Five people accused of running an illegal network of pot-growing operations tied to a Tacoma medical marijuana dispensary have pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
The defendants, including Tacoma Cross owner James Canyon Lucas, received either suspended or deferred jail sentences in exchange for their guilty pleas to the gross misdemeanor of solicitation to manufacture a controlled substance.
Pierce County prosecutors initially charged eight people with felonies after a law enforcement investigation that included raids last summer on seven homes in Federal Way, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Fife and Lake Tapps.
Detectives seized marijuana plants, growing equipment, firearms, cash and other drugs, court records show. They said the group was growing and distributing illegal amounts of pot.
Lucas, 31, said in a plea agreement signed this week that he "offered money to others to help me in the manufacture of marijuana. I believed at the time I was complying with medical marijuana laws."
Lucas is permitted to possess some marijuana under the state's medical marijuana laws, his attorney said after Lucas' arrest.
Also convicted on the lesser charges were Loren Gordner, 31; Ryan Needham, 29; Edward Dumas, 40; and Mark Nowels, 41. Prosecutors dismissed all charges against Lucas' wife, Sarah Lucas, 29; Kari Levi, 42; and Kaelah Singleton, 27.
The defendants, including Tacoma Cross owner James Canyon Lucas, received either suspended or deferred jail sentences in exchange for their guilty pleas to the gross misdemeanor of solicitation to manufacture a controlled substance.
Pierce County prosecutors initially charged eight people with felonies after a law enforcement investigation that included raids last summer on seven homes in Federal Way, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Fife and Lake Tapps.
Detectives seized marijuana plants, growing equipment, firearms, cash and other drugs, court records show. They said the group was growing and distributing illegal amounts of pot.
Lucas, 31, said in a plea agreement signed this week that he "offered money to others to help me in the manufacture of marijuana. I believed at the time I was complying with medical marijuana laws."
Lucas is permitted to possess some marijuana under the state's medical marijuana laws, his attorney said after Lucas' arrest.
Also convicted on the lesser charges were Loren Gordner, 31; Ryan Needham, 29; Edward Dumas, 40; and Mark Nowels, 41. Prosecutors dismissed all charges against Lucas' wife, Sarah Lucas, 29; Kari Levi, 42; and Kaelah Singleton, 27.
