Couple Convicted of Cultivating Marijuana for Temecula Dispensary

A Wildomar couple connected to a Temecula dispensary was convicted today of cultivating marijuana and child endangerment.

A jury deliberated for about a day before reaching their verdicts against William Bunn, 36, and Mary Bunn, 28.

The Bunns were found guilty of a felony charge of cultivating marijuana and a misdemeanor charge of willfully endangering the health of a child. William Bunn was also convicted of possessing a firearm within 10 years of a prior conviction. The Bunns were acquitted of felony child endangerment, leading to the lesser charge.

They were scheduled to be sentenced on July 8 at a Palm Springs courthouse. They could lose custody of their 4-year-old son while serving time.

The couple was arrested in 2008 when investigators found 79 marijuana plants growing in a detached garage at their rural home at 25550 Catt Road, according to prosecutors.

Investigators found equipment used in marijuana cultivation, including artificial lighting, a climate control system and independent hoses for each plant. They also found 2.05 grams of marijuana in the Bunns’ home, a glass smoking pipe that seemed recently used and a .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun on a shelf above their refrigerator with three live rounds sitting next to it. They also found a 12-gauge shotgun in the bedroom with live ammunition nearby, prosecutors said.

The Bunns' son was 22 months old at the time of the August 2008 search and was taken from the couple for several months.

For details on the arrest, click here.

Just before investigators served a search warrant on the couple’s home, they were filling out paperwork to join the Human Kindness Center, a medical marijuana cooperative in Temecula, said Chris Yap, who runs the group.

The group had not finished the paperwork when they were searched, Yap testified during the trial.

Yap rented the bard from the couple and owned the plants, he said.

“They were in tears, as am I,” Yap said. “I'm the responsible one. I would gladly take their punishment at sentencing.”

The set-up was no different than others viewed as legal by the state, said Tim Liebaert, William Bunn's attorney.

Yap’s home was also searched around the same time, but he was not arrested because investigators deemed his cultivation center legal.

City News Service contributed to this report.