Personal Injury and Criminal Defense Legal Blog

King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office Declines Charging Excessive Medical Marijuana Grow

The King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg declined to file criminal charges against a former Seattle man who police said had more plants at his community medical-marijuana garden than state law allows.

Mark Spohn called Seattle police on May 26 after four armed men, posing as FBI agents, entered his house and stole some of the recently harvested marijuana plants growing at his home garden. Seattle police allege they discovered more than 100 additional plants, which he was growing for himself and other authorized medical-marijuana patients, according to court paperwork. Police seized the bulk of what they found, leaving 15 plants, the state Department of Health’s limit for an individual medical-marijuana patient. Satterberg said there is no specific state law when it comes to community gardens. The law neither permits nor prohibits a collective [medical marijuana] operation,” Satterberg said, adding that he is not “obligated to prosecute people because they have a few plants too many.”

According to the memo announcing the prosecutor’s decision to not file charges, the law doesn’t “explicitly address how marijuana should be manufactured by a provider in a legal manner or how it should be distributed to patients.” “Chief among these ambiguities is the question of whether or not an authorized provider of marijuana is allowed to provide for more than one patient over a period of time,” the memo says. “The statute is simply unclear as to whether such activity is prohibited or not.” Satterberg went on to say his decision in Mr. Spohn’s case doesn’t mean anyone running an allegedly excessive medical-marijuana community garden will avoid prosecution. He said that each case will be reviewed individually; although in the past seven years, the King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office has had more than three dozen similar cases referred to his office and has declined charges in all of them. “I don’t want to prosecute sick people,” Satterberg said. “If this is a legitimate medicine we should treat it like a legitimate medicine. It seems that if patients want to band together and share their time and authorizations they should be allowed to do that.”

In 2008, the Department of Health set supply limit guidelines for medical marijuana at 24 ounces of usable marijuana plus 15 plants per person. Those who need more marijuana to manage their pain, according to the Department of Health, would have to prove they need it — though how they would do that remains unclear. The Department of Health says that “a designated provider must be at least 18 years old and must be designated in writing by the qualifying patient.” It also says a designated provider “can only be a provider for one patient at any one time.”

Satterberg said that marijuana possession is a low-ranking offense according to state felony guidelines, three convictions could leave a defendant spending less than six months in jail. Satterberg, whose office has 55 open murder cases, says he has “more important things do” than charge marijuana-possession cases. Seattle’s new City Attorney Pete Holmes has stopped charging people with misdemeanor pot possession, which is less than 40 grams.

Source: Seattle Times

Police Car Chase ends with Suspect Crashing his Car into A North Seattle Home, then Assaulting Seattle Police Officer

Seattle police continue their search for a man accused of taking a Seattle Police Officer on a car chase that ended with the suspect crashing his vehicle into a North Seattle home and then fleeing the scene. During the police pursuit on foot, the suspect allegedly assaulted the officer and attempted to gain possession of her firearm.

This incident is alleged to have occurred early Wednesday morning. The officer tried to stop the suspect for a traffic violation near North 90th Street and Aurora Avenue North. The man refused to yield to the officer’s lights and sirens. After a short pursuit, the man crashed his car into a house. The man got out of the car and ran off; the officer got out of her car and chased after him. At some point the man assaulted the officer and attempted to take her handgun, according to police. The chase resumed, but the officer eventually lost sight of the man. The officer was treated at the scene by Seattle Fire Department medics and transported to an area hospital for additional treatment. She was later released and returned to duty.

Source: NW Source

The FBI among other law enforcement agencies serving numerous search and arrest warrants in the Tacoma, Washington State Area.

In the early morning hours of February 9, 2010, the FBI, the South Puget Sound Gang Task Force and the Tacoma Police Department began their attempt at cleaning up the streets of Tacoma, making it a safer place for families and the community as a whole. Numerous search and arrest warrants targeting over 30 alleged members of the Hilltop Crips street gang were issued and served.

Several arrests have been made and law enforcement continues to work diligently. The individuals targeted in the warrants are alleged to have committed attempted murder, home invasions and carjackings. According to a news release from the Tacoma Police Department and FBI, it is expected that 32 people will initially be charged with a total of 51 crimes associated with 22 specific incidents.

All those who are arrested Tuesday will appear Wednesday for their arraignment at the Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma.

Additional details will be provided by Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, The Tacoma Police, and The FBI at a news conference following Wednesday’s arraignments.

Source: NWSource

A Washington based soldier has been charged with domestic violence assault based on allegations of abusing 4-year-old over alphabet lesson

A Washington based soldier has been charged with domestic violence assault after he allegedly held his 4-year-old daughter underwater because she couldn’t recite the alphabet. The prosecution has alleged in charging documents that the defendant’s actions amount to torture.

On January 31, 2010, the defendant, Joshua Tabor, was arguing with his girlfriend when she called the police. When Officers arrived on the scene, she notified them of a history of assault between Mr. Tabor and his daughter. Officers found the young child hiding in a locked bathroom. Reports indicate she appeared to have suffered severely physical abuse.

When officers arrived, Tabor’s girlfriend told them that she and Tabor, 27, had just had an argument and that he beats his daughter, said Yelm Police Chief Todd Stancil. Officers found the girl hiding in a locked bathroom and covered with extensive bruises all over her body, including her ears.

“Once she spoke to officers, she was articulate and told us right away, ‘Daddy did this,’ ” Yelm Police Chief Todd Stancil said. The girl told officers that her father hits her, and she also said he would fill a sink, lay her on her back and put her head into the water until the water was up to her eyes, Stancil said.

According to Stancil and charging papers, the defendant admitted to holding his daughter under water as an educational tool. “He felt she was academically behind for her age, and it was his way of trying to get her to learn,” Stancil said. Reports indicate the defendant felt his actions were justified and an acceptable way of parenting. Prosecutors also allege the defendant would force his daughter to sit in urine-soaked clothes “until he gives her permission to change” as punishment for wetting herself. Tabor is restricted to the Joint Base Lewis-McChord base during the investigation, Stancil said. The defendant is to appear in Thurston County Superior Court on Feb. 16 for arraignment.

Stancil said the defendant’s girlfriend may additionally be charged in the case. “How can something go on for a month and a half and [she] not know anything about it?” he said.

Regarding the child’s well-being, Child Protective Services were notified and a foster family had been given temporary custody. The girl was quickly taken to a hospital to rule out any serious injuries. She is currently residing with her grandmother in Montana.

Source : Seattle Times