by Jan Anderson, editor

     A Jefferson City man facing felony drug and animal cruelty charges told the judge October 13 the Humane Society was largely to blame.

     Mike Kurt Chilinski also lodged complaints about the way in which his arrest and the seizure of his 161 Malamute dogs and 300-plus marijuana plants were conducted. In addition, he pointed to revisions in the medical marijuana laws as a cause of his predicament.

     Chilinski, 51, is charged with five felony counts and one misdemeanor. He will likely make a district court appearance October 19 or 26 to enter pleas on the felony charges.

     Arraigned before Justice of the Peace Bob Lee in Boulder Thursday afternoon, Chilinski maintained his innocence, saying he is a professional, well-respected dog breeder. “I have been for the last several decades one of the top Malamute producers in the world,” he said.

     Calling breeding and selling Malamutes his “life and passion for many, many years,” Chilinski said he is confident the animal cruelty charges are “not viable.”

     Although he was appearing without legal representation and was reminded repeatedly that anything he said in Thursday’s hearing could be used against him in the prosecution, Chilinski was very vocal and insisted on his innocence. Given an opportunity to enter a plea on the misdemeanor animal charge, Chilinski said, “I’m pleading not guilty, even if I had an attorney…definitely not guilty.”

     Because the other charges are felonies, Chilinski cannot enter a plea on those until he reaches district court.

     In response to a string of questions from the defendant about the plea agreement process, Judge Lee assured Chilinski a public defender would be appointed to represent him before the case moves on to district court and could advise him about that and other matters.

     Among the other matters raised by Chilinski:

     • He questioned the involvement of the Humane Society in the case. “It was my belief that the Humane Society was largely the instigator over the years for the complaints,” he said. Officials at the Humane Society denied that accusation, saying they were called into the case by Jefferson County officials and their job is to look out for the welfare of animals. Sheriff Craig Doolittle also said law enforcement officials asked the Humane Society for assistance.

     • Chilinski claimed he was not immediately read his rights when arrested on the misdemeanor complaint, leading him to reveal the presence of the marijuana. He said he was already handcuffed and in a law enforcement vehicle when asked by an officer if they would find anything else significant in a search. He said he responded that the search would probably reveal “some plants.” He went on to tell the judge, “In hindsight, I wouldn’t have said that and I wasn’t read my rights until I got here [to the jail].” Sheriff Doolittle said Monday he believed proper procedures were followed and will be reviewing the matter as the investigation continues. He also said there is probably an in-car camera that could verify what happened, and said the plants would have been found without any statement by Chilinski. “The marijuana plants would have been discovered under the search warrant for the dogs no matter what he said,” said Doolittle.

     • Chilinski complained he had not yet seen the two search warrants served on his property. “I’ve asked repeatedly,” he said. County Attorney Matt Johnson assured the court there were search warrants and said copies would be provided to Chilinski after the warrants are returned “from the field.” Chilinski said, “I always understood they would serve the search warrant and you could read that.” Officials said the search warrants were handled properly.

     • Saying he wanted to explain some “extenuating circumstances” to the judge, Chilinski said, “I was a medical marijuana provider…I followed the law closely.” But the changes in Montana’s medical marijuana threw him out of compliance, he claimed. “I didn’t know the fine print of the change,” said Chilinski. He claimed he had been working with the DPHHS on reinstating his medical marijuana provider permit and “within a week I would have been legal again.” He also denied he ever made money from the sale of marijuana, saying, “I never sold marijuana to make any profit. I was just trying to make it a slight supplement so I could deal less with the dogs and go by the state rules,” he said.

     Chilinski also questioned the amount of the $150,000 bond, saying he was “a little surprised at the bail amount.” He told the judge family members might be able to help him bond out. He told the judge he needed a public defender but might later be able to afford to retain other counsel with the assistance of his family.

     He also told the judge he had already sold seven of the dogs now in the custody of the Humane Society and has been paid in full. Two were sold to China, one to Brazil and one to Finland, he said, telling the judge he was financially able to afford the shipping. “I’ve shipped dogs for 30 years and never had an incident. I have dogs in Australia and every continent,” he said.

     Chilinski said since his arrest he had talked with an officer about “options with the animals, which are my main concern at this point.” He said he knows many people who would take the dogs. “I think we all would like to reduce the numbers,” he said.

    “My interests are strongly in the dogs’ welfare,” he concluded.

    Chilinski was returned to jail to await district court proceedings.