Sacramento Area Injustice

Hey everyone,
This is not my story, but it is "real life" and it is a very scary story I just found, and thought was important to share. I stuck it in here because it's not really a "news" story, and tihs forum gets a little more attention. I got this off http://www.thehempevolution.org/letter/whiteaker011206.htm:

Please help me to stop them. On May 10, 1999, the Placer County (northern California) Sheriffs Department in a SWAT like raid, invaded my home in Rio Linda, California (Sacramento County). They came in numbers claiming to be a Federal Drug Task Force. They held guns to the heads of my wife and children while they ransacked my home. I was growing marijuana as medicine, under the supervision of my doctor.

They called the County of Sacramento Child Protective Services and took my children into custody. They destroyed my garden and the plants and took an antique shotgun belonging to my Father. They charged both my wife and myself with several counts of cultivation with intention to sell and having a firearm during the commission of a felony. The Placer County Sheriff who is in charge is named Tracy Grant.

There were no scales found, no money found, no pay owe sheets, no beeper, phone or foot traffic found. There was no undercover narc, no snitch, no neighbor, no friend who got in trouble. There was nothing to show that my intention was to sell marijuana. They illegally searched my computer. They interrogated us for hours without an attorney promising that they were not going to arrest us, and yet they did. It took days of fighting the County before I was able to get my children back into their home. Our family was devastated.

The attorneys that helped me in the beginning were from the public defenders office. They tried without success to have the charges dropped due to our medical recommendations. No one listened. We were arraigned in the summer of 1999.

I went to my friends on the net and they helped to donate a substantial amount of money to an attorney named William Panzer. He then took my case and began investigating the police and what they had done.

With the help of many people who had already been in trouble with the police, we began to uncover a trail of lies and laziness. We saw a pattern of corruption, with the forging of unofficial and official documents. Misleading statements made to judges were easily verified and shown to be untrue.

Meanwhile, the County of Sacramento CPS continued with terrorizing my wife and children. An official in charge of our case told us that we were going to be an example. They were going to use us to make all people who use marijuana found to be incapable of caring for their children. The same official later sent her own husband out to falsify a report that allowed them to take my children with the help of law enforcement. The Sacramento Sheriffs Office raided my home for a second time, taking my children by force from their mother. They injured my wife and broke my childrens hearts, and trust in our authorities. The CPS officer who was in charge is named Judith Esquivel. Her husband is Frank.

We were able to defeat them yet again when we proved in their own special hidden kangaroo court that they were the ones that were wrong. Their actions were unjust, and even evil. One month after they took our children, they caved in and made an offer to us for our children. We would stop the legal proceedings if we sign the papers and went away.

We did go away, to San Mateo County, California. Thank goodness for the people in the Bay Area. They took one look at our case and gave us our children back for good. We are proud of their courage, and intend to stay in this area because of it.

The criminal case continued with more and more documented lies and forgeries. Other people began to come forward with more information. Perhaps as many as 70 families had been visited by this evil. Most were not able to defend themselves. It is always the Placer Sheriff's word against the user.

We won the right for a hearing on the traversal of the search warrant. This happened at the beginning of November, 2001. Two years and seven months after our arrest.

In that court, we put witness after witness on the stand to prove that he was a liar. We had barely scratched the surface when we decided to put Mr. Tracy Grant on the stand. He began to lie and produce poor evidence against us. He was found to be very unbelievable. When we began to ask questions about how he got permission to search my utility records, he would not answer. We asked him if he had even seen the documents used for these purposes before. He would not answer.

In fact, two US Attorneys came to his aid, and informed the judge in charge that he could not answer any questions about the documents. Nor could he answer any other questions that involved the Federal Governments involvement in this case or any of the other cases. That he could actually go to jail if he did. The judge informed the County of Sacramento District Attorney, who is named Joy Smiley, that the case would be dismissed if he did not answer. The US Attorneys claimed to have to go to Washington for permission, and that they expected to get that permission soon. The US Attorney that had been working with Mr. Grant and who has signed many of the papers is named Samuel Wong.

The hearing was continued until December 3, 2001.

On the Monday before Thanksgiving, I was called by my attorney, Mr. Panzer. He said that he had been sent a notice that if I did not accept two years and four months in jail, that they case would be dismissed, and that the US Attorneys Office would have me indicted by a new grand jury. I had two days to make my decision. I said, NO WAY!

On December 3, my wife and I were in court, and the judge dismissed our case. The US Government Attorney Kenneth J Melikian was there on behalf of the United States of America. I distinctly heard him say to the DA that they never intended to let Tracy Grant testify about these documents.

We have now been indicted and are going to turn ourselves in tomarrow, December 7, 2001 in Sacramento, California at the Federal Building. They have now upped our charges to using a firearm while trafficking drugs. My minimum sentence is 10 years in jail. I have no previous record or arrests. The amount of marijuana we were growing was less than 100 per person, and all the plants could fit in a 10 foot by 10 foot area. I know in my heart that they did this knowing that we would be jailed without bail over Christmas and possibly the entire time while we continue to fight the new enemy.

Their tactics are terroristic in nature, and if they can use my children against me, while making us sit in jail, that would please them greatly. I know that they want me to deal. I will not deal. I want Tracy Grant on the stand before another judge. I want him to answer in detail what it is that Samuel Wong and himself are trying to hide from us. I intend to find out no matter what. Maybe they have done a criminal act. Maybe they don't want to lose their jobs and go to jail.

We have a record of showing up to court every single time. Over thirty times in criminal court alone since our arrest. I am deeply tied to the Bay Area, and this is not necessary. I want to stay here and fight it out. They trumped up the charge so as to make it impossible for me to bail out.

It took 2 years 7 months to get to the traversal hearing. How long will we be in jail while the US Government drags its feet? Exactly what are they hiding? Why are they so intent on stopping us from defending ourselves? Why after beating them in state court, do they get ¡do overs¡± now with a whole new team, and new rules.

My attorney is:

<Amanita snips out personal info>
E-mail wgpanzer@earthlink.net


My wife's attorney is:

<personal info snipped>
E-mail jdkjd@aol.com

Our children's attorney is:

<personal info snipped>

Please write or call anyone in the news industry and let them know about this case. I need help in this way more than in any other. They will not stop until the citizens make them. I cannot fight this alone. I beg you for your assistance. This may be the last day I am out of jail for a very long time. If they do not take me into custody tomarrow, I am to show up for my next court date at 2pm December 12, 2001. Please show up if you can. This will lend support, and will make my wife stronger, enough to ease our pain as we endure the horrible conditions of the local jail.

Please keep in touch with the attorneys, and don't let the government win. They can¡¯t get out of this criminal behavior. Make them tell the truth. Use your collective hearts and minds to do constructive things to help me. Please do not terrorize them as they do to us. Please do anything you can within the law to stop the government from terrorizing my family.

Thank you on behalf of my family, and myself, thank you all.

Robert and Shawna Whiteaker
San Francisco and Pacifica, California

 

Thanks for trying to help here Amanita, but part of the reason I posted this was that the family wanted their story passed along in case anyone could help, which is why I left all contacts intact.
BUT if anyone wants to help this family or send messages of support, the entirety of this message, along with addresses and/or ph#'s is publically posted on www.thehempevolution.org, or you can e-mail me for further detail.

Amanita I would usually agree with the policy to not post private info such as this however, I was only trying to help, and would not have solicited private information had it not been requested.

Thanks for the support cowboysaxman!

p.s. as for the government officials involved, they are in public service positions so their names being posted should not be an issue - perhaps their actions are however!