Pot shop owner, girlfriend wanted by police
Patrick Warnecke said he plans to turn himself in to police Thursday, the day after the longtime owner of a Regina marijuana dispensary learned he’s a wanted man.
On Wednesday, the Regina Police Service announced charges against six people allegedly associated with the illegal Regina marijuana dispensaries first raided in March. Police said they are still trying to locate two other suspects, including Warnecke and Megan Nicole Potter, who he says is his girlfriend.
Warnecke, 39, now has a warrant out for his arrest. He will be charged with numerous possession and trafficking related charges, as well as laundering the proceeds of crime, according to a police news release Wednesday. Potter, 31, is also wanted and has a warrant for her arrest. She is facing similar charges to Warnecke.
Warnecke was accessible by phone on Wednesday afternoon, minutes after the police issued their release. He said he was meeting with his lawyer and was arranging to go to police headquarters on Thursday morning.
“We’re going to be going in there to turn ourselves in,” he said. “They didn’t tell us we had a warrant yet.”
Warnecke said he and Potter have been in British Columbia since last week, where he is hoping to move.
“I just got back to Regina,” said Warnecke on Wednesday. He claimed that he has kept police informed about his movements through his lawyer.
“Something sounds a little funny, they’re kind of blowing it up a little more than it is, because our lawyer’s been dealing with it,” he said. “They knew exactly where we were ... This is definitely a strongarm tactic.”
But police spokeswoman Elizabeth Popowich said she has no way of verifying Warnecke’s claims about his lawyer. She reiterated that police were not able to locate him and Potter.
“We’ve made numerous attempts to locate and arrest them so that they can be placed before the courts,” she said. “After those unsuccessful attempts, as we do with other suspects, we requested a warrant for an arrest and that warrant was granted.”
She was somewhat taken aback by Warnecke’s claim that he plans to turn himself in, but has not yet surrendered.
“He’s willing to turn himself in?” she asked. “Well then, he ought to do so.”
Five of the six arrests police revealed on Wednesday took place on June 6 or 7. Two had been named previously. Jonathan Richard Metz of Green Street Clinic is facing trafficking and possession charges, as is Tanner L. Scheidt, who has said he’s the owner of Smoke Inc.
The four additional arrested suspects, Kelly Jonathan Bonokoski, Donald Earl Fulton, Natasha Dawn Fulton and Stephen Austin Lucyk, are also facing trafficking and possession charges. Lucyk was arrested days after the others, on June 12, according to police.
Warnecke has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Regina Police Service’s anti-pot shop campaign. He was previously charged as he admitted to continuing operations despite repeated police warnings and raids.
The police statement about the charges and warrants comes on the very day Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced marijuana will become legal on Oct. 17.