UPDATE: Not Guilty Verdict Beacon St. Raid Trial

After a six hour deliberation, a jury found Elisa Kappelmann, a woman facing felony possession and cultivation charges of medical marijuana, not guilty on all charges.

“I was terrified. I didn’t know if I was gonig to lose everything I’ve worked for my whole life and I am so happy the justice system worked the way it should,” said Kappelmann.

Her attorney, Robert Corry, said he was very happy and thanked the jury for their service.

“At the conclusion of all this, we were still wondering why the government spend tax money on this case,” said Corry.

He said this trial sets a precedent for future medical marijuana cases.

“If the prosecution doesn’t stand up and take notice of the result today, then there is no hope,” said Corry.

In May 2010, the Colorado Springs Police Department raided a warehouse on 3120 Beacon St.

Police said Kappelmann and five others used the warehouse to grow medical marijuana.

She wasn’t charged until September 2010, four months later.

Police claim she and others did not show licensing documents to justify more than 100 pot plants.

“I provided legal document for them a week after I was raided. I’m innocent and I have all the paperwork to prove that,” said Kappelmann.

Before the police raid, the city used a $7 million Homeland Security Counter Terrorism plane to fly surveillance over the warehouse and other grow operations in Colorado Springs, she said.

It was only after that was made public, that Kappelmann said she was arrested.

It’s taken two years for a jury trial.

“I think they knew they didn’t have a case and right now they are grasping at straws,” she said.

Kappelmann was a corporate trainer for Hewlett Packard before becoming a medical marijuana grower. She invested her 401K because she was getting laid off, she said.

She was a grower and co-owner of Southern Colorado Medical Marijuana dispensary.

“I’ve lost my business because they (the city) won’t license me because I’m guilty until proven innocent. It’s been horrible. I have a clean record. I’ve never done anything in my life,” she said.

Kappelmann believes District Attorney Dan May has his own personal agenda against medical marijuana and that this trial is a huge waste of taxpayer money.

“There’s people out there who really need to be taken off the streets, dangerous people. I’m not one of those,” she said.

The Colorado Springs Cannabis Council is supporting Kappelmann during the trial.

“I think it’s really time they (District Attorney’s Office) align with the policy the people voted on,” said Jason Warf, who agrees that this trial is a waste of resources.

“That is money that could be spend on violent crimes as opposed to cannabis,” he said.

The District Attorney’s Office did not comment after the trial.

Kappelmann said she is now going back to work at Southern Colorado Medical Marijuana.

Another trial is underway for medical marijuana patient Bob Crouse. It begins on June 25.