5 August 2016
The report reveals..
Attorney General Marty Jackley, who warned against the tribe’s proposal from the start, said that a range of marijuana possession charges had been brought against two top officials of Monarch America, the Colorado-based company hired to work with the tribe on the resort idea.
Eric Hagen, Monarch’s chief executive, was charged by indictment with conspiracy to possess, possession and attempt to possess more than 10 pounds of marijuana. Jonathan Hunt, the vice president and cultivation expert, was charged with conspiracy to possess between a half-pound and a pound of marijuana.
Hagen, 34, of Sioux Falls, declined to comment. Hunt, 43, of Denver, didn’t immediately respond to telephone messages requesting comment. Jackley said Hunt was expected to plead guilty Aug. 15.
Court documents say Hunt ordered marijuana seeds from a company in the Netherlands that were put in CD cases and sewn into shirts and shipped surreptitiously to the tribe’s office in 2015. Authorities say Hunt and others cultivated the plants at the Flandreau grow facility before they were burned.
“It is very clearly a violation of both federal and state law what was proposed and what was happening,” Jackley said.
Jackley portrayed the tribe as a victim. Moody County State’s Attorney Paul Lewis also took pains to say the charges were “not an indictment against the members of the Flandreau Santee Sioux.”
Full Report: http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/08/03/marijuana-resort-south-dakota-consultants-charged/60162/
Monarch About Us Page http://www.monarchamerica.com/about-us/
Eric Hagen http://www.monarchamerica.com/team-view/eric-hagen-ceo/
Jonathan Hunt http://www.monarchamerica.com/team-view/jonathan-hunt-coo-grower/
Video: Attorney General’s Press Conference on Arrests
Attorney General’s Press Release On Arrests
http://atg.sd.gov/OurOffice/Media/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?id=1621
We also recommend the Dakota Free Press report on the subject
