ShareThisBy EDWARD FITZPATRICK
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
A man allowed to possess marijuana under the state's new medical marijuana law has been accused of using the Web site MySpace.com to lure teenage girls to his trailer and smoking marijuana with them, the police said.
Steven Trimarco, 48, was charged with 19 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, plus various drug and weapons charges, the police said. The Exeter man smoked pot on multiple occasions with at least four North Kingstown girls, ages 13 to 15, providing the basis for the 19 counts, the police said.
Trimarco refused to surrender when the police first arrived at his trailer on Friday, but he was taken into custody after three hours of negotiations, the police said. The next day, the police entered the trailer with a search warrant, seizing 72 marijuana plants, a homemade silencer and four guns, including a Chinese assault rifle.
Trimarco has two Web pages on MySpace.com that include a photo of him posing amid marijuana plants. "The best weed in Rhode Island," one of his Web pages states. "I'm a farmer!!"
His Web pages also include messages and photographs from "friends," some of whom identify themselves as teenagers from North Kingstown, Exeter, Cranston and Johnston.
"I think it's frightening if you are a parent," North Kingstown Police Chief Edward Charboneau said during a news conference this week at state police headquarters. "You better know what your children are doing on the Internet. There's a lot of bad stuff out there."
The police said there is no evidence of sexual contact between Trimarco and the girls, but the police are investigating why he brought the girls to his home.
State police Maj. Steven O'Donnell said Trimarco's case highlights the potential for abuse of the state's new medical marijuana law. Earlier this year, Rhode Island became the 11th state to legalize marijuana for people with certain medical conditions, such as cancer, glaucoma, AIDS and hepatitis C. Those with state registration cards are supposed to have no more than 12 plants or 2-1/2 ounces of the drug.
But with 72 plants, Trimarco had the potential for up to 72 pounds of marijuana, the police said. "So he is quite a bit over," O'Donnell said.
O'Donnell said he could not disclose why Trimarco was allowed to have marijuana for medical use, citing the Health Information Protection Act. The police said Trimarco received Supplemental Security Income.
Trimarco was arraigned in District Court in Wakefield on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was held without bail and has a court hearing Oct. 18.
