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Two men involved in a butane-related explosion in Astoria last fall were arraigned in Clatsop County Court Friday on felony assault charges, including one that comes with a mandatory 70 month sentence.

( Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian)

Two men involved in a butane-related explosion in Astoria last fall were arraigned Friday in Clatsop County Court on felony assault charges, including one that comes with a mandatory 70-month sentence upon conviction.

William "Chris" West, 41, and Jason Oei, 44,, were each indicted in April by a Clatsop County grand jury on second- and third-degree assault and four counts of recklessly endangering another person. Second-degree assault is a crime on the state's Measure 11 mandatory sentencing list.

Clatsop County District Attorney Joshua Marquis said the case was not "a drug prosecution."

"This is not a case about marijuana," said Marquis, an outspoken opponent of the 2014 ballot measure that legalized recreational marijuana. "It's a case of an industrial explosion that should not have happened."

Jason Oei

West and Oei were making butane hash oil for their business, Higher Level Concentrates, when the space filled with the flammable gas and exploded. At the time of the blast, the company was on a state-approved list to process marijuana for the medical market.

A construction worker, Jacob Magley, 34, was working in the building when the blast occurred. He spent a month in a Portland burn unit recovering from his injuries.

Magley has filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging unsafe workplace violations. He claims that Oei consumed cannabis oil in a technique called "dabbing" while West handled butane, a highly volatile gas. Magley alleges Oei's dabbing caused the explosion, which rocked the building on Oct. 19. West, too, was injured in the blast.

Calls to attorneys for both men weren't immediately returned Friday. West and Oei pleaded not guilty in court.

William "Chris" West

They had submitted an application to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission for recreational marijuana processor and production licenses, but a spokesman said the applications have been "inactivated" due to a lack of activity.

Oregon OSHA last month fined their business $5,300 for a series of workplace safety violations. The business was cited for failing to ventilate the building, failing to have an adequate electrical system and failing to obtain city permits.

OSHA records show employees used an "open loop" system to manufacture hash oil. Those systems are considered extremely dangerous because butane can quickly fill a space and a spark from something as ordinary as a pilot light can ignite a fireball.

According to the state's report, fire officials found between 200 to 300 punctured canisters of butane at the scene of the blast.

The Legislature this year created a new statute that applies to hash oil blasts. The crime, arson incident to manufacture of a cannabinoid extract, is a felony. The statute does not apply to the Astoria blast, which took place last year.

-- Noelle Crombie

503-276-7184; @noellecrombie