| NEWS | GageSkidmore/Creative Commons Coin-Op from p 17 The inclusion of the 24-year Maricopa County sheriff is an oddity. Arpaio says he doesn’t know much about the case and both sides say he doesn’t add much to it. Said Wilenchik, “Arpaio has essentially nothing to do with the case. He’s just named by one of the parties as a character witness because they know him.” Wilenchik represented Arpaio during his dust-up in federal court over his crimi- nal contempt conviction and, along with his father, Dennis, defended him against a racial profiling class-action lawsuit in fed- eral court. Dennis previously defended Arpaio in a case in which a federal judge found uncon- stitutional jail conditions under Arpaio’s supervision, and helped him settle a wrongful death suit for more than $5 mil- lion in damages and legal fees. The lawyer’s old client was more char- Buzz from p 9 temperatures, so that they’re safe for the consumer to use but are held properly in the meantime?” Hartsell isn’t surprised that marijuana is legal these days, and that pot fans can walk into a store to buy over-the-counter weed. “My business partner is 60, and I’m 43, and we talk about this a lot,” he admitted. “We’ve decided it’s basically attrition that’s led us to this point where we have legal cannabis. Most of the stigma of pot is gone because more people living now have been regular consumers of it for a lot of their lives. So, I’m not surprised to see dispensaries open up in regular neighbor- hoods, right next door to a Sprouts or whatever. It was unthinkable for a long time that we’d ever live in a world where you can legally use cannabis instead of acteristically blunt about the latest court case. “I had no bearing on anything that oc- curred,” Arpaio said. He said he knows Woodrel after meet- ing him at a gun show. Arpaio described the gun dealer as “a character,” noting that Woodrel tried to help out on his mayoral campaign in Fountain Hills. Why Arpaio’s even involved is unclear. Krigman’s team has theories, only. “This is strictly to intimidate us,” said Goar, the investigator. “I’m not sure what Arpaio could possibly add to this.” Wilenchik denied that, as did Arpaio. “I had no contact with the sheriff’s of- fice about their investigations or anything they were developing, other than a couple of threats on me,” Arpaio said. The trial in the civil case is slated to begin in September. opioids for what ails you, or just to have a more interesting time at the movies. But now we do. Now we do live in that world.” Everyone, Hartsell said, wants to get into the cannabis business these days. “I al- ways say, ‘Buy a time machine and head back a decade ago, and you sure can. You needed to be in on the ground floor ten years ago. Right now, the industry is big. And it’ll triple in the next couple decades. When I talk about what I do, there’s a ton of intrigue.” There’s also some confusion. “But I don’t think that people understanding what I do for work is what defines me,” Hartsell said. “My job transcends all the other important things about me. Like what I do on the weekends, how I feel about my kids and my partner in life. I make boxes for cannabis to go in, but I’m not someone who can be, you know, put into a box myself.” Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. 19 phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES JAN 20TH– JAN 26TH, 2022
