Pubdate: Sat, 21 May 2016 Source: Trentonian, The (NJ) Copyright: 2016 The Trentonian Contact: http://www.trentonian.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1006 Author: Penny Ray DEFENSE ATTORNEY: NJ WEEDMAN CHARGES 'SELECTIVE PROSECUTION' TRENTON - Police say summonses charging Ed Forchion for smoking marijuana in city council chambers last year were signed by officials the day following the incident and sent to him via "regular mail." But Forchion's attorney says that claim doesn't make sense because police must have a record showing they served a complaint before a warrant can be issued for failing to appear in court. "You can't send it regular mail; they might as well just put it in the shredder because it has the same legal effect," Forchion's attorney Ed Heyburn said. "They either deliver it in person, or they send it certified mail and someone has to sign for it. When they go before a judge and request a warrant, they'll be asked to show when they served the complaint." Forchion, a marijuana activist also known as NJ Weedman, smoked a joint in city council chambers last November in protest of council's failure to vote on a resolution calling on the state to legalize, tax and regulate pot. Forchion was not the only person to smoke during the protest, nor was he the one who lit the joint. Video of the protest shows someone hand the joint to Forchion. Video also shows that a security guard and TPD Captain Ed Gonzalez witnessed the incident. A protester even puffed the joint directly in front of Capt. Gonzalez. But no one other than Forchion has been charged in connection with the smoke out, according to a Trenton Police spokesperson. Officials declined to comment further regarding why Forchion was the only person charged. Forchion, in fact, didn't know he was charged for smoking in City Hall until earlier this week when he was in municipal court facing offenses related to a recent incident where he called Trenton Police Officer Herbert Flowers a "pedophile" and a "big boy who (expletive) with little girls." After published a report about Forchion being charged for the city council protest six months after the incident, police officials contacted the paper and said the summonses were signed the day following the smoke out and sent via regular mail. In addition to there being a statute requiring police to show proof of serving a summons, Heyburn says, Forchion most likely would have been arrested had he failed to show up in court multiple times within the past six months. Heyburn said they might not have issued a warrant for missing the first court date, but after missing a second date, law enforcement most likely would've arrested him well before the county raided his property last month. "They would've issued a failure to appear (FTA) warrant for his arrest," Heyburn said. Police officials declined to comment on why no warrant was issued for Forchion's arrest in connection with the smoke out. "I've been in and out of the court system for 20 years and I completely understand how it works," Forchion said. "If I missed court, there would've been a warrant from the City of Trenton." Forchion believes being charged for the City Hall smoke out is just another example of "harassment" by the police department and politicians in an effort to shutter his businesses. Forchion also said he's received several tickets in the last week for allegedly violating city code by being open after 11 p.m., although he's conducted no sales transactions after the curfew. He said police park outside his East State Street businesses late at night to see if anyone is even in the building. And if so, Forchion said, he receives a ticket. "They refuse to separate my religious temple from my other businesses," Forchion said. Heyburn said he anticipated police would charge Forchion for the November incident at City Hall and he plans to file a motion to dismiss the charges. "The city is using selective prosecution to prosecute Ed and they're not enforcing the same laws to the rest of the community," Heyburn said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom