Medical marijuana murder target: Legal retailers face dangers

When the killers came to his lakefront home on a winter night, Michael Perkins says they got the wrong man.
 
"They were after me," he said.
 
Instead, Perkins' best friend and roommate, Ryan Prince, was killed.
 
Court papers say after a struggle, Prince was shot in his basement bedroom four times with at least two types of guns.
 
The Feb. 17, 2014, murder at Lake Desire near Renton exposes a larger crime threat.
 
Perkins is in the marijuana business, and says he was targeted for a robbery because he owns The Solution, a successful medical marijuana business.
 
The implementation of Initiative 502 has since allowed Perkins to expand into the recreational marijuana business with a store in North Seattle called "Mary's."
 
But he remains worried about an ongoing security threat to his emerging industry.
 
Marijuana is illegal under federal law, and the feds regulate the banks.
 
That makes banks reluctant to work with legitimate business owners like Perkins, and forces many in the marijuana business to deal only in cash.
 
"Employees, taxes, rent, the majority of this has to be done in cash," Perkins said.
 
Criminals know this, and Perkins said that's why they targeted his home.
 
With five medical marijuana dispensaries, Perkins is a big player in the industry.
 
"I feel that they took and they targeted us, they said who's the biggest, let's go after the biggest, because that's the biggest score," Perkins said.
 
Perkins said he took precautions at his home, which he shared with his girlfriend and Prince.
 
He had a sophisticated security system and tried to hide his address.
 
"Very private, we didn't invite people over," Perkins said.
 
He also kept no marijuana or cash at his home.
 
On the night of the murder, Prince returned home first. The intruders ransacked an upstairs closet. Perkins says they were looking for money.
 
Court papers say the intruders conducted surveillance on the property and the people who lived there.
 
"They knew what they were there for. They didn't get it and what they did take is... the life of my best friend," Perkins said.
 
Before the confrontation, something must have alarmed Prince because he took a close-up photo on his phone of the license plate on a PT Cruiser.
 
Later, detectives found that vehicle. They arrested two men and a woman.
 
Steven M. Marshall and Ryan Daniel Erker are charged with second-degree murder. Soquear Alisa Bailey is charged with rendering criminal assistance.
 
"I'd never met the guys before but they were also in the marijuana business," Perkins said.
 
King County detectives say the case remains open, and they are actively looking for tips.
 
Perkins is speaking out for the first time in hopes of helping officers with the investigation, and hoping it will spur changes in banking laws, so marijuana business people do not have to live in fear.

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