KINGFISHER – Three men indicted by an Oklahoma multicounty grand jury last December on 13 felony counts accusing them of filing fraudulent documents for illegal marijuana farms are scheduled to return to district court here next month.
Apparently the indictments stemmed from an investigation into the fatal shootings of four Chinese nationals, and the wounding of a fifth, at a 10-acre marijuana farm at Lacey, approximately 10 miles west of Hennessey on state Highway 51, in November 2022.
Kevin Paul Pham, Alexander Shiang Lin Chang, and Richard Gregorio Ignacio were indicted Dec. 7, 2023, individually or collectively, on charges of conspiracy, filing false or forged documents, illegal manufacturing of marijuana, trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of a f irearm after multiple prior felony convictions, financial transactions involving proceeds of fraudulent activities, and engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses.
All three defendants appeared in Kingfisher County District Court, pleaded not guilty, and were released on bond.
Chang, 48, is charged with conspiracy and with engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses in Kingfisher and Oklahoma counties between Dec. 30, 2019, and Jan. 17, 2023. His bond was set at $100,000. Chang is represented by attorney Jeffrey J. Box of Oklahoma City.
Ignacio, 36, of northwest Oklahoma City, is charged with one count of conspiracy, six counts of filing false or forged instruments, aggravated manufacturing of marijuana, and participating in a pattern of criminal offenses. His bond was set at $20,000. Ignacio is represented by Oklahoma City attorney Justin Lowe.
Pham, 47, of Oklahoma City, is named in all 13 counts: conspiracy; six counts of filing false or forged instruments; aggravated manufacturing of marijuana, classified as a controlled dangerous substance; trafficking in methamphetamine discovered in his Oklahoma City accounting office when agents of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control executed a search warrant there in November 2022; possession of marijuana with intent to distribute; possession of four guns and “a significant amount of ammunition” in his office after multiple former felony convictions; participating in financial transactions that involved proceeds of illegal activities; and engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses.
Although Assistant Attorney General Taylor Brown cited several reasons why the court should set Pham’s bond at $1 million, Associate District Judge Lance E. Schneiter set Pham’s bond at $100,000.
The judge ordered Pham to have no contact with his co-defendants nor with any potential witnesses in the case, imposed a curfew from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m., and ordered Pham to wear an ankle monitor intended to keep him in Oklahoma County except for his court appearances in Kingfisher.
Pham is represented by Oklahoma City attorney Marco Palumbo.
Chang and Pham are scheduled to return to Kingfisher’s district court at 9:30 a.m. June 24, while Ignacio’s arraignment is set for June 5.
Ignacio, too, linked to marijuana farm In addition to the grand jury indictments against him, Ignacio was charged with conspiracy in Kingfisher County District Court on Dec. 21, 2022.
Ignacio is alleged to be a “straw” or “ghost” owner – on paper only – of the 10-acre marijuana farm at Lacey. He is accused of conspiring with Yi Fei Lin to fraudulently obtain a marijuana grow license and registration for the Liu & Chen marijuana grow operation.
Ignacio “falsely and fraudulently obtained the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority license and registration from the OBNDD” that were required to grow and sell marijuana in Oklahoma.
He lied when he claimed 75% ownership in Liu & Chen Inc. “in order to meet the residency ownership requirements for licensing and manufacturing” under Oklahoma state law, the felony charge alleges.
“I would be on the license and get paid $2,000 a month for it,” Ignacio admitted in a written statement. Court documents also say he lent his name to six Oklahoma marijuana farms, which netted him more than $100,000 in two years. Ignacio subsequently surrendered all of his illegally obtained licenses, the OBNDD reported.
In December 2023 Ignacio informed the court he intended to plead guilty to that charge and pay $10,450 in f ines and costs. Eight days later, though, he submitted a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, and the prosecution had no objections.
Disposition of that case may occur when Ignacio returns to Kingf isher’s district court on June 5, off icials hinted.
Killer in state prison serving life w/o parole Chen Wu, 46, admitted he shot the four workers at the marijuana farm that was operating near Hennessey without a legal license, and wounded Yi Fei Lin in the November 2022 attack. All six people are Chinese nationals.
Prosecutors alleged Wu entered the marijuana farm, demanded the return of his $300,000 investment in the operation, then opened fire when they were unable to fulfill his demands.
He pleaded guilty Feb. 9, 2024, and received four life-without-parole sentences plus 20 years for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
The plea agreement was negotiated between prosecutors and the defense attorneys in part because of the “uncommonly difficult” effort to “establish contact” with witnesses to the event. Those witnesses were immigrant Chinese laborers, several of whom moved from the Hennessey area “to find work elsewhere.” In addition, interviewing the witnesses was complicated “owing to an English-Mandarin language barrier,” Judge Schneiter was informed.
Chen Wu was incarcerated at Allen Gamble Correctional Center at Holdenville on May 10.