canndo
Well-Known Member
By RICHARD BROOKS and ERIN WALDNER
The Press-Enterprise
A Beaumont marijuana dispensary that has been fined $600,000 by the city to date was closed down Tuesday by narcotics investigators who also seized marijuana, hashish and arrested five people, officials say.
The raid began about 12:30 p.m. at Oak Tree Alternative Care in the 200 block of Sixth Street, and included four other locations.
The shutdown capped a seven-month investigation by the Allied Riverside Cities Narcotic Enforcement Team, officials said in a written statement Wednesday.
"ARCNET determined that the business was operating outside the scope of ... the Medical Marijuana Program Act," the statement said.
Two of the other locations searched were marijuana grow houses, according to the statement. In addition to an unspecified amount of drugs, business documents and evidence of marijuana sales and use were seized in the raids.
Medical marijuana facilities are not allowed under Beaumont ordinances. Since August 2009, the city has been fining Oak Tree $1,000 every day it maintained operations.
The approximately $600,000 collected has been put in Beaumont's fine and penalties account, city spokeswoman Ashley Starr said in an email.
Starr said according to Police Chief Frank Coe, the city will be serving the business with a cease-and-desist notice, as it has now been identified as a criminal enterprise.
Sixth Street is lined with small businesses, among them Jack's Art & Frame. Owner Jennifer Dunaway said she is "very happy" the marijuana place was shut down.
"It doesn't belong here. This is retail. Antique shops," she said.
According to jail records, five people were arrested for possession for sale of marijuana.
Nicole Christine Ward, 19; Sara Lynn Mudd, 21; and Arlene Roseanna Soto, 21, were arrested at Oak Tree Alternative Care. Art Day Moreno, 39, was arrested in the 33700 block of Old Trail Drive in Yucapia, and Jae Hoon John Sihn, 24, was arrested in the 39500 block of Grand Avenue in Cherry Valley -- two of the other four locations where search warrants were served.
The remaining addresses searched were on Massachusetts Avenue in Beaumont and Yucaipa Boulevard in Yucaipa. No further details were released available.
The Press-Enterprise
A Beaumont marijuana dispensary that has been fined $600,000 by the city to date was closed down Tuesday by narcotics investigators who also seized marijuana, hashish and arrested five people, officials say.
The raid began about 12:30 p.m. at Oak Tree Alternative Care in the 200 block of Sixth Street, and included four other locations.
The shutdown capped a seven-month investigation by the Allied Riverside Cities Narcotic Enforcement Team, officials said in a written statement Wednesday.
"ARCNET determined that the business was operating outside the scope of ... the Medical Marijuana Program Act," the statement said.
Two of the other locations searched were marijuana grow houses, according to the statement. In addition to an unspecified amount of drugs, business documents and evidence of marijuana sales and use were seized in the raids.
Medical marijuana facilities are not allowed under Beaumont ordinances. Since August 2009, the city has been fining Oak Tree $1,000 every day it maintained operations.
The approximately $600,000 collected has been put in Beaumont's fine and penalties account, city spokeswoman Ashley Starr said in an email.
Starr said according to Police Chief Frank Coe, the city will be serving the business with a cease-and-desist notice, as it has now been identified as a criminal enterprise.
Sixth Street is lined with small businesses, among them Jack's Art & Frame. Owner Jennifer Dunaway said she is "very happy" the marijuana place was shut down.
"It doesn't belong here. This is retail. Antique shops," she said.
According to jail records, five people were arrested for possession for sale of marijuana.
Nicole Christine Ward, 19; Sara Lynn Mudd, 21; and Arlene Roseanna Soto, 21, were arrested at Oak Tree Alternative Care. Art Day Moreno, 39, was arrested in the 33700 block of Old Trail Drive in Yucapia, and Jae Hoon John Sihn, 24, was arrested in the 39500 block of Grand Avenue in Cherry Valley -- two of the other four locations where search warrants were served.
The remaining addresses searched were on Massachusetts Avenue in Beaumont and Yucaipa Boulevard in Yucaipa. No further details were released available.
