Pubdate: Thu, 09 Jul 2015
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Authors: Scott Schwebke and Alyssa Duranty

SANTA ANA COPS RAID SAME MARIJUANA SHOP WHERE OFFICERS WERE 
VIDEOTAPED SEEMINGLY EATING POT CANDIES

SANTA ANA -- Several employees at a Santa Ana medical marijuana 
clinic were briefly detained Wednesday after police converged on the 
collective for the second time in less than two months and shut it down.

The closure followed the execution of a search warrant at the Sky 
High Holistic dispensary for violating a city ordinance prohibiting 
dispensaries, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.

Police previously had pushed for Sky High to cease operations, but 
the dispensary continued to market medical marijuana online and even 
sold pot to an undercover officer, Bertagna said.

Police also raided Sky High on May 26. Video footage from that 
operation shot by a hidden camera seemingly shows officers eating 
marijuana candies as well as a female officer insulting a disabled 
woman who runs the collective.

In the aftermath of that bust, Santa Ana police Chief Carlos Rojas 
announced that three officers involved in the raid were placed on 
administrative leave while the department investigates whether their 
actions violated policy.

Wednesday's operation did not result in any arrests and was carried 
out just as Sky High was opening for business, Bertagna said.

At around 10 a.m., about half a dozen Santa Ana police officers 
converged at the dispensary at 419 W. 17th St., said Stefan 
Borst-Censullo, an attorney for the clinic.

Borst-Censullo said he received a call Wednesday morning as the 
closure was happening. When he arrived, he asked the officers to see 
the search warrant but he said they refused to show it to him.

Jeff Benson, who witnessed Wednesday's closure, said he saw police 
officers remove more than 20 brown bags from the collective and place 
them into nearby police cars.

The bags contained medical marijuana and marijuana edibles, 
Borst-Censullo said.

The May 26 raid also led to a federal lawsuit filed by Sky High 
against the city of Santa Ana and Mayor Miguel Pulido.

The suit seeks an injunction prohibiting the city from enacting 
ballot Measure BB, which enabled a lottery to select 20 entrepreneurs 
to operate marijuana dispensaries.

The suit additionally accuses Pulido of receiving "financial 
benefits" from a Santa Ana medical marijuana dispensary and 
intervening with police on the establishment's behalf.

The allegations in the suit are "unequivocally and categorically 
false," Pulido told the Register last month.

"I've not been involved in any of the lottery process," Pulido said. 
"I don't know anything about the workings or methodology and had no 
involvement whatsoever. For someone to make allegations I influenced 
the process is preposterous."

Matthew Pappas, another attorney who represents Sky High, believes 
police are targeting the collective because of the lawsuit and the 
release of video from the May 26 raid.

"This is retaliation," he said, adding that about 25 other 
dispensaries in Santa Ana haven't received the same scrutiny as Sky High.

Santa Ana police also have served search warrants at other 
dispensaries, Bertagna said, denying that Sky High is being singled out.

"It's illegal to operate a dispensary in Santa Ana," he said. "If you 
operate a dispensary, you are subject to the law."

Despite being shut down Wednesday, Sky High likely will reopen, said 
Sergio Sandoval, a spokesman for Pappas.

Staff writers Alyssa Duranty and Alma Fausto contributed to this report.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom