Pubdate: Sun, 28 Jan 2007
Source: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA)
Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Contact:  http://www.dailybulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/871
Author: Will Bigham, Staff Writer Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

CLAREMONT MARIJUANA DISPENSARY BURGLARIZED

CLAREMONT - Burglars stole nine marijuana plants after breaking into 
the city's medical marijuana dispensary, police discovered Friday morning.

Police responded at about 7:45 a.m. to Claremont All-Natural 
Nutrition Aids Buyers Information Services in the 600 block of S. 
Indian Hill Boulevard, after a city official driving past the 
location saw that a window had been broken.

Darrell Kruse, the owner of the dispensary, said the plants taken - 
nine of his 13 "mother" plants - were of no monetary value because 
they had not yet matured, rendering the smokable part of the plant useless.

"You won't get high," he said. "You might get a headache."

The dispensary resumed serving patients less than an hour after the 
discovered break-in. Kruse replaced the broken window, and files and 
computers needed to operate the dispensary were untouched.

"Nothing of real value was taken," he said. "They left a nice $250 
fan that anybody can carry off in a second. They left a TV, a DVD 
player. The stuff they wanted was probably locked well away, and 
there wasn't any way they could get to it."

Investigators dusted for fingerprints at the scene, Kruse said, but 
Claremont police Sgt. Karlan Bennett declined to say whether any 
evidence had been recovered.

The controversial dispensary, which has battled City Hall since it 
opened in September without a business license, is now coming under 
closer scrutiny from city officials, as one central fear - that the 
business would attract crime - appears to have been realized.

"Potentially these dispensaries can serve as a crime magnet in a 
community," Councilman Corey Calaycay said. "Having a dispensary in 
town could put an additional burden on our police, and we already 
have needs for other public safety priorities in our community."

Kruse conceded Saturday that his dispensary was an attraction for 
criminals, but he disputed the suggestion that it's more of a target 
than any other business.

"The banks are more secure these days, so they don't have a lot of 
problems, but liquor stores still have problems. Any place that has 
something that's desired by people will always have problems," he said.

The burglary comes a week prior to a Feb. 2 court hearing on the 
city's request for a temporary injunction to force the dispensary to close.

Kruse was found guilty earlier this month of operating without a 
business license, but despite the ruling has refused to close. Fines 
levied against Kruse of $500-a-day during the last two weeks have 
also failed to shutter his business.

In Friday's hearing, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. at the Los Angeles 
County Superior Court's Pomona branch, Kruse said he expects the city 
to use the break-in while arguing for the injunction.

"I would expect them to make this known to the judge at least, and 
probably bring it up, but I don't think it's indicative of what may 
happen in the future," he said. "It was probably just kids." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake