Marijuana Policy Project

A jury deliberated until the wee hours of Saturday morning before delivering a mix of verdicts against an Aloha couple accused of growing and selling pot from an operation in the attic of their rental home.

The jury found Daniel Ray Gale, 35, and Joleen Bolger, 32, guilty of possession of marijuana and child endangerment. Two children lived at the home when an electrical short started a fire in the 100-plant operation at 2275 SW 205th Ave. on March 7, 2007. Firefighters found the plants and called police.

The jury also found Gale guilty of knowingly manufacturing marijuana for delivery, which supported further charges of child neglect, but were unconvinced Bolger knew about the grow operation. The jury was hung on the question of neglect for Bolger.

The jury deliberated about six hours before handing down its decision.

In closing arguments, Deputy District Attorney Jason Weiner told the jury of seven men and five women the case was not about their personal feelings about marijuana; it was about the law. He asked them not to consider possible sentences in their decision.

"Whether you think marijuana should be completely illegalized or you think it should be legal, it doesn't matter," Weiner said.

Bolger's attorney Leland Berger cautioned the jury not to engage in guesswork, conjecture or speculation. He said police never found evidence of scales or packaging material that would point to marijuana dealing, and questioned the reliability of the witnesses.

Serving as his own representative, Gale turned away from his early defense the marijuana was for medical use, instead bringing into question the evidence. Grow lights and other equipment found in the attic could have been used to grow a number of different plants, he said. The blackened remains of plants after the fire could have been misidentified by someone without proper training.

"There is no proof of anything being alive or what kind of plant they were prior to the fire," Gale said. He questioned why the Washington County Sheriff's Office did the marijuana analysis rather than sending evidence to the State Crime Lab in Salem.

Weiner said records found by police listing names and amounts of money from dozens of people proved marijuana was being dealt from the house.

Gale said the records reflected sale and purchase records from the many Internet businesses he maintained. The absence of a scale or other paraphernalia proved his story, he said.

Weiner said it was just as likely he took that evidence with him when he ran from the fire.

A witness told detectives Gale ran from the house talking about a medical marijuana grow inside, Weiner said.

Investigators later arrested Gale and Bolger at a residence in the 20000 block of Southwest Eggert Way.

Sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.