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Car Jacking Latest Pot Club Crime

Linda Sandsmark San Leandro Times

San Leandro, CA Sept 29, 2005 -- A woman was carjacked and robbed Monday afternoon after she left The Health Center (THC) marijuana club at 15998 East 14th Street. Citizens in the area saw the crime occur about four blocks from THC and called police on their cell phones.

An African-American male wearing a ski mask and carrying a gun reportedly pulled the woman from her car and drove off in it. The unidentified woman, who is from Garberville in Humboldt County, walked back toward the clinic and her car was found on nearby Liberty Street.

“She doesn’t want to pursue a criminal complaint in spite of the fact she was carjacked,” says Alameda County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Dale Amaral. “When you have this kind of drug distribution center it’s an absolute magnet for every thug in the nine Bay Area counties. We’re running from call to call.”

Amaral points out that no matter how armored the clinic buildings are, the people entering and exiting are still targets. He advises them to be aware of their surroundings and to drive to the nearest police station or flag down an officer if they think they are being followed.

Crimes including burglaries and robberies at many of the dispensaries have caused widespread community concern. On Sept. 12 money and marijuana were stolen from the Alameda County Resource Center (16250 East 14th St.) when burglars chopped through the wall of an adjacent fellowship hall during the night. On August 19 the owner of A Natural Source (ANS) shot and killed a suspect who fled the clinic after a strong-arm robbery. ANS is located at 16360 Foothill Blvd. in unincorporated San Leandro, between a Montessori school and the BASIS Charter School.

“We were digging out bullet holes from apartment complexes nearby afterward. We’ve had one shooting and there’s no end in sight. It’s a target-rich environment,” says Amaral. “The sheriff’s department is devoting a tremendous amount of resources to these clubs.”

According to Shawn Wilson, Chief of Staff for County Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker, members of the Community Development Agency and the Sheriff’s office met with Supervisor Nate Miley last week regarding issues pertaining to a county marijuana ordinance adopted in June. Clinics had been given until Aug. 30 to apply for a permanent operating permit and the Sheriff’s Department is responsible for the permitting process.

Three clinics met the Aug. 30 deadline: The Health Center, Alameda County Resource Center, and Compassionate Collective of Alameda County. Three others — A Natural Source, We Are Hemp and Garden of Eden — didn’t turn in the 21-page application for their employees and had been ordered by the Sheriff to close by Sept. 30.

“The application included questions on credit card debt and their ex-spouses,” said Wilson. “They didn’t feel their employees should be under that much scrutiny. But the sheriff’s department felt they needed that information to make sure the clubs didn’t have ties to drug cartels.”

Wilson said that since the Board of Supervisors had not approved the application form, the pot clubs will be allowed to operate beyond the Sept. 30 closure date until the issue is resolved. He added that the Board will now draft another form, which may or may not contain the disputed questions.

The first public reading is scheduled for Oct. 4, and the second for Oct. 11. If that goes well, dispensaries will be given another 10 days after that to submit their applications.

The three clubs which have not yet filed will now have another chance to do so. The three that have already turned in their applications do not have to reapply.

Wilson says the Supervisors will also clarify the number of clinics that will be approved and their geographic locations. A map approved by the Board of Supervisors indicated five locations, but the ordinance specifies three.

“The Board of Supervisors is trying to get it under control, to their credit,” says Amaral. “The quality of life for the community we’re sworn to protect has declined, and it’s sad. We hope that the supervisors can limit the clinics to three. What citizens can do is support the board of supervisors in their efforts to try to regulate the clinics, and voice their opinions about where they should be located.”

Clinic location has also had an impact on neighborhoods. Though the clubs may not be selling directly to students, the county’s School Resource Officers report a 36-percent increase in arrests on nearby school campuses for minors possessing marijuana, possibly due to increased supply in the area.