THE EMERALD TRIANGLE NEWS…… MARIJUANA NEWS FROM HUMBOLDT AND MENDOCINO COUNTIES

Man enters guilty plea in pot bust
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Missoulian

James T. “Reverend Slanky” Ryan pleaded guilty Tuesday to having 10 pounds of gift-wrapped Humboldt County, Calif., marijuana in his Missoula hotel room last October.

Ryan, whose street handle was adopted by a Missoula-based funk band, admitted to the felony count of criminal possession with intent to distribute during a Missoula District Court hearing. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop charges that Ryan possessed property subject to forfeiture, a felony, and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 24. Ryan, 26, faces a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

On Oct. 23, Ryan rented a room at the DoubleTree Hotel, paying $1,200 in cash for a six-night stay and telling hotel management that he was employed by “Gathering Place Ministries.”

A hotel employee married to a Missoula police officer promptly called the officer about the suspicious transaction. She also reported seeing a black briefcase filled with cash, and said hotel management received two separate complaints about someone smoking marijuana in Ryan’s room shortly after his arrival.

Police obtained an address for Ryan in McKinleyville, Calif., located in Humboldt County, a center of marijuana growing and distribution that’s part of an area known as the “Emerald Triangle.”

When contacted, Humboldt County detectives were familiar with Ryan’s criminal history and revealed that Ryan had been charged with a marijuana offense in August.

Detectives obtained a search warrant and entered Ryan’s unoccupied room, where they found gift-wrapped boxes containing large bags of marijuana and several thousand dollars in cash.

“It was apparent to me as the search was being conducted that Ryan had transported a large amount of marijuana from California under the guise of it being wrapped as presents,” according to the police officer’s report. “He then paid a large amount of cash to stay in the DoubleTree for an extended period of time in order to sell/distribute his marijuana.”

Police arrested Ryan when he entered the room a short time later.