PORT TOWNSEND — Accusations of misconduct by the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team provide the basis for a hearing that begins today.
The hearing starts at 9 a.m. in Jefferson County Superior Court, 1820 Jefferson St.
Port Townsend attorney Michael Haas filed a motion Nov. 14 requesting that drug charges against his client, Steve Fager, be dropped and alleging that Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team — or OPNET — abused the law in gathering evidence.
The 55-year-old Sequim resident had his home on Glendale Drive and medical marijuana cooperative in Discovery Bay raided in October 2009.
Fager is charged with manufacturing marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver in Jefferson County and possession of more than 40 grams of marijuana in Clallam County.
The trial will take place in Jefferson County because the grow operation in question was located in Discovery Bay. Fager’s trial has not been scheduled and depends on the result of the hearing, Haas said.
Haas’ motion contains a request to dismiss all charges and a request to suppress all evidence allegedly illegally obtained — which includes 93 marijuana plants — and a contention that law enforcement recklessly executed the search warrant.
“The entire case is corrupted, and the evidence is tainted,” Haas said Tuesday.
“OPNET engaged in illegal activity when they arrested Mr. Fager, and there were problems with their use of a confidential informant and maintaining the chain of evidence.”
Haas claims that OPNET detectives planted evidence, trespassed and used a convicted sex offender as a paid informant to net his client on drug charges.
Clallam County Deputy Prosecutor Lew Schrawyer said that OPNET, which is made up of law enforcement officers from across the North Oympic Peninsula, acted within its charter.
“Whatever they did was within the law,” Schrawyer said of the OPNET detectives.
“We will have four deputies testify that they picked up at least 11 nose hits from the property, and we have no proof that there was a legal marijuana cooperative.”
A “nose hit,” according to Schrawyer, results from the distinctive smell of marijuana growing operations that can be discerned by a trained narcotics detective.
The nose hits were made from an area outside the property and is one of the factors that resulted in a warrant, Schrawyer said.
Haas expects the hearing to take five to seven days, which he said is “the longest suppression hearing that I have ever taken part in.”
Fager said he has been using medical marijuana since 2002, when the treatment was legalized, to treat chronic pain, a condition that he previously was using opiates to address.
Haas said that the OPNET case has nothing to do with drug enforcement.
“It’s all about money,” he said.
“OPNET is looking to confiscate my client’s property and use the proceeds to finance future operations.”
Schrawwyer said that OPNET has acted within the law.
“Mr. Haas seems determined to try this case in the media,” Schrawyer said.
“It looks like we aren’t responding to his allegations, but there really isn’t anything to respond to until all the evidence is presented.”
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
