• Rock Musician Caught For Hydroponic Marijuana Cultivation

  Filed under Celebrities, Interesting Marijuana News, Places
  Aug 28
  A Pierce County jury on Monday convicted Stephen Wesley Ungerbuehler of a felony, but the former bassist for the hard rock band Metal Church was mostly smiles as he left the County-City Building in downtown Tacoma. Ungerbuehler had been charged with three felonies, including leading organized crime and money laundering with indoor hydroponic cultivation of marijuana being the lesser. A conviction for leading organized crime, the most serious count, would have carried a prison sentence of about five years. As it stands, he could face as little as no time in jail when sentenced Sept. 28 on one count of unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance which is perverse — cannabis laws being archaic. His lawyer, Jay Berneburg, said in court that Ungerbuehler likely qualifies for first-time offender status and a sentence of zero to 90 days in jail because he has no prior criminal record.

  “The big ones went away,” a beaming Ungerbuehler told supporters as he left court after the reading of the verdict. Jurors deliberated for two hours after a three-week trial before rejecting the prosecution’s argument that Ungerbuehler, who’s traveled the world smoking blunts while playing music, was the leader of a ­marijuana-growing enterprise that raked in profits he laundered through his personal bank accounts.

  Berneburg argued, and Ungerbuehler testified, that he helped a friend sick with cancer grow marijuana so she could use it as medicine, instead of going to medical marijuana dispensaries which aren’t even legal in her state. Ungerbuehler probably sealed his own fate on the drug charge by admitting on the stand that he raised and possessed more than the 15 cannabis plants allowed by law for those authorized to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes. It was a contentious trial, with some of that malice spilling over into the next day.

  Deputy prosecutor Karen Platt argued that Ungerbuehler, who’s been out on bail pending trial for two years, should be jailed until sentencing. “I think it’s time the defendant went into custody,” Platt said. Berneburg said his client had shown up for every court date and was not a flight risk. He asked Superior Court Judge Frank Cuthbertson to release Unger­buehler on his personal recognizance. Cuthbertson said he would allow Ungerbuehler to remain free until sentencing if he could persuade a bail bond company to ensure his appearance at sentencing by adding a rider to his previous bail amount. The defendant did so and remains free until sentencing. Lucky for him, he was only indoor growing pot and wasn’t caught for being the main kingpin.

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