Pubdate: Fri, 15 Apr 2016
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal, The (CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Ukiah Daily Journal
Contact: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/feedback
Website: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/581
Author: Adam Randall

PINOLEVILLE TRIBE FILES CLAIM AGAINST MENDOCINO COUNTY FOR MARIJUANA RAID

The Pinoleville Pomo Nation has filed a claim against the county of 
Mendocino alleging unlawful search and seizure related to the 
Sheriff's Office raid of a marijuana operation on the tribe's 
property in September 2015.

The county received notice of the claim March 4, and the Board of 
Supervisors is expected to deny the claim at its Monday meeting.

Filing claims against the county, which are almost always denied, is 
typically for procedural purposes before a lawsuit.

Mendocino County District Attorney's Office Spokesman Mike Geniella 
said Thursday the investigation remains in the hands of the Sheriff's Office.

"Nothing has been turned over to the district attorney for review," he said.

The Sheriff's Office didn't immediately return a request for comment Thursday.

Unspecified damages are being sought by the tribe, relating to what 
it says was removed, confiscated and destroyed property, including 
the "cost of the plants, costs associated with damage to the 
agricultural infrastructure and materials, labor costs associated 
with the seized plants, expectation damages related to the 
medical-grade cannabis to be derived from the plants, and receipts 
and paperwork related to the operation."

The tribe said it was growing the approximately 400 marijuana plants 
on its Pinoleville Road property for medicinal purposes, which it 
says it can do on sovereign Indian lands. The Sheriff's Office 
maintains it can enforce law on tribal lands under California Law, PL-280.

The tribe said the Sheriff's Office overstepped its jurisdiction 
during the three-day raid that began on Sept. 22, 2015, when it 
served the tribe with two search warrants, one for its property on 
Pinoleville Road, and one for a former automotive dealership on North 
State Street in Ukiah, which is now owned by the tribe.

Nearly 400 marijuana plants were seized from the Pinoleville Road 
property, and the Sheriff's Office alleges it discovered a 
"sophisticated honey oil chemical extraction laboratory" at the 
dealership location, along with an additional 100 pounds of processed 
marijuana.

After the raid, the Sheriff's Office said it had begun receiving 
information about a marijuana cultivation operation at the tribe 
several months earlier.

Both the Pinoleville tribe and the Sheriff's Office acknowledge 
face-to-face meetings in the past regarding the cultivation of 
medical marijuana at the reservation.

The Sheriff's Office said aerial flights were conducted over the 
tribe's property at least two months before the September 2015 raid, 
confirming a large amount of marijuana.

Also, according to the Sheriff's Office, when it was investigating a 
burglary alarm call at the former automotive dealership days before 
the raid in September, deputies spoke with several individuals who 
were allegedly transporting cut marijuana plants from the Pinoleville 
Road property to the dealership on North State Street. The 
individuals allegedly also identified themselves to deputies as being 
employed by the tribe.

"We believe the sheriff has overstepped his authority, violated 
tribal sovereignty and acted outside of his legal jurisdiction," 
Angela James, tribal vice-chairwoman, said in a news release shortly 
after the raid in September 2015.

James, via the news release, also disputed that PL-280 allows for the 
sheriff to enforce state law on federally recognized Indian land.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom