In what the Times Standard is reporting as a marijuana sale gone bad, a local resident, a young man named Robert Anthony Mendez was present at a meeting on the beach in Redway when they “buyers” held a gun to his head and took his wallet. In what you may judge either bravery or stupidity, he then chased their vehicle onto US 101 where the suspects shot at him before tossing a gun and marijuana out of their vehicle and were subsequently pulled over.
There are some gaps in the story with plenty of obvious questions, but nobody was killed and three suspects of armed robbery are in jail. I’m not clear from the article whether Mendez was trying to sell marijuana or just his unnamed friend, but there’s no mention of any charges against anyone but the three.
Here’s the Sheriff’s report.
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June 23, 2009 at 11:24 am
Anonymous
Looks like we almost lost yet another young man to this. Depressing.
June 23, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Anonymous
All of them should be in jail including Mendez. That is a public beach and he put children at risk.
June 23, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Not A Native
Illegal pot is mellow, no violence, no victims. Only good peaceful people are involved with pot. This must have been caused by violent types who were on alcohol or meth. The pot just happened to be there, it was an innocent bystander.
June 23, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Eric Kirk
I agree that it’s extremely irresponsible to hold these deals in public places, particularly where children play. If they can’t trust the people to deal with them in their own homes then perhaps they should rethink their career choices.
June 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm
HumboldtBlue
Wow, imagine all the poor little children who are put in serious danger while witnessing drug deals on a daily basis, most of them in the company of their parents. But we’re not going to do without our alcohol, are we? Once again, yet another argument for why prohibition never has and never will, work.
June 23, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Eric Kirk
Yeah, but this is a little different. 1:00 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon and I have to worry about gangs fighting it out with guns at a public swimming place in Redway? Come on. Great for Mr. Mendes that he stood up to criminal bullies, but they shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
June 24, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Not A Native
C’mon Kirk , you’re a lawyer and supposed to know better. There’s no honesty among thieves. Bringing a buyer to their residence puts the seller at great risk of future robbery. Growers would rather put other people at risk. The purpose of growing isn’t to protect the community, it’s to make outsized amounts of money.
The very nature of an illegal transaction is there can’t be trust, because there’s no outside impartial recourse if either party reneges. In addition, both parties already know the other has demonstrated the will to break laws in pursuit of profit and so is more likely to break other laws to get greater profit.
Be honest Kirk, growers and buyers equip themselves with weapons in transactions because they intend to use them. As the temptations get larger, violence, robbery, and killing is an inevitable result of illegal trading for profit. And that’s exactly what is actually happening here in Humboldt.
Its naive and foolish to believe you can support an illegal activity and get all the upside but none of the downside. And its immoral to actually try to do it. Thats why Mendez chose a public place, he wanted all the upside of the sale and none of the downside. He was being “wise”.
June 24, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Eric Kirk
It’s a little more complicated than that, and I think more growers are dealing with hardcores now because it’s harder to move the stuff during a recession, but there are plenty of remote places to meet which are not popular spaces to bring children. I’ve brought my kids to swim on Redway Beach on many occasions. I’ll be hesitant to do it now, unless there are plenty of people there.
June 24, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Anonymous
Nan, it seems that most of the time we don’t agree, but here I heartily agree with you on this one brother. It is naive and foolish to believe you can support an illegal activity and get all the upside but none of the downside. That is what is really wrong in Humboldt right now. We are tolerant and that tolerance has been absolutely exploited by greed and immorality. It is destroying our land, our water, our rental houses and apartments, our kids and our economy. It is a very sad commentary as to who and what we really are.
June 24, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Skippy
So here’s yet another incident of greed-related violence that is 100% attributable to Cannabis Prohibition which creates a hugely profitable black market situation, guaranteed to generate violence. Should we be surprised? After all, exactly the same thing happened during Alcohol Prohibition, which was just about as ineffective and counterproductive as Pot Prohibition.
This sort of thing would stop happening almost immediately after Pot Prohibition was repealed. So what the hell are we waiting for. (And yes, I know, Pot Prohibition might cost Humboldt a lot of money in the short run, but it’s still the Right Thing to Do. The fact that it is mainly the prison-industrial complex, right-wing culture warriors, and big commercial dope dealers who oppose legalization should tell you something about where the wrong and right of the situation lies.)
The good news is that ending Pot Prohibition is actually within reach in California, with the Ammiano bill pending in the legislature and serious consideration being given to placing a statewide Legalize, Tax and Regulate Initiative on the 2010 ballot. Meanwhile public support for legalization is at or over the 50% mark nationally, for the first time in history, and probably topping 60% or more in California (especially when it’s Legalize, Tax and Regulate). There’s HUGE money to be saved in law enforcement and incarceration, and pretty big potential tax revenues as well. This is the best climate for legalization we’ve had so far, and public opinion continues to gradually but steadily move our way.
One possibility is that the threat of 2010 initiative will light a fire under CA lawmakers’ rear ends and encourage them to head it off by passing some version of the Ammiano bill. This would allow legislators to maintain some influence over the details of legalization.
On the other hand, lawmakers may still be too timid (and afraid of the old “soft on drugs” meme) to act, in which case the initiative may be a welcome development that resolves the issue without requiring the spineless lawmakers to take a stand one way or the other.
Either way, a statewide legalization law in California would force Congress and the administration to consider a bill allowing this issue to be handled on a state-by-state basis.
Discussing these armed-robbery-of-local-pot-growers cases without noting that ending Cannabis Prohibition would solve the problem entirely is like discussing the elephant dung on the carpet as if the elephant in the room was an irrelevant detail, and removing the elephant from the room was not a solution worth considering.
June 24, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Skippy
By the way, there’s two good reasons why the cops and the D.A. generally avoid charging the victim of the robbery with a crime.
First of all, they want that person’s cooperation in testifying against the robbers, who are obviously commiting the more serious crime — a violent, armed robbery, not a victimless sale of a (semi) illegal but fairly harmless plant.
Second, they know that if they go after the robbery victim for intent to sell, then in future cases the victims will not be willing to call the police to deal with the armed robbery. It’s just a pragmatic response to a difficult quandry, two sets of people are apparently breaking laws, but the armed robbers are MUCH more of a threat to public safety.
If a victim of such a robbery cannot safely call the police, they are more likely to take matters into their own hands — before hand by coming armed themselves, which could result in a shoot-out, or after the fact by hunting down the robbers and trying to use force to get their property back. So the cops and the D.A. are handling these cases quite wisely by focusing on the violent criminals, not the pot grower/seller.
That being said, I do think that if, as it appears, the grower/seller purposefully set up the meeting at a public place where children and other innocent parties were likely to be present, that person is a selfish, grade A @$$hole for endangering innocents.
June 24, 2009 at 11:26 pm
suzy blah blah
I think more growers are dealing with hardcores now because it’s harder to move the stuff during a recession
Yeah i think yr right, and also i think there’s more being grown than ever which also makes it harder to get rid of.
I’ve brought my kids to swim on Redway Beach on many occasions. I’ll be hesitant to do it now, unless there are plenty of people there.
This is so so sad!!!!!!!!!
…if, as it appears, the grower/seller purposefully set up the meeting at a public place where children and other innocent parties were likely to be present, that person is a selfish, grade A @$$hole for endangering innocents.
totally!
June 25, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I heard it on FOX News
Actually, I’ve heard reports now twice on CNN regarding how “much more dangerous” pot is than was onced believed. Just last night there was a report (okay, it was Lou Dobbs- you ALWAYS have to consider the source) about how cocaine and heroine production is down, but north americal pot production is up, way up… This is the second national new cast in the last week I’ve heard demonizing the use of marijuana. I guess the bigger powers that be are aware of the growing movement (haha) to legalize marijuana. So they are ramping up their smear campaign.
While I agree that legalization will reduce the cost of crime, I doubt the tax revenues they think they are going to see will be that actualized…..we’ll see. I know many have benefitted from the illegality and assoicated monetary benefits, but people, please-do you really want your $$ coming from so many people’s pain and suffering if you can avoid it? Better get other jobs and skills lined up. Or get the coop for pot together. How about the old Grotto building? It would be a perfect legal dissensory location….Designer label weed. I can se it now. Humboldt can be the Napa of the herb. Let it be…
June 25, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Not a Native
Anon, We can disagree on other things but I’m happy we’re in agreement on this issue because its an important one.
The best way to stop the violence is to start recognizing illegality and immorality what it is when you see it. People really want to do what they know is right but things have gotten so far they are intimidated and fearful. Thats what criminals do to a community.
Some otherwise “good” people knowingly profit from the growers, but agonize and wring their hands late at night over their “deal with the devil”. Is that what being tolerant and free is supposed to feel like?
You should report growers anonymously to the local drug task force. Thats no guarantee they will be brought down, but you will sleep better and and can face your children honestly knowing you’re trying to help your community.
Over time, little by little, your efforts will have an effect. In the meantime, you’re under siege so look at the growers in the face and smile, while you report what you know about their activities. Deny them protection of the “code of silence” that their mafia style of control depends on.
June 26, 2009 at 9:11 am
Anonymous
NAN – as a small business person, I choose not to do business with anyone who I 1)know is a pot grower for sales or 2) comes in with a bag of cash smelling like dope. I know that many of you will say why, but for me, it allows me to go to sleep every night and not wring my hands for doing business with the devil. It is not really that hard and there is enough business for me.
June 26, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Skippy
I refuse to do business with people too stupid or stubborn to recognize that legalization is the only practical answer to these problems. Fortunately in Humboldt that still leaves me with a lot of customers.
😉
June 25, 2010 at 9:27 pm
More chronological adults whoop it up on Redway Beach « Sohum Parlance II
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July 28, 2010 at 11:25 am
Rose
Vote YES to legalize it and end this sham once and for all.