Tue., Feb. 26, 2013
The U.S. Justice Department reportedly is nearing the end of its review of Washington and Colorado's new laws legalizing marijuana and could be announcing soon how it will respond. The issue is that while voters in Washington and Colorado have legalized pot under state laws,...
Tue., June 12, 2012
A judge has refused to reverse a decision about a marijuana search that local law enforcement says could hinder their ability to investigate pot cases. U.S. District Judge Frem Nielsen said Monday that his decision to prohibit prosecutors from using marijuana plants and other evidence...
Mon., June 11, 2012
A recent court ruling that deemed a drug raid illegal has raised questions about how law enforcement in Spokane County investigate marijuana growers. Sheriff’s detectives had reason to believe marijuana was being grown at a northeast Spokane County home when they raided it Nov. 2,...
Tue., Feb. 14, 2012
Eight pounds of marijuana and more than 1000 plants seized from a Spokane County home in November has led to federal charges against six suspects. A grand jury this month indicted Jerad J. Kynaston, 23 (pictured left), Samuel M. Doyle, 25 (pictured right); Brice C....
Sat., Oct. 1, 2011
A Coeur d'Alene man was arrested in Oregon Thursday with 10 pounds of marijuana. Seth Anthony Mitchell, 22, was stopped for a traffic violation while driving a 2004 Ford F-150 on Highway 97 north of Madras at milepost 78 about 12:30 p.m. Troopers found oxycodone...
Thu., Sept. 22, 2011
A medical marijuana patient contacted when a fire broke out at his Greenacres home told police he had been prescribed pot because of arthritis in his hand caused by "too much homework," authorities say. The 19-year-old man and his 22-year-old roommate had 27 marijuana plants...
Wed., Aug. 3, 2011
A Spokane woman set to serve four months in jail for money laundering has been charged with another felony after corrections deputies found drugs during a strip search. Rebecca Suzanne Townley, 33, had pills and suspected marijuana concealed in a condom when a corrections deputy...
Tue., July 26, 2011
The daughter of a Spokane medical marijuana dispenser recently indicted in federal court is calling on legendary singer and pot advocate Willie Nelson to take up his cause. In an email to The Spokesman-Review, Jessica Vogel-Laberdee asks Nelson, who plays outside at Northern Quest Casino...
Fri., April 15, 2011
SEATTLE (AP) — Gov. Chris Gregoire says she won't sign legislation to create licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Washington state after the Justice Department warned it could result in a federal crackdown. The two U.S. attorneys in the state told Gregoire in a letter Thursday...
Tue., April 12, 2011
OLYMPIA – Rules for growing, processing and selling medical marijuana passed the Washington state House of Representatives after heated debate Monday on whether the proposed law has enough safeguards to prevent sales to children. Read the rest of Jim Camden's story here. The bill passed...
Thu., April 7, 2011
Medical marijuana dispensaries in Spokane face federal prosecution if they do not end their operations immediately, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday. Federal authorities hope for voluntary compliance but are prepared “for quick and direct action against the operators of the stores,” according to a...
Tue., March 22, 2011
Medical marijuana supporters on Monday urged the Spokane City Council to support local dispensaries after a jury convicted an owner last week of felony drug charges. Representatives from Spokane Indicare and other dispensaries said they fear being shut down after Scott Shupe was found guilty...
Mon., March 14, 2011
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Federal agents with guns drawn raided at least 10 medical marijuana operations across Montana on Monday, the same a day that a bill to repeal the state's medical marijuana law stalled in the Legislature. Agents near Helena burst into Montana Cannabis'...
Mon., March 14, 2011
A groundbreaking trial for the area's medical marijuana dispensaries is set to begin today in Spokane. Scott Q. Shupe, 56, faces felony drug charges stemming from a 2009 police raid at Change, a pot dispensary he operated on Northwest Boulevard, near Maple Street. Prosecutors have...
Fri., March 11, 2011
A Spokane man arrested in Oregon with 50 pounds of marijuana on Sunday remains in jail. Michael Allen Orman, 30, has previous drug convictions in Spokane County in 2007 and 2006. Police say he was driving a rented Dodge Charger when he was stopped about...
Tue., March 8, 2011
Supporters of marijuana legalization briefly halted last night's Spokane City Council meeting. The protesters from Sensible Washington stood during the annual report to the council from Police Ombudsman Tim Burns, prompting City Council President Joe Shogan to order them to sit or leave. Rebeckah Aubertin,...
Thu., Feb. 24, 2011
A box of Chicken of the Sea tuna and a lost wallet recently led to felony charges against a Spokane man suspected of robbing a medical marijuana patient at gunpoint. Jesse Ryder Bender, 29, is in jail on $35,000 bond after appearing in Superior Court...
Mon., Feb. 21, 2011
An unpaid bar tab led to a woman's arrest on identity theft charges in Spokane Valley late Saturday. A man and woman left the Corner Club Bar, 2208 N. Park Road, with a $117 bar tab after their debit card was declined but said they...
Mon., Feb. 14, 2011
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — A Southwest Washington man who grew marijuana for a dying cancer patient has been acquitted of drug charges. Mark Hensley of Vancouver was arrested a year ago with 133 marijuana plants, many of them small clones. Hensley's lawyer, Douglas Hiatt, says...
Tue., Feb. 1, 2011
A multi-agency marijuana investigation led to the seizure of two cars and 3 1/2 pounds of marijuana in Spokane County recently. Cheney resident Brandon M. Collins, 27, is believed to have led the operation, which detectives say distributed more than five pounds of pot each...
Tue., Feb. 1, 2011
A Canadian Hells Angel who fought extradition to Spokane for two years has pleaded guilty to a federal marijuana charge. Brian Lee Hall faces up to five years in prison when he's sentenced April 6, but his lawyer said he'll ask that his client receive...
Fri., Jan. 21, 2011
A home-invasion robbery targeting a medical marijuana patient led to the arrests of two suspects this week. Nicholas S. Gardner, 28, and his girlfriend, Jill A. Benton, 26, are in jail on robbery, assault and kidnapping charges for allegedly attacking John J. Beck, 30, on...
Fri., Dec. 10, 2010
A Deer Park man was arrested early today after a deputy who stopped to help him with his broken down truck found $1,200 and nearly two ounces of marijuana in the vehicle. Trevor L. Weger, 30, was with his Toyota pickup at Highway 395 and...
Fri., July 9, 2010
A Canadian truck driver arrested with 300 pounds of marijuana bound for an Avista plant in Kettle Falls will be allowed to leave jail before trial, a U.S. magistrate ruled Friday. Matthew G. Tutt, 31, has an older brother who has been diagnosed with cancer...
Public safety news from the Inland Northwest and beyond.
