COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A Branch County man who was arrested back in March for operating a sophisticated hash oil lab will serve probation after being sentenced this week in Branch County Circuit Court.
45-year-old Stephen Rainey received two years probation on after pleading guilty to operating a drug house and failing to pay state cannabis taxes.
Felony charges that could have led to more then 15 years in prison were dropped because lab tests showed some seized plant material did not meet the state’s legal definition of marijuana, classifying it as hemp.
Prosecutor Zack Stempien described Rainey’s lab as unsanitary and a dangerous “ticking time bomb,” lacking essential safety features .
Judge Bill O’Grady questioned Rainey’s claim of not knowing he was breaking the law, given the regulated nature of the cannabis industry
That was a hig risk of explosion operation and there were kids right next door. What a total joke Branch County legal system has become.