SAGINAW, MI -- Eighteen people from three states were arraigned Tuesday afternoon, March 21, on accusations they violated the state's medical marijuana law.

The sound of jail chains clinking against wood pews filled the courtroom as the Spanish translator motioned 18 people charged with marijuana distribution to be seated for their arraignment Tuesday, March 21.

They range in age from 21 to 58 but all face the same amount of time in prison if convicted: 15 years.

In total, 19 people, including one arraigned earlier Tuesday without the translator, were arrested in a series of eight house raids across Saginaw County and one in Flint Township on St. Patrick's Day, March 17.

The names, ages and areas of residence of those arraigned are as follows:

Orestes J. Rodriguez, 39, Saginaw area

Yoan Luis Roque-Caballero, 31, Saginaw area

Alfonso Valdes Yadian, 32, Miami, Florida

Isbel Encarnacion Romero, 34, Saginaw area

Obet Angel Santana-Garcia, 26, Saginaw area

Anay Milan-Pupo, 26, Saginaw area

Erlen Bosch, 34, Miami, Florida

Orlando Granados, 58, Miami, Florida

Denis Alvarez-Diaz, 33, Flint Township

Teddy Lazaro Ruiz-Rojas, 42, Saginaw area

Arabel Machado-Pedraza, 40, Saginaw area

Michel Fonseca Alvarez, 47, Miami, Florida

Lizandra Garcia-Jimenez, 29, Saginaw area

Pedro Yasser-Alvarez Perez, 34, Miami, Florida

Adalbento Santana Rodriguez, 42, Saginaw area

Aliria De-La-Caridad Garcia, 44, Saginaw area

Daniel Guillen-Mendez, 46, Saginaw area

Eduardo Gil, 46, Colorado

Odelin Santana-Garcia, 21, Saginaw area

Officials say the group was abusing the state's medical marijuana law.

It's alleged the group of 19, along with two others with outstanding warrants, conspired to sell more than 100 pounds of marijuana and were growing numerous plants, said Assistant Saginaw County Prosecutor Chris Boyd.

While undisclosed federal agencies are looking into the citizenship and immigration status of those charged, the marijuana they allegedly grew or sold was homegrown, Boyd said.

"As far as I know, everything was being produced locally for sale locally," Boyd said.

The marijuana grown and distributed is suspected to have been furnished by some of those accused being caregivers or patients of medical marijuana, Boyd said.

Medical marijuana is legal under Michigan law, but there are limitations to what one can do, and Boyd said the group transgressed that.

"We're alleging they violated those (state medical marijuana) statutes and violated them substantially," Boyd said. "If you have that card to only service five people, you can't service 10, and that's what this is all going to come down to."

The whole group is charged with one count of manufacturing or distributing more than 45 kilograms of marijuana or more than 200 plants and one count of conspiracy to commit that crime.

Both are felonies punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

A guilty plea or conviction on such a charge could have consequences on the a suspect's immigration status, such as deportation, District Judge M. Randall Jurrens told the group during the arraignment.

"Would they deport us before we were condemned or afterwards?" one man asked through the use of the Spanish translator.

It's not clear how many, if any, of those accused are not U.S. citizens. It's "definitely suspected at this point" that some aren't, Boyd said.

It's possible the federal government will prosecute those in violation of immigration law in a parallel court case, Boyd said.

Boyd said he's been in discussion with agencies of the federal government on a regular basis but did not specify which ones.

As far as Saginaw County prosecuting any violators, that's not their jurisdiction, Boyd said.

"We don't prosecute federal crimes and whether they're in violation of federal statutes," he said.

Jurrens set the bond for all 18 arraigned Tuesday afternoon at $1,000,000. The man arraigned earlier in the day also had a $1,000,000 bond but was released on tether.

The group is due back in court for a preliminary examination on April 4 before District Judge David Hoffman.