Laveta Arnold shares the defense table with her husband James Arnold as the two go before Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The Onalaska couple arrested in February after police cleaned out what was described as an elaborate indoor garden with more than 600 marijuana plants at their Griel Road property were each given 30 days in jail yesterday.
James L. Arnold and Laveta L. Arnold told officers they’d been growing personal medicinal marijuana for more than 15 years, but during the past five were selling it for profit, generating approximately $136,000 per year, according to court documents.
Centralia police contended the money financed numerous safari trips to Africa to hunt large trophy animals and paid for various assets which were all seized.
A plea deal was worked out in which a charge of money laundering was dropped. The couple, ages 55 and 52, have no previous criminal history, and have been free on bail since two days after they were jailed.
Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello said the maximum penalty of five years in prison and the standard sentencing range for their remaining offenses were the same as for felony possession of drugs.
Yesterday morning, in Lewis County Superior Court, the Arnolds pleaded guilty to manufacture of marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to to deliver.
The standard range is zero to six months in the county jail. Masiello and defense attorneys made an agreed recommendation to the judge they each serve 30 days.
Their lawyer Keith Hall told the judge the Arnolds understood they needed to take responsibility and wanted to put it behind them.
Judge James Lawler said it was a difficult case, because of the magnitude of it.
He said he’d looked over numerous letters of support, and in doing so, saw how much of a double life they were leading.
“That confirms to me people can project what they want to, while at the same time doing something extraordinarily illegal,” Lawler said.
Four rows of benches on each side of the small courtroom were nearly filled with family and friends during the morning hearing.
The judge explained that his usual method of deciding a sentence is starting at the middle of the range and then looking for reasons to give more time or less time.
“The fact you’ve been involved in the community and done a lot of things is a basis to go down,” he said. “The nature and extent of this is a reason to go up.”
The Arnolds were active in the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue program. She is a master gardner, according to Hall.
Lawler said he would go along with what the lawyers negotiated. Neither of the Arnolds chose to make any statement on their own behalf.
The judge agreed that while Laveta Arnold was taken into custody after the hearing, James Arnold could wait to check into jail on May 12.
Masiello asked for and was granted an order assessing them each $1,900 in various fees, minus a portion based on the plea negotiations.
Lawler reminded them both they’ve lost their right to use, own or possess firearms, as is customary with felony convictions.
“You would be committing another felony,” he said. “The sentence for illegal possession of a firearm is far worse than what you’re facing here today, so don’t mess with that.”
The case began at the end of last year as an investigation into a money laundering operation by the Centralia Police Department’s Anti-Crime Team and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
Police said James Arnold was a vice president of a medical marijuana dispensary in the Olympia area called Urban Medicinals as well as another location in the Tacoma area. The couple owns a business called Alpha Marine Installations based at their Onalaska home.
Centralia police said after the arrests, the case would also be referred to the Internal Revenue Service for investigation of possible tax fraud and to state authorities for business tax evasion.
Besides the plants, when police and deputies served the search warrant, they seized more than 40 pounds of marijuana processed and packaged for sale with a street value of at least $2,000 per pound; five vehicles including a 1948 Ford hot rod pickup and a 1969 Chevy Corvette; 33 guns included hunting rifles, assault rifles and handguns; and approximately 30 mounted animal heads.
Centralia police said James Arnold admitted to purchasing all or part of the vehicles with the proceeds.
Kent-based lawyer Hall said now that the criminal case is done, he and his partner Bradley G. Barshis will work on the civil forfeiture case being handled by the city of Centralia’s attorney.
“The way that works is they take everything, and you have a right to ask for a hearing to contest it,” he said.
The state medical marijuana law allows for up to 15 plants or 24 ounces for a qualifying patient.
And Initiative 502 passed by voters in November 2012 allows recreational use by adults and set up rules under which those obtaining a state license may cultivate and package cannabis and related products.
Any applicant for a county business license in unincorporated Lewis County however would need to provide approval from the federal government, which still outlaws marijuana. The county has issued no licenses to grow marijuana.
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For background, read “Onalaska illegal marijuana enterprise case headed toward plea deal instead of trial” from Friday April 3, 2015, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Thank you Bahls.
Now don’t dare drive after consuming that legal beer or you will go to prison.
To compare this to brewing beer is typical pot sympathizer b.s. These guys are growing over 600 plants, each of which can yield 1 pound. 600 pounds of weed at 1500 bucks per pound equals $900,000. Go figure how they bought all of the stuff hard working citizens cant.
Any way you look at it, it’s drug dealing and illegal. Show me where you can make that much dough brewing beer in a 8 week turn around in a barn
Ds is typical Of the lewis county justice system..I have a friend who was growing medical marijuana back in 2004.The county waited until his doctor was out of the country.before prosecuting him 1 year later.being poor and disabled the man could not afford attorney and was given 1 by the court.he had 27 small plants amount to last then 600 grams.his attorney never advised him about The Al ford deal.and did not argue about how the police officers made a deal With the man to signing a search of his property..he had a 3300 dollar fine and 30 days in jail.in which he spent 27 day..and he has paid on his fine and the fine has never got any smaller..in fact the county has some law that allows them to charge interest to some find but not others .so sure I can see how some people would think that lewis county does not have a proper justice system.people with no means ..do not get justice in This county…or a plea bargain with the county..so I think it’s safe to say that it is not whether you Do a crime in lewis county!!! but who you know…weather you get away with it or not..
Actually they are able to confiscate proceeds and assets of an illegal manufacturing operation as defined under ATF guidelines.
A. They wouldn’t have been arrested, tried and jailed for a craft beer company – even if they produced, sold and distributed the beer. They might have received a fine for violating distribution and licensing laws.
B. Law enforcement should NEVER receive proceeds from busting “drug dealers” – it totally takes away their credibility as well as truly ruins their objectivity. As an aside – you know their budget INCLUDES proceeds from drug busts, right?
How is manufacturing and distributing marijuana any different from manufacturing and distributing alcohol without a license? Shouldn’t the punishment be similar? Would law enforcement be allowed to confiscate the property if the substance was alcohol?
Allaboutthenews: 1) Alford Plea – not alpha plea 2) they’re tied – not there tied 3) their stuff back – not there stuff back 4) Please try using punctuation, such as commas and periods, in the future. That is all!
Worst kind of person…openly displaying a civic minded persona all the while operating covertly in criminal activity. “home boy” syndrome undoubtedly helped them also.
Yes, I remember the Hasnani brothers. It may be tempting to cry racism because that’s become a reflexive default, but I’m not convinced skin color is behind the discrepancy in sentences (not that I’d rule it out categorically either). I think this wrist-tap may be more about being connected with the “right” people, as Free Air says. The question then becomes what the quid pro quo is.
An Alford Plea has no bearing on your sentence only that you are not pleading guilty but rather admitting that you could be convicted by a jury of peers with evidence provided.
“alpha plea”, really?
Bottom line. If you’re going to be a drug dealer, make sure you are politically connected with local law enforcement. Sure looks like it paid off in a big way for them.
im sure you all remember the Hasnani brothers. Caught growing 90 plants in Centralia Seminary Hill area in 2013. The only had a 4 pounds of weed. These upstanding community losers had 5-6 times the amount and ten times the amount of weed. Hasnani brothers got a year in jail. These white corrupt bastards only get 30 days? Where is the justice? Are we corrupt racists in lewis county or what?? They flashed their cash with cars and expensive trips like rich rap stars. Shouldnt we come down harder on these middle aged losers to make the right example to our kids who have this type of enterprise in mind?
theres the link to the hasnani brothers sentencing
https://lewiscountysirens.com/?p=18933
It’s called an Alford plea.
There is a thing called the alpha plea where the criminal pleads no contest and clearly these ppl qualified for it that’s why the sentence was so low not because there tied in anywhere really they should get all there stuff back and left alone they weren’t doing anything wrong other than being in Lewis county
Typical of Lewis County – driven by avarice, superficially benevolent.
I would imagine their chief concern will be with a possible federal IRS investigation now. That could be a whole other ball of wax entirely.
Just because somebody got a ridiculous amount of time for a tiny amount of a harmless plant doesn’t mean everybody should get ridiculous amounts of time for the same thing.
Our prisons are bursting at the seams with non-violent people who’s only crime was making an adult decision to put something in their own bodies.
I don’t know too many people who are happy about paying for the imprisonment of non-violent inmates.
30 days for 40 lbs of weed? Most people would get 5-10 YEARS. These people have ties to curruption its obvious. There are people in prison for years for possessing less than 4 grams of marijuana.
Lewis county’s view on recreational MJ is absolutely rediculous. Lewis county has one of the worst economies by county in the state. Instead of filling up the jail with harmless people and wasting money resisting MJ we should be an advocate so we can bring in more local jobs and more tax dollars for the county. We live in a very “close minded” county and our unwillingness to adapt with the changes in our state will only put yes further behind.
Lewis County is still backward compared to the rest of the state on MJ policy and a lot of other policies for that matter. I don’t really think these people should have been arrested in the first place.
So they have a lot of nice stuff and took a few exotic trips – what does that have to do with anything. Hardworking folks should have nice stuff and be able to take a nice vacation.
Well anyway 30 days isn’t too much but it’s going to cost them a lot in lawyer’s fees and some cops in Centralia might be driving around in their vintage Corvette.
And it’s nice to know she is a master gardener. I am an amateur gardener but I don’t grow Mary Jane in my garden. Grew a few plants once just to see how they grow (there is a reason they call it weed), but it’s still a felony in this state unless you have a medical MJ diagnosis.