Three suspects charged, two at large, in murder of Rogue Valley dispensary co-owner
Published 4:00 pm Monday, March 20, 2023
- Police found hundreds of illegal marijuana plants and arrested a Houston man Feb. 22, at a property outside Jacksonville that was owned by James Gerald Martin, a local cannabis store owner who was murdered in Texas.
Houston police say two men have been charged with capital murder — but remain at large — in the killing of two Oregon men, including a co-owner of Rogue Valley Cannabis.
Polie Phan, 26, and Jaidan Vu Nguyen, 25, were charged with capital murder in the deaths of James Gerald Martin III, 37, and Dana Ryssdal, 35, a Houston Police Department news release said. Martin was co-owner of Rogue Valley Cannabis.
A third suspect, Kathy Vu, 23, was charged Wednesday with tampering with evidence and arrested March 16, according to the release. She is accused helping the men cover up the crime, police said.
Houston police did not provide much more information, but a report from Willamette Week in Portland that cites charging documents said Phan and Nguyen ransacked Martin’s apartment, which contained 129 pounds of marijuana, 10 pounds of hash oil and $36,000.
Authorities believe after speaking with Martin’s mother that her son was owed tens of thousands of dollars by Phan.
The day he was murdered, Martin drove his car to his Houston apartment complex and made it safely inside, according to security camera footage authorities obtained.
They believe the two suspects who are still at large arrived shortly before Martin did, because a half-hour later, they can be seen driving Martin’s car away from the apartment, the Willamette Week story said.
Authorities believe Martin’s car was first driven to Vu’s apartment before it was returned to the former Rogue Valley Cannabis co-owner’s garage. When authorities entered Vu’s apartment via a search warrant, she denied knowing anything about the murders.
But when they searched her phone, they found a list of items that might be used to cover up a crime. They also discovered Vu had called Phan six times in less than 30 minutes after the suspects left in Martin’s car. Vu also texted Phan about making sure that Martin’s garage door had been closed, WW reported.
Martin’s bullet-riddled and bound body was found Feb. 1 in that garage, in the trunk of his car. Ryssdal had been found days before inside the apartment complex, his body lying in a pool of blood.
The murders in Houston led Jackson County sheriff’s deputies and members of the Illegal Marijuana Enforcement Team in Medford to serve a search warrant Feb. 22 on Martin’s Jacksonville area property. Once there, authorities discovered 572 black-market marijuana plants, approximately 275 pounds of processed illegal cannabis, two firearms and $7,600 cash.
IMET detectives also arrested a man connected to the marijuana grow, Baron Erik Munchausen, 36.