal drug operation involving Shimmin.
Last Friday, Shimmin filed a countersuit against the county, the interagency drug team and the city of Eugene, alleging that police arrested him without probable cause and illegally seized his property after "deceiving" a judge into signing search warrants.
The countersuit asks a judge to award Shimmin an unspecified amount of money to recover actual damages and attorney fees.
Shimmin, a rural Douglas County resident who is a state-licensed medical marijuana grower, opened Kannabosm during the summer of 2011. Detectives began an investigation in October of that year, after a confidential informant reported that medical marijuana cardholders were purchasing pot from Shimmin's club at "street level prices" after paying a club membership fee, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in court by state police Detective David Glass.
The informant subsequently bought marijuana from Kannabosm four times, using the interagency drug team's funds to purchase the pot while under detectives' surveillance, according to the affidavit.
Besides accusing Shimmin of illegally distributing marijuana, police suspect he has used his bank accounts to hide or "launder" the proceeds of allegedly illicit drug sales, Glass wrote in the affidavit.
Kannabosm is one of several medical marijuana clubs raided by police in Oregon since late summer. Dozens of similar dispensaries remain open elsewhere across the state.
While medical marijuana is legal in Oregon, its sale is considered illegal. Patients who don't grow their own pot may find someone else to grow it for them, but growers may only recoup the costs of producing the marijuana, without making a profit.
During an August 2011 interview with The Register-Guard, Shimmin said the cash-for-pot transactions that occurred at Kannabosm were not technically sales. He said most of the money paid by Kannabosm members for access to marijuana was used to reimburse growers, who returned a "small amount" of cash to the club for "storage and handling."
Under state law, patients may give excess marijuana to another cardholder
Shimmin said last year that his club distributed only excess pot that growers were left with after their patients took what they needed. By allowing growers to pass along marijuana to Kannabosm, cardholders were essentially giving it to other cardholders, Shimmin said.
More than 6,000 people in Lane County are registered medical marijuana patients, according to statistics kept by the state agency that administers the program.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: registerguard.com
Author: Jack Moran
Contact: feedback@registerguard.com
Website: Owner of Eugene medical marijuana club charged with seven felonies
