Pot Club Volunteers Face Only Four Felony Charges

Three men scheduled to appear in court next week as part of an investigation of a Newark pot club are facing up to four felony charges rather than the dozens of charges filed against the club’s co-owners, according to court documents.

During their , Salim Dost, 22, Michael Glenn Martin, 21, and Kyle Cameron Smith, 22, were ordered to return to the Fremont Hall of Justice on Sept. 9. Dost and Martin face four charges, while Smith faces three.

The three men were volunteers at , according to their attorney, managing partner Kirk W. Elliott of Roberts & Elliott LLP. They are believed to be Tri-City residents.

All three face two felony counts of conspiracy to commit a crime in which they “did unlawfully conspire together and with another person and person whose identity is unknown to commit the crime of sale of marijuana,” according to a copy of the complaint form filed at the Fremont Hall of Justice.

Dost and Martin also face two counts of the “sale or transportation of marijuana, a violation of section 11360(a) of the HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE of California,” court documents read.

Smith faces a count of “possession of marijuana for sale, a violation of section 11359 of the HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE of California,” according to the complaint form.

Authorities named Dost, Martin and Smith as co-defendants along with Teddy Miller and Bob James Uwanawich, co-owners of NBD Cannabis Collective, approximately one month after a police raid of the marijuana dispensary on Thornton Avenue.

Miller, 47, of Salinas and Uwanawich, 39, of Fremont were arrested after  June 28 raid of four locations between Newark, Fremont and Salinas.

Officers seized $30,000 in cash, 20 pounds of processed marijuana, 500 edibles and a shotgun during the raid, authorities said. Per the investigation, , according to the owners’ attorneys.

Analysis on the sources of those funds followed the raid. An investigation headed by the State of California's Franchise Tax Board was conducted, based upon law enforcement officers' belief that NBD Cannabis Collective was generating a profit through the collective, officials have said.

As a result of an investigation of the collective and its operations, Miller and Uwanawich are facing 30 felony charges including conspiring to commit a crime, sale or transportation of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale, dozens of charges connected to tax evasion.

Elliott, who is representing the collective and the five individuals, has said the law firm plans to file a demurrer — a legal challenge to the complaints made against the individuals in order to eliminate some of the charges against them.

“Our position is that this was a lawful conduct and we’re going to fight the charges vigorously,” Elliott said during the Aug. 25 arraignment of the five men.

But Deputy District Attorney Mark Melton said that same day that based on the information brought forth the District Attorney’s office, his office believed the dispensary was operating unlawfully.

Meanwhile, the collective continues to operate, but city officials said the dispensary still does not have the proper permits or licenses to operate.

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