Andrew Magnus, 36, of Independence Township faces two counts of delivery and manufacture of more than 45 kilograms of marijuana and two counts conspiracy to deliver more than 45 kilograms of marijuana after a year-long investigation by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s Narcotics Enforcement Team uncovered a synthetic marijuana production operation in Pontiac in an investigation starting last February, leading to the arrest of Magnus, Brian Stogsdill, 30, of Royal Oak and Tristan Harris, 36, of Brandon Township. The three suspects all received the same charges on Jan. 2 in 50th District Court in Pontiac. Each posted a $10,000 personal bond after being arraigned and are scheduled for a probable cause conference on Jan. 17.
The team executed a search warrant at Apple Industries, 391 E. Wilson Street in Pontiac, in December, finding a processing and distribution center for illegal marijuana products in a warehouse, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Additional search warrants from the investigation included residences on Bristol Lane in Independence Township, Long Lake Trail in Brandon Township, and North Kenwood Avenue in Royal Oak.
Deputies confiscated from the three homes and warehouse 413 pounds of loose/packaged marijuana; 240 marijuana plants; 370 grams of marijuana dabbing wax in 7,402 distribution-ready containers; 71.15 pound of THS/hash oil; and 157 grams of processed marijuana wax, with a total street value of $2.4 million, police said.
Through his attorney, Magnus, who lives on Bristol Lane on the border with Orion Township in the Lake Orion Community Schools district, denied the crime.
“This is insane. Our attorneys have approved a single message: These allegations are completely false,” Magnus said in a comment posted in the Lake Orion Chat Room on Jan. 11.
Voters approved a proposal to make recreational marijuana legal in Michigan last November, but the Pontiac warehouse operation is still illegal, police said.