Prominent Medical Marijuana Defense Attorney, William McPikes Home Raided by Sheriffs Department

Discussion in 'Marijuana News' started by jainaG, Sep 29, 2015.

  1. Joy Graves Salem-News.com Cannabis De-Classified
    \t\t\t\tBusts on medical marijuana patients have not ended, though many may be fooled into thinking so.

    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBill McPike, Attorney at Law
    Photo courtesy: 420.org

    http://salem-news.com/articles/september282015/mcpike-marijuana-raid-jg.php
    \t\t
    (SALEM, Ore.) - Prominent medical marijuana defense
    attorney, William McPike opened the door of his residence Friday morning
    to find a dozen uniformed Madera Deputy sheriffs waiting on the other
    side. Madera County is located in California's San Joaquin Valley.

    Sgt Larry Rich, who had just gotten out of a white
    unmarked vehicle, brandished a search warrant and demanded access to
    McPike's home.

    Deja vu ...Earlier in the week, Sgt Rich had made an appearance at the same location, but without any paperwork.

    On that day, he took the liberty to unchain the gate
    and drove his unmarked car onto the private property. McPike was present
    at the time. The Sergeant claimed that he was doing a "compliance
    check" on the private collective garden.

    He had no warrant. Still, McPike provided his proof of
    Medical Marijuana legitimacy, his California state ID card and
    California Department of Health medical marijuana card and corresponding
    documents acknowledging his status and the other collective members as
    medical marijuana patients and membership in a private collective.

    The main member is an amputee and a Director of a
    Veteran's non-profit charity involving service dogs. She has a
    California doctor's recommendation, which has an allowance of
    cultivation of up to 500 marijuana plants.

    This meeting did not settle the County cop's thirst for a "big" collar.

    On Friday, police returned with a warrant in hand. The warrant alleged that McPike was participating in felonious activities on the property and was intending to commit more felonious offenses.

    Friday's warrant was not offered by Sgt Rich but by MADNET Team Sgt Bradlee Dorr, who had not been present for the compliance check.

    The warrant gave the cops the ability to break into any
    safes, take computers, and all other information they found interesting
    including High Times magazines. According to Mr. McPike, this is not
    what one does to an attorney, who has confidential client records.

    McPike has been practicing law for 35 years and
    consults for 420 College.org, an educational institution that instructs
    cannabis businesses on the ways in which to legally operate collectives
    and cooperatives with California laws - ironically, exactly the hot
    water he now finds himself in.

    "I was told first that I was violating a zoning
    ordinance and then told I was violating an electrical code ordinance,
    when I asked for more information, I was given no further explanation
    and instructed to not move," McPike said.

    Authorities then went out to the garden where they
    seized approximately 30 plants. However, McPike stated that an officer
    gave him a receipt for 99 seized plants.

    Mr. McPike went on to say that he questioned the officer about the inflated plant count, and was told that they found three root balls intertwined in each cut plant which meant that each single plant was to be counted as three separate plants.

    "The officers never tested any of the plants to
    determine whether they were hemp or cannabis. Sergeant Rich did however,
    make a point to have deputies put six dried plants in the trunk of his
    unmarked police vehicle," McPike said.

    "I'm well within my legal right to grow my plants as
    I'm part of a collective. The Madera County zoning ordinance states it
    is lawful to have plants in a 120 square foot space on private property.


    "One member of my collective is an amputee who has to
    soak in a hemp bath to stave off infection; her doctor determined that
    she's entitled to growing up to 500 plants annually in order to meet her
    treatment needs.

    "The other paperwork provides each patient with 90
    plants, that alone accounts for the mere 30 plants on my property. They
    brought a criminal warrant to search my residence but when questioned on
    specifics only said that I was in violation of county ordinances."

    "No arrests were made, no citations given, and no fines assessed," McPike said.

    Sources: Personal sources; SBWIRE
     
  2. #2 dabs710, Sep 30, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 30, 2015
    Typical.


    It's all about the money. They know you can grow a bunch of weed under the law, so they use small technicalities, and sometimes will just raid you. They figure that their busts are worth the lawsuits brought fourth against them. The more people suing them after raids the better.


    Even if your collective garden is legal and you have all the paperwork, they will raid you anyway because they can claim anything is possible "felony marijuana sales" when you're above SB 420 limits. If they find that you're legal they often will either seize the plants or cite you for something small so they make their time "worth it".


    If they find any small thing against you that you were "violating", they seize all assets they can, and warn you that if you try and get your stuff back they will "come down hard on you with the law".



    And they hate that you can grow weed - they want their cut too if you're going to do it legally.

     

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