A Kirkland man and a Redmond man were sentenced to prison in U.S. District Court in Seattle on July 20 in connection to a hash oil explosion at a Bellevue apartment in 2013.
Daniel James Strycharske, 29, of Kirkland and Jesse D. Kaplan, 32, of Redmond were each sentenced to three years in prison and three years of supervised release.
Last month the lead defendant in the case, David Richard Schultz, II, 33, was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Schultz was using highly explosive butane gas to make hash oil in the Hampton Greens Apartment complex on Nov. 5 while the other two apartment residents were sleeping. The gas exploded and numerous people in the apartment complex were injured fleeing the fire.
“As I emphasized when the lead defendant was sentenced, this case tragically demonstrates why BHO extraction operations are so dangerous,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “Just like the meth labs we have worked so hard to eradicate, hash oil labs involve dangerous solvents and pose a serious risk of death and property damage.”
One of them, a former mayor of Bellevue, died following treatment for injuries sustained while trying to escape the building.
“What moves the court is the loss of life, the permanently disabling and significant injuries the people received all because they lived in an apartment building with these defendants….who undertook this incredibly reckless and dangerous activity,” said U.S. District Judge James L. Robart during the sentencing hearings.
Kaplan and Strycharske rented the apartment and allowed Schultz to set up the BHO manufacturing equipment in their space, according to court documents. The men planned to sell the BHO for profit. All three men suffered injuries in the explosion. Former Bellevue Mayor Nan Campbell was hospitalized for a broken pelvis she suffered trying to escape the flames. She later died following complications from her hospitalization. Two other apartment residents suffered shattered bones as they had to jump from their upper level apartments. In all, the fire caused more than $2 million in property damage. The total amount of restitution owed by these defendants will be finalized by a hearing scheduled for Sept. 21.
The judge determined an upward departure from the sentencing guidelines was warranted for the defendants in the case because of the severe damage to the community.
“I am troubled that the conduct was motivated by greed – the money that could be made by manufacturing hash oil,” Robart said.
He added that prison sentences may deter others from getting involved in butane hash oil manufacturing.
This case was investigated by multiple local and federal agencies, including: the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bellevue Police and Fire Departments.
