Centralia marijuana store case goes to trial

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The long saga of the short-lived Hub City Natural Medicine – medical marijuana dispensary – is winding down, with three of the participant’s cases settled and the fourth who is taking hers to trial.

The storefront opened in downtown Centralia in early 2011 with a city-granted business license, but was shut down after police realized what “education and sales of natural medicine” on the application really meant.

Lauri Spangler, 47, is charged with maintaining a premises for using controlled substances.

Jurors in Lewis County Superior Court were reminded by a judge today not to jump to conclusions as there are two sides to every case, and then they heard 10 minutes of opening statements from attorneys.

It’s simple, Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher told them.

“But there are different parts of it that kind of lock this all together,” Meagher said.

Pay attention to the dates, and then to the law as it applied back then, he said.

At the time, some cities in Washington such as Tacoma allowed so-called dispensaries of medical marijuana to operate, where, in theory, patients with authorizations make donations to obtain cannabis. But the issue hadn’t come up in Lewis County.

Meagher told jurors that Hub City Natural Medicine’s application for a business license slid past city officials and was mailed out on Feb. 2, 2011. But then police found out they were selling marijuana.

Meagher said Police Chief Bob Berg sent them a letter advising them they could not do what they were doing.

The following month, police got a tip it was still going on and sent an informant into the store, Meagher said.

“And sure enough, the informant was able to buy it,” he said.

Twice more, undercover purchases were made and finally police went in and found marijuana, infused edible products and such, Meagher said.

The people involved were Daniel Mack, David Low and Colby Cave, who was Spangler’s live-in boyfriend, Meagher told the jury.

“And she helped by getting him him the business license,” he said.

Defense attorney Michael Underwood was brief when he addressed the courtroom.

His client had nothing to do with the operation of the business, she didn’t work there or go there, Underwood said.

“What the evidence is going to show is my client got the business license and set up the checking account and that’s pretty much it,” Underwood said.

They didn’t use the word “selling”, Underwood said. They gave the product in exchange for a donation, he said.

Underwood contended it was Cave, Low and Mack who handled the day to day operations.

Mack will be testifying against Spangler, he said.

“It’s gonna come out he got a heck of a deal,” he said. “In exchange for avoiding a long prison term.”

Cave and Low pleaded guilty earlier this year. Mack has pleaded guilty but has not yet been sentenced.

Maintaining a premises for using controlled substances is a class C felony.

The trial will continue tomorrow morning.
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For background, read “Centralia medical marijuana dispensary case winding down” from Saturday February 2, 2013, here

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9 Responses to “Centralia marijuana store case goes to trial”

  1. The Dirty Cop Enforcer says:

    Here’s Daniel Macks You Tube Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUp0XJP_GTA Dude was facing 45 years in Prison for selling Pot,… Oh the Failed war on Drugs

  2. David Low says:

    B.L. Zebub Let me break it down to the public about my History. I didn’t have any problem with the Centralia Pd. Until I was choked in Hand Cuffs on March 3rd 2011 and had my recording device shut off. The Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer was called by the Centralia PD. Meyer told Gary Byrnes of the Centralia PD that recording my Traffic stop was a crime. So during the process of Meyers Lack of Knowledge about the law I was Treated like an animal and had weapons pointed at me and so on. Then Meyer called back and claim the law had changed and that it was legal to record the police.
    Then I dug a little deeper and started filming the Slack City employees and taking a good look at the City Government, What I realized that it’s all smoke and Mirrors. Most city officials are just driving through town too pick up a pay check. I’m going to replace the movies I made, but I’m going to revise them. At this point in Time Marijuana is legal. So the City of Centralia wasted Probaly 100,000 at least In prosecuting a Bag of Marijuana that they never found………. Your Tax Dollars at work don’t get very far. Were just paying for the Police State. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=u7FHjQt8jbY

  3. B.L. Zebub says:

    Thanks. Frankly it’s all pretty jaw-dropping. If one wanted to voice their dissatisfaction with how their tax dollars are being utilized, besides our representatives, what would be the best avenue?

    Interesting video. Its scary to me that this is happening all over. Its legal for us to use it but a class c felony for anyone to try and get it to people that may need it. It boggles the mind.

  4. David Low says:

    Yes I have a recording from the Centralia PD that claims that my Interrogation video was lost and several other cases were lost as well on this so called Interrogation video. I my self had no choice but to take a Plea Bargain I was given no jail time no fine and no probation. The stack of paper work against me is a stack of Bull Crap lies over a foot high. I was willing to go to Trial but when 8 Dirty Coops are prepared to tell fairy tales I took the sweet deal with no time or fines involved. Daniel Mack was facing 45 years in Jail. I too would have said anything to save my ass from 45 of custody for Legal Marijuana. My Question is to the City of Centralia, If I was so involved, then why am I not testifying against Spangler?. I was threatened by the Centralia Police and told I would be In prison for a long time If I didn’t Take the Plea Deal. The FBI does need to Crack off our local police department. The Whole Community see’s the Truth. And for the Record I never once sold marijuana from HUB CITY Natural Medicine. I no longer had control over the store when Medicine was being sold there, Daniel Mack is the Only one whom sold Medicine there. I was arrested for my Web Site and the movies I made that threw City Officials under the Bus…….. Free Speech is Dead In America, If you try to prove the Cops are dirty they just put you in a Cage… In the Future Police Uniforms will be nothing more than Rags http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpUGV8QC1tQ&list=UULfPtqrJlWSOsh8byxYUO3g&feature=player_embedded

  5. amazed says:

    Okay, I don’t understand this whole long drawn out process. I think the cops were just mad because they weren’t getting their ‘cut’ like they do with the Cartels. Also, how many ‘drug dealers’ receive a letter in the mail saying, you need to stop dealing? Don’t take that in the wrong context I am in NO WAY saying this was a drug dealing operation. If this were set up just across the county line in Thurston, they wouldn’t be all butt hurt about it. And yes, this case every last bit of it needs to be taken to a higher court. The CPD committed crimes well beyond their scope…this was clearly not just an undercover sting. They knew exactly what was going on, but I think they were waiting for Bribe money to show up. Otherwise, who the hell would send a Letter to a supposed ILLEGAL MMJ operation instead of just going a shutting it down in the 1st place. I agree with all previous comments. I’m tired of these corrupt cops in this town getting away with all this.

  6. B.L. Zebub says:

    Mr. Low, I am not familiar with this case other than what I have read here, however I, too am puzzled by the amount of time/energy put in to shut you down and prosecute you. Are you able to elaborate on your comments for those of us not in the know?

  7. David Low says:

    The fact is I was railroaded by the Centralia PD. Where is my Interrogation Video Robert Berg. Your Police Department is Bull Shit and the community knows it.

  8. Cancer Survivor says:

    Its just kinda galling that they spent so much time and energy on shutting down a place that dispensed to people with prescrips. Most cancer pts dont have a dealer on speed dial. So to weed out the few who might have gone to the trouble of going to the dr for a prescrip. for recreational use, u punish everyone. There are so many other things going on here in LC: meth.,gangs,people shooting each other. Priorities are a little skewed. Makes me want to put on my tinfoil hat.

  9. OldLongJohnson says:

    #Meagher said Police Chief Bob Berg sent them a letter advising them they could not do what they were doing.

    The following month, police got a tip it was still going on and sent an informant into the store, Meagher said.

    “And sure enough, the informant was able to buy it,” he said.

    Twice more, undercover purchases were made and finally police went in and found marijuana, infused edible products and such, Meagher said.”

    So the police basically committed crimes themselves by falsifying patient information and then forging a doctor’s signature. If they weren’t committing crimes in order to “fight crime”, then since when were police officers allowed to participate in the MMJ program in Washington State?

    Nope, just corruption plain and simple. And the OBVIOUS crimes committed by the corrupt CPD will be not only overlooked, but continued.

    It would be nice to see the FBI investigagte the OBVIOUS constitutional violations committed day after day in Lewis County.