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Blue Dot
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/temecula/article_6d5b3db3-7b2c-562f-b18f-69d3a390c529.html
By TERI FIGUEROA - [email protected] | Posted: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Judge finds Temecula man tried to run 'legitimate collective'
A Temecula man cried Wednesday after a judge dismissed criminal charges accusing him of trying to game the state's medical marijuana laws with a collective garden the man ran from his home.
"They are attempting to operate as a legitimate collective," Riverside Superior Court Judge Mark Mandio said at the end of a key pretrial hearing in his French Valley courtroom. "That is how I view the evidence."
In dismissing the case against Martin Jay Victor, Mandio also said vague state laws governing medical marijuana put "law enforcement and patients in an untenable position."
As he listened to the judge toss the case, Victor hugged his attorney, Zenia Gilg, and then pressed his hands to his face. Victor's wife, seated in a wheelchair, embraced a female friend and cried.
When the hearing ended, Victor hugged his wife for a long moment as they both cried.
"It's over," a teary-eyed Victor said, leaning on his cane as he left the courtroom.
After spilling out into the courthouse hallway, some of the couple's supporters, including members of the collective, let out cheers of "Yes!"
Prosecutors had charged 57-year-old Victor with illegally cultivating marijuana and possessing it with the intent to sell. Investigators said Victor possessed more marijuana than legally permissible and questioned whether Victor was gaming the system.
Victor argued through his attorney that the marijuana garden and its harvest were done in line with state laws as well as guidelines laid out by California Attorney General Jerry Brown in August 2008.
Mandio's finding that there was insufficient evidence in the case came at the end of a preliminary hearing, at which prosecutors must show that enough evidence exists to force a defendant to stand trial.
Defense attorney Gilg said she was "thrilled" by the ruling.
"I think the judge did the right thing," Gilg said.
Deputy District Attorney Greg Garrison, who prosecuted the case, declined to comment.
In September 2008, acting on a complaint, Temecula police raided the home of Martin and LaVonne Victor, seizing more than 70 plants as well as what police said was 5 pounds of already harvested marijuana.
During the raid, the couple reportedly showed officers their medical marijuana cards and provided photocopies of cards for 10 members of the cooperative. According to testimony, the couple also kept detailed ledgers that included how much money each member had put into the collective, as well as receipts for expenditures for soil and garden equipment.
Collective member Lanny Swerdlow testified that everyone in the group not only supported the garden with money, but also with time, getting their hands dirty in the cultivation process.
Mandio found that the amount of plants as well as harvested marijuana at the Victors' home were in line with the amount permissible for the collective under the state's medical marijuana laws.
Victor has been diagnosed with optical edema, a swelling of the eyes' optic nerve.
His wife, LaVonne, suffers from multiple sclerosis and panic attacks. Victor said he is also a caretaker for his 82-year-old mother, a cancer survivor who uses a walker, and that she is also a member of the collective. The frail-looking woman embraced her son after the hearing.
In making his ruling, Mandio said the statutes put law enforcement and legitimate medical marijuana patients at risk because there is no licensing agency to which patients can report how much they are growing, what they are harvesting and how much they are allowed to have. Likewise, the judge said, law enforcement officers could go to such an agency to find out just who is growing what and how much.
"We will continue to be in this position ... until the Legislature clarifies the statutes, or better yet, creates such a licensing agency," Mandio said.
Aside from the now-dismissed criminal case Victor had faced, eight members of the collective sued the Sheriff's Department and the city of Temecula last month, arguing that authorities "unlawfully" seized their share of the marijuana.
Call staff writer Teri Figueroa at 951-676-4315, ext. 5442
By TERI FIGUEROA - [email protected] | Posted: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Judge finds Temecula man tried to run 'legitimate collective'
A Temecula man cried Wednesday after a judge dismissed criminal charges accusing him of trying to game the state's medical marijuana laws with a collective garden the man ran from his home.
"They are attempting to operate as a legitimate collective," Riverside Superior Court Judge Mark Mandio said at the end of a key pretrial hearing in his French Valley courtroom. "That is how I view the evidence."
In dismissing the case against Martin Jay Victor, Mandio also said vague state laws governing medical marijuana put "law enforcement and patients in an untenable position."
As he listened to the judge toss the case, Victor hugged his attorney, Zenia Gilg, and then pressed his hands to his face. Victor's wife, seated in a wheelchair, embraced a female friend and cried.
When the hearing ended, Victor hugged his wife for a long moment as they both cried.
"It's over," a teary-eyed Victor said, leaning on his cane as he left the courtroom.
After spilling out into the courthouse hallway, some of the couple's supporters, including members of the collective, let out cheers of "Yes!"
Prosecutors had charged 57-year-old Victor with illegally cultivating marijuana and possessing it with the intent to sell. Investigators said Victor possessed more marijuana than legally permissible and questioned whether Victor was gaming the system.
Victor argued through his attorney that the marijuana garden and its harvest were done in line with state laws as well as guidelines laid out by California Attorney General Jerry Brown in August 2008.
Mandio's finding that there was insufficient evidence in the case came at the end of a preliminary hearing, at which prosecutors must show that enough evidence exists to force a defendant to stand trial.
Defense attorney Gilg said she was "thrilled" by the ruling.
"I think the judge did the right thing," Gilg said.
Deputy District Attorney Greg Garrison, who prosecuted the case, declined to comment.
In September 2008, acting on a complaint, Temecula police raided the home of Martin and LaVonne Victor, seizing more than 70 plants as well as what police said was 5 pounds of already harvested marijuana.
During the raid, the couple reportedly showed officers their medical marijuana cards and provided photocopies of cards for 10 members of the cooperative. According to testimony, the couple also kept detailed ledgers that included how much money each member had put into the collective, as well as receipts for expenditures for soil and garden equipment.
Collective member Lanny Swerdlow testified that everyone in the group not only supported the garden with money, but also with time, getting their hands dirty in the cultivation process.
Mandio found that the amount of plants as well as harvested marijuana at the Victors' home were in line with the amount permissible for the collective under the state's medical marijuana laws.
Victor has been diagnosed with optical edema, a swelling of the eyes' optic nerve.
His wife, LaVonne, suffers from multiple sclerosis and panic attacks. Victor said he is also a caretaker for his 82-year-old mother, a cancer survivor who uses a walker, and that she is also a member of the collective. The frail-looking woman embraced her son after the hearing.
In making his ruling, Mandio said the statutes put law enforcement and legitimate medical marijuana patients at risk because there is no licensing agency to which patients can report how much they are growing, what they are harvesting and how much they are allowed to have. Likewise, the judge said, law enforcement officers could go to such an agency to find out just who is growing what and how much.
"We will continue to be in this position ... until the Legislature clarifies the statutes, or better yet, creates such a licensing agency," Mandio said.
Aside from the now-dismissed criminal case Victor had faced, eight members of the collective sued the Sheriff's Department and the city of Temecula last month, arguing that authorities "unlawfully" seized their share of the marijuana.
Call staff writer Teri Figueroa at 951-676-4315, ext. 5442
