| Photo: Hats Radio |
| A Washington medical marijuana patient will be paid for his 15 cannabis plants after they were stolen, then recovered and taken into evidence by deputies. |
A Washington medical marijuana patient whose pot plants were stolen on Sunday will probably get money — but not his plants — back from the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.
The plants, which are now being held as evidence in the criminal case against a pair accused of stealing them, may be needed in court, and will likely spoil before they can be returned to their rightful owner, according to Kitsap County Sheriff’s spokesman Scott Wilson, reports Josh Farley at the Kitsap Sun.
“We don’t want to provide something back that could cause illness,” Wilson said.
Equipment used to grow the marijuana, which was also stolen, will be returned to the patient once the case is over.
But the man will have to file a claim with the county to get paid for his pot plants, Wilson said.
According to Wilson, the main will tell the county how much he thinks the plants were worth, then the two parties will negotiate to figure out exactly how much he will be paid for them.
The patient called 9-1-1 from his home on Sunday after he and his son arrived home to discover a strange SUV parked near their house, according to sheriff’s department reports. The SUV took off as they arrived.
The man and his sound found that 15 cannabis plants, the equipment used to grow them, and a car had been stolen, deputies said.
Washington state law allows qualifying medical marijuana patients to have 15 cannabis plants.
A box holding kitchen utensils and paperwork was found near the house, and appeared to have been left behind by the suspects. Deputies said they found a man’s name on the paperwork and tracked him down on Monday.
That man said he had loaned an SUV that matched the description of the suspects’ vehicle to a 47-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman.
Deputies found that pair at a residence in Bremerton, Washington. While there, the officers claimed they smelled marijuana coming from inside the house.
The two eventually confessed to stealing the plants. The 47-year-old claimed he had stolen it “to support his family,” because he had recently lost his job.
Deputies still hadn’t located the stolen car as of Wednesday night.
The plants and the equipment were seized and placed into evidence. The two were arrested and taken to Kitsap County Jail on $50,000 bail.