Havre med pot provider faces Oregon charges

A Havre woman who was cleared on charges stemming from her medical marijuana business in August has been arrested for allegedly possessing 12 pounds of marijuana in Oregon.

Delaine M. Fitzpatrick, 34, and Garrett J. Briere, 47, were arrested on U. S. Interstate 5 near Roseburg, Ore., Nov. 9.

According to an Oregon Department of State Police document, officers found 12 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of the white 2002 Chevrolet Malibu that Briere was driving and Fitzpatrick was riding in.

Fitzpatrick could not be reached for comment this morning.

Fitzpatrick and her sister, Malisa Fitzpatrick, were charged in September 2010 in Montana District Court with felony distribution of dangerous drugs and possession of dangerous drugs with the intent to distribute, alleging the two possessed more marijuana than allowed by law in their medical marijuana caregiver business. The state alleges the sisters sold marijuana to an undercover agent who was not their patient and sold more than allowed by law per patient.

Judge Julie Macek in August dismissed charges against the Fitzpatricks, because the undercover agent obtained an illegal false driver's license and used that license to obtain a fictitious medical marijuana patient card used in the investigation.

The state is appealing Macek's ruling, with the state Supreme Court granting an extension to the state until Dec. 30 to file its first brief in the case.

According to Oregon police, Delaine Fitzpatrick and Briere were pulled over at 12:30 a. m. Pacific Time, Nov. 9 on I-5 for a minor traffic violation. The officer conducting the stop became suspicious that some criminal activity was going on, the document says.

Fitzpatrick and Briere denied permission to search the vehicle, and a police dog was brought in. When the dog, Charger, alerted officers of the possibility of illegal substances, a search found about 12 pounds of marijuana in the trunk, the document said.

The suspects were incarcerated in the Douglas County, Ore., jail, with Fitzpatrick held on $200,000 bail, a representative of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday. She was arraigned Nov. 11 and was released at 11:40 a. m. Pacific Time.