The defendants, who live on Steamboat Island Road, are among 17 arrested by narcotics detectives Nov. 15 at five medicinal marijuana dispensaries.
More charges against the remaining 15 suspects likely will follow, Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney Jon Tunheim said Tuesday.
John Muise, 40, and Terrell Mizell, 33, proprietors of The Olympia Patient Resource Center, each are charged with eight counts of unlawful delivery of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop route; nine counts of unlawful use of a building for drug purposes; one count of unlawful possession of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop; and one count of unlawful manufacture of marijuana, according to their criminal informations filed separately last week in Superior Court.
Tacoma attorney Kent Underwood, who said he will represent one of the defendants, said Tuesday that both will plead not guilty.
“I anticipate showing that they are in compliance with state law,” Underwood said.
The Olympia Patient Resource Center has not reopened. The four other dispensaries that were raided – one in Olympia, two in Lacey and one in Rochester – have remained open.
Underwood said he takes exception to claims in court records that the raid was based on marijuana buys by undercover narcotics detectives who used legitimate marijuana authorization cards they had obtained using an assumed or “undercover” name.
“It sounds a little bit like fraud to me on the part of the police department,” Underwood said. “It’s disturbing when law enforcement impersonates a patient. I expect to investigate the apparent fraud on the part of the police department and the task force.”
Both defendants are scheduled to be arraigned at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Tunheim said it is his office’s position that it is illegal to buy or sell marijuana, and when evidence is presented that businesses are violating the law, he will prosecute.
Underwood said Tuesday that law enforcement’s prosecuting medical marijuana establishments is “frivolous.”
“Law enforcement should spend its time enforcing the law proportionate to the negative impact it has on society,” Underwood added. “The impact of marijuana offenses does not support the amount of effort spent on its enforcement.”
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5445
jpawloski@theolympian.com
