Longmont man accused in hash oil explosion pleads guilty to felony
By Amelia Arvesen
Staff Writer
Posted: 06/09/2017 02:44:20 PM MDT | Updated: about 15 hours ago
Pothead Paul Garrett appears before the court at the Boulder County Jail on Jan. 4. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)
One of the Longmont men accused of causing a hash oil explosion that burned a shed last October pleaded guilty to one felony at his arraignment Friday morning.
Paul Garrett, 34, entered a plea of guilty to one count of possession with intent to manufacture or distribute marijuana or marijuana concentrate, a Class 3 felony, Boulder County District Attorney spokeswoman Catherine Olguin said.
Prosecutors dismissed the other original charges of hazardous extraction of marijuana concentrate, hazardous substance of marijuana concentrate on premises and processing or manufacturing marijuana or marijuana concentrate, all felonies.
Boulder District Court Chief Judge Maria Berkenkotter sentenced Garrett to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service, Olguin said.
Garrett's co-defendant, Andrew Ziegenfelder, is due back in court for arraignment June 23.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the investigation into the house at 1035 Baker St. in Longmont began after neighbors reported a fire the evening of Oct. 8.
Ziegenfelder told officers who responded to the fire that he was in the process of finalizing a butane oil extraction of several pounds of marijuana with Garrett, but during the process, a source of ignition caused butane vapors trapped in the unventilated shed to explode.
Police said Garrett had singed facial and leg hair, while Ziegenfelder received burns to his face, hands and back. He was taken to the hospital.
Investigators found a medium-sized residential grow operation in the house, where Garrett was the primary resident.