POLICE RAID WESTSIDE DISPENSARY AGAIN

Authorities raided a Westside medical marijuana dispensary yesterday
for the second time and re-arrested its owner, a 32-year-old man who
had posted bail and allegedly reopened the shop.

Sgt. Dan McGrew said Juan Carlos Solis was arrested on suspicion of
cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale, the same charges
he is facing in connection with a prior raid in February at the
Healing Center, 1437 San Andres St.

Officers served search warrants at the dispensary and an apartment
in the 700 block of W. Carrillo Street that Solis reportedly shared
with Rudy Aragon Lopez, 28, an alleged dispensary employee who was
arrested yesterday on similar drug-related charges.

Authorities offered few details about what led to yesterday's raid,
other than to note that an ongoing investigation, as well as
evidence seized at the dispensary and residence, revealed that Solis
was illegally operating the pot shop.

Following the previous raid in February, police officials said the
dispensary was obtaining its marijuana illegally and was not
operating within the guidelines of the Compassionate Use Act, the
state law that regulates medical marijuana use.

Despite the earlier raid, the dispensary apparently reopened the
following day, as evidenced by an employee who answered the phone
and denied any law enforcement action had taken place at the
Westside location.

Solis and another alleged dispensary employee, Sinthia Alba
Martinez, 24, were scheduled to appear in court on July 16 to set a
date for a preliminary hearing in connection with the February raid.

City officials have been struggling to quell community unrest on the
issue of medical marijuana dispensaries for years. Earlier this
week, city leaders introduced a set of stricter regulations on
marijuana shops that, among other restrictions, will allow only
three dispensaries to operate in Santa Barbara.

While the city has approved permits for several dispensaries in
recent years, the Healing Center has been subject to repeated
enforcement efforts, City Attorney Steve Wiley said in a previous
interview in February.

"It's not even close to being nonconforming," he said during the
interview. "It's always been an illegal operation -- illegal from a
zoning standpoint -- and we've been enforcing on it."

McGrew noted that a superior court judge issued civil penalties of
$55,000 earlier this month against Jose and Patricia Solis, the
parents of Juan Solis and owners of the property at 1437 San Andres St.

The city attorney had reportedly requested the fines after the
defendants allegedly violated a court order prohibiting the
operation of a dispensary on their property.

"Additionally, Jose and Patricia Solis are facing arraignment on
charges of contempt for violating the court order prohibiting them
from operating a marijuana dispensary on their property," McGrew
said in an email.

Authorities had yet to release any details about evidence or drugs
seized yesterday. In February, police seized 12,000 marijuana
plants, 45 pounds of processed marijuana and $8,000 in cash from the
Healing Center and another local dispensary, Pacific Coast
Collective at 331 N. Milpas St.

While serving the search warrant at the Westside dispensary
yesterday, police also detained a 41-year-old woman who entered the
pot shop. The woman, identified as Sandra Hall, allegedly provided
false information about her identity in an apparent attempt to
avoid being arrested on an outstanding warrant.