GROWING VIOLENCE: MARIJUANA GARDENS ARE ROBBERY TARGETS THROUGHOUT
HUMBOLDT COUNTY

A quiet McKinleyville neighborhood was jolted last Sunday night by
the echo of three gunshots and the sound of breaking glass, as three
suspects in an alleged home invasion robbery frantically drove away
from a marijuana grow house.

Home-invasion robberies at houses with pot gardens occur with
disconcerting regularity in Humboldt County, law enforcement
officials say. And the potential for violence in any robbery is high.
Within the past six months, at least three people have been shot
during suspected grow house robberies in Humboldt County.

"I can't think of a home invasion robbery in the last two years in
Humboldt County that hasn't had a drug connection to it," said Eureka
Police Chief Garr Nielsen. In every case, "it's almost exclusively marijuana."

The Sunday incident

Investigators have been slow to release information about the alleged
home invasion robbery that occurred in McKinleyville on April 12.

However, three search warrant affidavits filed at the Humboldt County
Superior Court provide some details surrounding the incident.

According to the affidavits, at around 12:30 p.m. at a Harden Drive
residence in McKinleyville, three residents -- Richard, Brandon and
James Barnett -- sat watching TV when they heard a knock at the door.

Brandon Barnett answered, and three black male adults pushed their
way into the room, demanding, "Where's the stuff?"

One of the men stood guard near the Barnetts Advertisement Quantcast
while the other two walked into the back of the house and returned
with two bags, each filled with at least one pound of marijuana.

After grabbing the drugs, the three alleged robbers left the house together.

According to an affidavit, seconds after the suspected robbers walked
out, Richard Barnett ran for the door, grabbing a .357-caliber pistol
off the kitchen table as he went.

When Richard Barnett stepped outside, the affidavit says, he saw two
men seated in a car, while a third stood in the driveway struggling
to open the car door.

Richard Barnett told police he yelled at the men to stop, warning
them he had a gun, but the man slipped into the car and the driver hit the gas.

Humboldt County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Brenda Godsey said
Richard Barnett then fired his gun into the windshield as the driver
frantically backed out of the driveway, knocking over a portable
basketball hoop as they sped away.

Police soon received reports of gunshots fired, and traveled to the
Harden Street residence, where they found the Barnetts and interviewed them.

After conducting the search warrant at the Barnetts' residence,
police found 23 firearms -- including handguns, rifles and shotguns
-- in plain view and hidden in rooms throughout the house.

Within a short time that night, a blue Daewoo with three bullet holes
in its hood and windshield, and blood spattered across the front
passenger seat, was discovered abandoned in the parking lot of Mad
River Community Hospital by officers in Arcata.

Although the Sheriff's Office has not released the names of any
suspects involved in the incident, the affidavit reports
investigators learned 24-year-old Mario DeAngelo Alexander had been
admitted to the hospital for two gunshot wounds in his upper chest
and left hand.

Investigating officer Sgt. Wayne Hanson attempted to speak with
Alexander, but he could only say he did not know why he was shot, and
Hanson ceased his questions, allowing Alexander to be treated,
according to the affidavit.

Hanson said on Friday that Alexander was not in police custody, and
remained in treatment as the investigation into the alleged home
invasion robbery continues.

Casing the grows

Richard Barnett told an investigating officer that the day before the
alleged robbery, a black male who he did not recognize visited his
residence, announcing he was from the Oakland Cannabis Club and
asking to see his marijuana garden.

According to information in the search warrant affidavit, the two men
discussed a price for the pot, but the unknown male suddenly said he
didn't want it, and left the house.

A company called Oakland Cannabis Club does exist; however, a
spokesman for the club said it is not a dispensary, but an online
medical marijuana directory, and its staff is not involved with trade
in medical marijuana.

According to law enforcement officials, potential grow house robbers
typically spend some amount of time gathering intelligence on their
target before breaking in.

Arcata Police Sgt. Todd Dokweiler, who has investigated numerous
grow-house robberies in Humboldt County, said there are a number of
ways someone in search of a potential target can find information
about grow-house locations. And the robberies, he said, are "usually
not random."

In one alleged grow house robbery in Arcata that occurred in early
April, Dokweiler said one of five teenage robbery suspects has been
accused of going door-to-door asking a "bogus question" in search of
a grow house.

"This was a unique case in that it appears they were randomly casing
houses looking for grows," Dokweiler said.

Dokweiler said another common way grow houses are identified by
potential robbers occurs when the grower willingly invites people
into their house during a party or some other social event.

Usually, grow houses are robbed by people from outside Humboldt
County, Dokweiler said.

Information about Humboldt County grow houses can be a valuable
commodity for criminals tempted by quick and easy cash, and the
location of grow houses is often spread inside jails and prisons,
said Eureka Police Lt. Murl Harpham.

Humboldt County Sheriff Gary Philp said although grow-house robberies
are rarely sophisticated operations, they usually do employ some
amount of intelligence gathering.

"Some (suspects) are from the area," Philp said, "but others have
been people from out of the area who gathered information from people
they knew up here."

Crimes of a victim

Many Humboldt County officials in law enforcement say they realize
only a small fraction of grow-house robberies are ever reported.

"We know there are many that go unreported," Mendosa said. "The
people who are victims of the violent acts are themselves committing crimes."

Dokweiler is one of many police officers who say the vast majority of
grow-house robberies are never reported. The robberies that are
reported, Dokweiler said, are done so usually only after a person is
seriously injured or gunshots are fired, which draws attention to the scene.

Officials in law enforcement say every grow-house robbery is
different, but in many cases, the grower may not face any charges.

Nielsen said, "Growing is certainly not a violent crime like a
robbery is. From my perspective, that's what takes priority -- but
that's not to say we would disregard the fact someone has an illegal grow."

Mendosa too said he would not be willing to automatically offer
immunity for growers who have been robbed.

"I can think of lots of situations when we may decide that it's a
prosecutable case for the grower," Mendosa said. But, he continued,
in most instances, "the marijuana grow portion of the case was a
minimum issue."

Growing protection

In Humboldt County, grow houses are plentiful and the growers are
composed of a diverse spectrum of lifestyles. But in every one of
their gardens are plants that have proven to be an exceptionally
attractive asset for thieves.

Nielsen, Philp and Mendosa all agree, the best way for a grower to
limit their likelihood of being robbed is to just grow less.

"We are not looking at preventing people from having (gardens), just
reducing the amount being grown," Philp said. "Three pounds is very
attractive -- a couple ounces, people are probably not going to take
the effort."

Growing less, however, is difficult for some.

Nielsen said growing small amounts may be difficult for any
Proposition 215 collective growing operation. Harpham added that many
growers who adhere to the state-mandated six mature plant limit
cannot harvest enough to meet their medical needs.

For Philp, the biggest concern is that those who must grow marijuana
can do it safely.

"If you're growing, and you've got a fairly significant amount,
you're at risk," Philp said. "All it takes is somebody telling the
right person who passes it on. The next thing you know, you've got
somebody in your house."

Sean Garmire can be reached at 441-0514 or sgarmire@times-standard.com.

A run-down on grow-house robberies:

Many law enforcement officials accept that a large percentage of
home-invasion robberies in residences with marijuana grows go
unreported by victims who fear prosecution. However, many marijuana
grow-house robberies are known to police.

The following is an incomplete list of several recent suspected
home-invasion robberies in Humboldt County that involved the theft of
marijuana.

1. In early April 2008, police responded to a Garberville residence
where occupants reported three men broke into the house with a
handgun, demanding money and marijuana, while threatening to kill the
residents.

2. In late April 2008, police arrested two men on suspicion of
breaking into a Eureka residence on Little Fairfield, where they
allegedly assaulted the occupants of the home, before fleeing with
electronics, a shotgun and marijuana.

3. In October 2008 in Garberville, police investigated an armed
robbery of a residence on Timber Lane. According to reports from the
Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, the suspects allegedly entered the
house, pointed a shotgun at the residents, who were holding a young
baby, and demanded their marijuana. According to HCSO information,
the suspects had mistakenly identified the residence as a grow house,
and left shortly after learning there was no marijuana inside.

4. During November 2008, police began an investigation into an
alleged armed grow-house robbery in McKinleyville. During the alleged
robbery, one of the suspects was allegedly shot in the back, with a
shotgun, by the resident of the property. The suspect was wounded,
but survived the incident.

5. On December 3, 2008, Garrett Ryan Benson was shot and killed
inside his home in Cutten. Police arrested two suspects, who have
since been charged for their alleged roles in his murder. According
to HCSO information, Benson had a large amount of marijuana growing
and processed in the residence, which is a likely motive for the murder.

6. In March 2009, Police arrested Waymond Kelly and Michael Johns for
allegedly robbing a suspected grow house on D Street in Eureka, armed
with a shotgun. According to Eureka Police Department information,
after the resident was approached by the suspects, she reportedly
took out a can of pepper spray, and both of the suspects fled the house.

7. On April 1, 2009, police in Arcata suspect that five teenagers --
Scott William Boileau, 19, Samuel Frederick Ruchte, 19, Jason Earl
Stockley Dodge, 19, Thomas Jones, 19, and Brian Fox, 17 -- allegedly
attempted to rob a suspected grow house on Bayside Road in Arcata.

8. An alleged robbery of a grow house on April 12, 2009, ended with
one man, Mario DeAngelo Alexander, 24, shot two times. Two other
suspects remain at large. Police believe they were attempting to rob
a suspected marijuana grow house on Harden Drive in McKinleyville.