Pasadena Marijuana Dispensary Owner, Employees, Landlord Face Arraignment on Criminal Charges in Superior Court Today

Golden State Collective marijuana dispensary owner Shaun Szameit and three other defendants – Yulissa Gonzales, Tony Gutierrez, and property owner Elizabeth McDuffie — are scheduled to be arraigned in Pasadena Superior Court Wednesday on a total of 18 misdemeanor charges involving possession and unpermitted sales of cannabis, related to the operation of the unlicensed dispensary.
According to the amended complaint filed by Pasadena City Attorney Michele Bagneris and Chief Prosecutor Michael P. Dowd, the four defendants are accused of possession of marijuana for sale, cannabis sales without a permit, and being a public nuisance.
“I am in complete shock and disappointment,” said Szameit Tuesday. “I feel like I have been deceived, and am now being tortured and displayed with intent to destroy my future.”
According to the complaint, the violations occurred between October 4, 2018 and December 12, 2018 at the dispensary at 50 North Mentor Avenue.
The public nuisance charge was defined as “having charge or possession of real property in the city of Pasadena , maintain and /or permit a condition on said property which is recognized in law or in equity as constituting a public nuisance, in violation of section 14.5 0.040(28) of the Pasadena Municipal Code.
An additional public nuisance charge against the defendants involved, “the alteration alteration, construction , conversion, enlargement, erection, establishment , installation , maintenance, moving, operating, setting up, or using any use or structure contrary to the provisions of this zoning code, including the failure to comply with, or carry out any condition attached to the grant of any certificate of appropriateness, conditional use permit, variance, or other permit or entitlement granted in compliance with this zoning code, in violation of section 17. 78.060a of the Pasadena Municipal code.
Szameit’s Golden State Collective, on Mentor Avenue, has been at odds with the City of Pasadena since 2017 for operating a marijuana dispensary in violation of City ordinances.
The dispensary has been cited for code violations 17 times and has twice sued the City to be allowed to apply for a legal cannabis license.
The City’s cannabis ordinance, Measure CC, which regulates local marijuana businesses, stipulates that any dispensary which has operated as unlicensed, is not allowed to apply to sell or distribute cannabis in the City.