LAFAYETTE, La. — Charges made against Travis DeYoung, the owner of Cajun Cannabis, have been dismissed by the District Attorney’s Office, according to court records.
DeYoung, 32, was formally charged in January in connection with an overnight raid on his store in April 2019 by the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office.
Those charges included one felony count of Distribution of a Schedule I Controlled Dangerous Substance identified as Detla 9-tetrahydrocannabinol, which is commonly referred to as THC.
DeYoung was also charged with one felony count of Possession of a Dangerous Weapon in the Presence of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, and two misdemeanor counts of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
Court records show that the District Attorney’s Office filed a motion to dismiss DeYoung’s charges on Monday.
The dismissal follows the District Attorney’s Office sending a plea recommendation to DeYoung’s attorney Jordan Precht in a letter dated July 13. The District Attorney’s Office had recommended a plea for DeYoung in exchange for a sentence of 5 years hard labor.
The letter states that in order for the plea recommendation to be made to the court, the plea must be entered on the date of the pretrial, which had been set for Thursday.
"I am very pleased with the result for Mr. DeYoung," Precht told KATC. "I believe this matter was brought to an appropriate conclusion given the facts and circumstances of the case."
KATC reached out to the District Attorney's Office for comment on the dismissal and has yet to hear back.
KATC also reached out to the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office on the dismissal.
"We really do believe the charges were proper on that case," said LPSO spokesman Capt. John Mowell.
On April 24, 2019, DeYoung was stopped by LPSO deputies on his way back from Festival International de Louisiane in connection to an ongoing narcotics investigation.
Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Narcotics Agents conducted a search of his vehicle and located the following: 17 Bottles of CBD Oil, 14 Bottles of CBD Gummies, 69 Glass jars of CBD Shatter, 1 Box of CBD mints and one handgun.
DeYoung said after the initial stop, deputies drove him to Cajun Cannabis on Johnston Street where they executed a search warrant on his store.
The sheriff’s office told KATC in April 2019 that narcotics agents located one handgun, 37,974.1 “gross grams” of CBD, less than 1 “gross gram” of Marijuana, 1,863 capsules containing CBD/THC, 902.2 “gross grams” of THC/CBD edibles, 155 “gross grams” of THC/CBD vapes/Shatter, honey containing THC/CBD, mints containing THC/CBD, and dog treats containing THC/CBD.
The raid on Cajun Cannabis took place less than a week after it opened on April 20, 2019.
After his arrest, DeYoung held a press conference where he stated that he took full responsibility for his actions.
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