There are 3 related articles from Dec 2016 / Oct 2017 / Dec 2017
DEC 2016
Woman who ran marijuana dispensary charged with several felonies, including racketeering
John Hogan, WZZM 11:39 PM. EST December 15, 2016
PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, MICH. – A Comstock Park woman police say ran an illegal medical marijuana dispensary is facing several felony charges stemming from a late November raid at the Plainfield Township facility.
Charges against 51-year-old Susan M. Bond include conducting a criminal enterprise and criminal enterprises – racketeering proceeds; both are 20-year felonies. Police seized several pounds of marijuana during a Nov. 28 raid at The Provision Center, which also was known as Michigan Relief Hub, according to court records.
Bond told investigators the business generated about $1,000 a day, Kent County Sheriff’s Lt. Al Roetman said.
“She has been running a criminal enterprise in our opinion,’’ Roetman said. “The ones that have been running are not legal.’’
The business, located on Plainfield Avenue north of Five Mile Road NE, was among seven locations visited by the Kent Area Narcotics Enforcement Team on Nov. 28. As of now, Bond is the only person to be charged. A state police drug enforcement task force raided the business in Nov. 2015, Roetman said.
Criminal charges were appropriate because Bond received prior warning that the dispensary was operating illegally, Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Boer said.
“We did send her a letter quite a while ago indicating that she was operating outside the law and we asked her to stop doing it,’’ Boer said. “We do this in a progression and this was handled no differently.’’
In addition to racketeering and conducting a criminal enterprise, Bond faces two counts of delivery/manufacture of marijuana, a four-year felony, and maintaining a drug house, which carries a two-year term.
Bond on Wednesday waived a probable cause hearing in 63rd District Court, sending the case to Kent County Circuit Court for trial. She is free on a $50,000 bond.
Police also raided a building on Taylor Avenue near Leonard Street NW linked to Bond. Deputies found business records and proceeds linked to the Plainfield Township dispensary, court records show.
A man interviewed by detectives said he moved records and proceeds to the Grand Rapids location “in an attempt to hide his and Susan Bond’s connection to the business,’’ according to a probable cause affidavit in 63rd District Court. The man, who has not been charged, said Bond owned the business and he served as manager.
To build their criminal case against Bond, detectives conducted several controlled buys of marijuana at the business. A detective from the Kent Area Narcotics Enforcement Team was in the store during one of the buys; Bond was also there, court records show.
Bond may have inadvertently helped investigators build their case against her. She attempted to file an embezzlement complaint with the Kent County Sheriff’s Department against a former manager “stating that the former manager stole medical marijuana from the Provision Center,’’ court records show. She also said that she takes 20 percent of the proceeds from the sale of marijuana “for her paralegal services at the Provision Center,’’ court records show.
Gov. Rick Snyder in September signed legislation that will allow medical marijuana dispensaries beginning next year so long as local ordinances allow them to operate.
As the law now stands, they’re still illegal, Boer said.
“You have to be a licensed caregiver, you can only have five people that you are a caregiver for,’’ he said. “These dispensaries think they can be a caregiver to anyone and that’s just not the case.’’
OCT 2017
Marijuana dispensary operator convicted of racketeering, faces two decades in prison
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. (WZZM) – A woman accused of running an illegal medical marijuana dispensary north of Grand Rapids was convicted Thursday of numerous felony charges that could put her in prison for up to 20 years.
Kent County jurors found 52-year-old Susan M. Bond guilty of five charges, including conducting a criminal enterprise and racketeering, for a business shuttered last year on Plainfield Avenue near Five Mile Road NE.
The jury began deliberations Wednesday afternoon. They reached a verdict mid-afternoon Thursday.
Kent County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Rossi, who presided over the two-week trial, ordered she be held on a $100,000 bond pending her sentencing date in mid-November.
Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Boer said Bond headed a multi-million-dollar marijuana business in Kent County’s Plainfield Township. The Provision Center was among seven locations visited by the Kent Area Narcotics Enforcement Team on Nov. 28.
Defense attorney Michael Komorn said Bond did nothing illegal. The investigation was launched after Bond called police to report embezzlement from her business, he told jurors.
“And they flip it around and make it a mobster crime,’’ Komorn said in opening statements last week. “At no point are you going to hear that my client delivered marijuana to anybody.’’
Members of the Kent Area Narcotics Enforcement Team launched the probe in the summer of 2016. Between Aug. 1 and Oct. 14, 2016, the business took in more than $647,000; Bond pocketed about $137,000, Boer said.
Bond used proceeds to pay rent and salaries and invest in supplies, Boer told jurors.
She was found guilty of racketeering and conducting a criminal enterprise – felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Jurors also convicted Bond of two counts of delivery/manufacture of marijuana, a four-year felony, and maintaining a drug house, which carries a two-year term.
DEC 2017
WOMAN WHO RAN MARIJUANA DISPENSARY GETS JAIL, $25,000 FINE FOR RACKETEERING
Author:John Hogan
Published:7:00 PM EST December 6, 2017
A woman convicted of running an illegal medical marijuana dispensary north of Grand Rapids was sentenced Wednesday to a year in jail and placed on probation for three years.
A woman convicted of running an illegal medical marijuana dispensary north of Grand Rapids was sentenced Wednesday to a year in jail and placed on probation for three years.
A Kent County jury in October found Susan Maria Bond guilty of racketeering and conducting a criminal enterprise for a marijuana dispensary authorities say raked in millions of dollars.
In addition to jail and probation, Kent County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Rossi slapped her with a $25,000 fine. The judge also ordered that Bond perform 50 hours of community service.
Bond, 52, was facing up to 20 years in prison for racketeering and conducting a criminal enterprise. Terms of her sentence allows for possible early release from jail.
Kent County jurors found the 52-year-old paralegal guilty of five charges for a business shuttered last year on Plainfield Avenue near Five Mile Road NE. Her trial lasted two weeks.
Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Boer said Bond headed the multi-million-dollar marijuana business in Kent County’s Plainfield Township. The Provision Center was among seven locations visited by the Kent Area Narcotics Enforcement Team in November, 2016.
Defense attorney Michael Komorn said Bond did nothing illegal. The investigation was launched after Bond called police to report embezzlement from her business, he said.
Members of the Kent Area Narcotics Enforcement Team launched the probe in the summer of 2016. Between Aug. 1 and Oct. 14, 2016, the business took in more than $647,000; Bond pocketed about $137,000, Boer said.
Bond used proceeds to pay rent and salaries and invest in supplies, Boer said.
In addition to racketeering and conducting a criminal enterprise, jurors convicted Bond of two counts of delivery/manufacture of marijuana, a four-year felony, and maintaining a drug house, which carries a two-year term.
