COTTAGE GROVE, Ore -- Police now say David and Diane Clark were trying to help out a friend when they allegedly grew and illegally distributed marijuana through a convenience store in Cottage Grove.
Their friend is Steve Casteel. He was also booked on drug charges.
Police say Casteel was having financial problems.
"Mr. Casteel did not want to lose his house," says Detective David Burgin with the Cottage Grove Police Department. "And he had information that Mr. Clark was already growing marijuana. And so they devised a plan together to manufacture marijuana so Mr. Casteel could save his home."
Police have seized 20 pounds of pot from both the Clark and Casteel residences.
Police say they had been shipping some to California and allegedly sold some of the rest at Diane's Market in Cottage Grove.
Detectives have been investigating Diane's Market since July. They believe for the past year, some customers actually used their food stamps to buy marijuana at Diane's Market.
Police say the transactions went something like this:
A person would purchase, say, $20 of marijuana. That amount would be punched into the register under "grocery." Then the employee would swipe the food stamp card.
The $20 would then be taken out of the till and placed in an envelope. "And then the state would then reimburse David and Diane's Market," says Detective Burgin.
We tried to get the other side, but no employees would talk, nobody at that Casteel's house would talk, and when we got to the Clark's, they piled into a car and left.
We did talk to Diane Clark on the phone. She said all this attention is ruining her business.
Monday, there was also a sign outside the market. The messages were a bit tongue in cheek.
On one side was a list of frequently asked questions. One read, "Is Diane's Market Closing?" The answer? "Yes. 9 p.m. on weekdays. 10 p.m. on weekends.
Police believe other employees were involved in making these transactions but have not made any more arrests.
Gene Evans with the Oregon Department of Human Services says a person who uses their food stamps for illegal drugs could be investigated for fraud and possibly lose their food stamps.
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: kval
Author: Elissa Harrington
Contact: KVAL CBS 13 - News, Weather and Sports - Eugene, OR - Eugene, Oregon
Copyright: 2008 Fisher Communications, Inc.
Website:Police: Couple sold marijuana to help friend pay for house | KVAL CBS 13 - News, Weather and Sports - Eugene, OR - Eugene, Oregon | Local & Regional News
Their friend is Steve Casteel. He was also booked on drug charges.
Police say Casteel was having financial problems.
"Mr. Casteel did not want to lose his house," says Detective David Burgin with the Cottage Grove Police Department. "And he had information that Mr. Clark was already growing marijuana. And so they devised a plan together to manufacture marijuana so Mr. Casteel could save his home."
Police have seized 20 pounds of pot from both the Clark and Casteel residences.
Police say they had been shipping some to California and allegedly sold some of the rest at Diane's Market in Cottage Grove.
Detectives have been investigating Diane's Market since July. They believe for the past year, some customers actually used their food stamps to buy marijuana at Diane's Market.
Police say the transactions went something like this:
A person would purchase, say, $20 of marijuana. That amount would be punched into the register under "grocery." Then the employee would swipe the food stamp card.
The $20 would then be taken out of the till and placed in an envelope. "And then the state would then reimburse David and Diane's Market," says Detective Burgin.
We tried to get the other side, but no employees would talk, nobody at that Casteel's house would talk, and when we got to the Clark's, they piled into a car and left.
We did talk to Diane Clark on the phone. She said all this attention is ruining her business.
Monday, there was also a sign outside the market. The messages were a bit tongue in cheek.
On one side was a list of frequently asked questions. One read, "Is Diane's Market Closing?" The answer? "Yes. 9 p.m. on weekdays. 10 p.m. on weekends.
Police believe other employees were involved in making these transactions but have not made any more arrests.
Gene Evans with the Oregon Department of Human Services says a person who uses their food stamps for illegal drugs could be investigated for fraud and possibly lose their food stamps.
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: kval
Author: Elissa Harrington
Contact: KVAL CBS 13 - News, Weather and Sports - Eugene, OR - Eugene, Oregon
Copyright: 2008 Fisher Communications, Inc.
Website:Police: Couple sold marijuana to help friend pay for house | KVAL CBS 13 - News, Weather and Sports - Eugene, OR - Eugene, Oregon | Local & Regional News
