Does Maddox-Tilley’s Application Misstatement Constitute Perjury?
The proliferation of medical marijuana businesses has created confusion and controversy in Oklahoma, confusion and controversy that has now found its way to Cordell and involves two members of Cordell’s city council, one of whom may have committed perjury in her license application.
Council member Kelly Maddox-Tilley, using the business name College St Cannabis, was issued a commercial dispensary license in September of this year despite a law precluding municipal officers and employees from obtaining said license in a location within the municipality they represent. The proscription is spelled out in Oklahoma Municipal Code Title 310 §681-5-3, paragraph (c).
“The application for a commercial license made by an individual on his or her own behalf shall be on the Department prescribed form and shall include at a minimum: … (8) an attestation that no individual with ownership interest in the business is a sheriff, deputy sheriff, police officer, prosecuting officer, an officer or employee of OMMA, or an officer or employee of a municipality in which the commercial entity is located…”
The statute, in §681-1-4, defines stipulates that “’officer of a municipality’ shall have the same definition as set forth in the Oklahoma Municipal Code, 11 O.S. §1-102, and ‘means any person who is elected to an office in municipal government or is appointed to fill an unexpired term of an elected office, and the clear and treasurer whether elected or appointed.’”
When asked about the attestation, Maddox-Tilley said the question was not on the form when she completed her application. She claimed the question was added some time after she applied. However, in response to a public records request from The Beacon, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority provided a screen shot of Maddox-Tilley’s electronic application which clearly indicates she falsely attested to not being a municipal officer or employee.
The issue of elected officials holding commercial marijuana licenses was discussed by the city council earlier this fall, initially mentioned, interestingly, by Maddox-Tilley herself. Presumably motivated by that knowledge, she told The Beacon, on Nov. 8, 2019, that she had resigned her seat on the city council. Multiple calls over several weeks to the mayor and city administrator, however, confirmed that no resignation had been received by the city. Maddox-Tilley was not present for the Nov. 18 meeting of the council. She did however, attend and participate in the Dec. 2, 2019, meeting.
When asked about the resignation on Dec. 4, 2019, she told The Beacon she had written a letter of resignation but didn’t submit it. She further claimed to have spoken with unidentified persons from both the Oklahoma Municipal League and the OMMA, who she claimed told her she didn’t need to resign her council seat.
The potential ramifications of Maddox-Tilley’s actions are unclear. The decision as to whether or not her misstatement on the license application rise to the level of perjury, which is a felony in Oklahoma, is up to the district attorney’s office. In the absence of a formal charge and conviction, Cordell city attorney Johnny Beech said the city has no authority in the matter. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, however, does have some administrative authority.
Title 310: §681-5-1(b) specifies that “all commercial applications shall be complete and accurate in every detail, shall include all attachments or supplemental information required by the forms supplied by the Department, and shall be accompanied by full remittance of the entire application fee. Any misstatements, omissions, misrepresentations, or untruths made in the application shall be grounds for administrative action against the licensee by the Department.”
The second Cordell city council member involved in the medical marijuana business is Ella (Earlene) Smith. Smith recently obtained a dispensary license under the business name of Outback Dispensary LLC. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority lists the business as located in Cordell.
When contacted about the issue, Smith told The Beacon that the dispensary would not be located within city limits, which therefore meets the requirements of the prohibition on municipal officers. She confirmed the address of the dispensary as 1604 N. Glenn English, on a parcel adjacent to her residence at 1602 N. Glenn English. She said her residence is considered within city limits, which makes her eligible to serve on the city council, but the shop, located immediately north, is outside of city limits in Washita County, which prevents her from being in violation of the municipal officer regulation.
According to city administrator J.C. Moser, Smith’s statement is accurate. The residence is within city limits but the other parcel is across the city line in an unincorporated part of the county. The Washita County Assessor, Krystle Uecke, indicated that neither parcel is coded in the county’s tax system as being located within city limits.
When asked if she intended to remain on the council, Smith said she had worked closely with her attorney to ensure she was in technical compliance with the law and intended to stay on council.