A day after law enforcement raided properties in the Vancouver area, four men appeared in Clark County Superior Court to face allegations tied to what authorities described as a large-scale marijuana operation.
Thanh Hoang Do, 55, Hoang Van Do, 51, Andy D. Dau, 50, and Ronnie R. Geeslin, 47, were all arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver-manufacturing marijuana.
On Friday, Judge John Fairgrieve set bail in three of the men’s cases at $10,000. Hoang Van Do’s first appearance hearing was postponed because he requested an interpreter; his bail was set at the same amount later Friday, court records show.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jeff McCarty had requested bail in the cases to be set at $25,000. He said the men ran a “large-scale growing and selling operation,” and they were a danger to the community, as well as a flight risk.
Fairgrieve found probable cause for possession and manufacturing of marijuana in the cases of Dau and Geeslin but did not find that the allegation of intent to deliver met the legal requirement. That wasn’t the case for Thanh Hoang Do, who was allegedly selling pounds of pot on the street for $700, according to McCarty.
The prosecutor said Dau served time in prison for a federal marijuana manufacturing charge and noted Geeslin’s criminal record includes convictions for DUI and criminal trespass. Thanh Hoang Do has not previously been in trouble with the law.
Fairgrieve decided the bail amounts based on individual factors in each case, but he said at least two of the men did not appear to be violent offenders. However, in deciding on Thanh Hoang Do’s bail, he said large-scale drug operations are often associated with violence, particularly activity meant to protect the business.
Washington State Patrol Sgt. Ryan Tanner confirmed that the defendants are tied to properties raided in and around Vancouver on Thursday morning.
Troopers, with assistance from the Vancouver Police Department, seized three guns, about 950 marijuana plants, 50 pounds of processed marijuana and three vehicles during the raids, Tanner said.
“The operation was a lot of hard work, from multiple agencies,” Tanner said.
One of the properties is in the 9000 block of Northeast Ward Road in the Orchards area. There are three buildings on the property, Tanner said. There was no police activity in the area by late Thursday afternoon, but readers called The Columbian and said a cohort of officers was there earlier in the day.
According to a probable cause affidavit, law enforcement seized 259 plants from Dau’s home in the 3500 block of Northeast 165th Court. At another one of his properties, 69 plants were found. Dau admitted to investigators he was growing marijuana and planning to sell it to supplement his income.
In the probable cause affidavit for Hoang Van Do’s case, investigators wrote that they found 85 plants at his home in the 7000 block of Northeast 28th Avenue and an additional 241 plants at a property in the 5700 block of Northeast 68th Avenue, where he said he tended a garden. Hoang Van Do told investigators he sold marijuana to friends only.
Troopers seized 293 marijuana plants from two properties owned by Thanh Hoang Do; Geeslin was living at one of those homes, located on Ward Road, according to probable cause affidavits. In an interview, Geeslin said he was growing and distributing marijuana to friends and family.
Arraignment hearings in all of the cases are set for Sept. 27.
