Big Island marijuana advocate Roger Christie, his partner, two employees of the Hawaii Cannabis Ministry and 10 people who allegedly supplied marijuana for the ministry are facing federal marijuana manufacturing, possession and distribution charges.
A federal grand jury returned a secret indictment last month against Christie, Sherryanne L. St. Cyr, Susanne Lenore Friend, Timothy M. Mann, Richard Bruce Turpen, Wesley Mark Sudbury, Donald James Gibson, Roland Gregory Ignacio, Perry Emilio Policicchio, John DeBaptist Bouey III, Michael B. Shapiro, Aaron George Zeeman, Victoria C. Fiore and Jessica R. Walsh.
A federal judge unsealed the indictment yesterday. The U.S. attorney scheduled a news conference for this afternoon.
The indictment charges the defendants with possessing as few as two marijuana plants to as many as 1,108 plants. It also seeks the forfeiture of $21,494 that county and federal law enforcement officials seized in a raid of the ministry's downtown Hilo offices, and from Christie's Hilo apartment and Big Island property owned by Turpen, Ignacio and Policicchio.
Christie and St. Cyr manufactured, distributed and sold marijuana at the ministry assisted by ministry employees Fiore and Friend, according to the indictment. Christie also allegedly recruited Friend and Mann to start up a marijuana cultivation operation for the ministry.
