2 Dead in Pot Dispensary Robbery Attempts

[Duckmang]

Everybody seems real quick to blame the "gangs". Do we know for certain that it was gang related or is everybody just working off of that assumption? From what I gathered from the original post is that the coppers are being tight lipped about it. With legalization looming at the polls I wouldn't put it past some right wing zealots to have engineered this fiasco to sway public opinion. Wouldn't put it past the coppers themselves either. Don't think they did it themselves but I could easily imagine a scenario where a couple of bangers are looking at some real hard time when cops give them instructions to make it messy, keep the loot, and they won't be pursued. How many robberies end with an execution style shooting? Ok say you've just knocked off a disp., committed murder, and have a ton of loot and weed, um what next? Lets do it again, doesn't sound like the right answer. It smells real fishy. Dispo's have been raking in loot for quite a while now, I have a hard time believing that the "gangs" just figured this out about the same time that MJ opposition is crapping their pants in desperation at the looming legalization.

 

[OjoRojo420]

Paraboom ... you really do sound like a LEO trying to make a point that agrees with your view and things you've read in class.
Hallucinations from Cannabis usually isn't a problem.... is it?

The issue wasn't weed induced paranoia... it was blood thirsty robbers that didn't have to kill to complete a robbery, and the law says no guns in dispensaries.

How would that work for a liquor store? I am pretty sure if I roll up on a liquor store and try a robbery.... probably going to see the business end of a shotgun or something similar more times than not.

Rest to their souls and to the families and friends of these people that were murdered.

It seems the law thinks all Cannabis users medical or recreational are like bums on the streets always up to no good and half out of their mind with "weed induced paranoia"... and a danger to society.

I mean today the RUSSIAN ex KGB chief says our police are out of control... think about that one for a minute.

I think it is surreal and tragic. As November approaches more headlines like this are coming. Bet on it.

We are living in such graceless times...

Earth, this Precious vessel of Grace deserves SO much better.

Saddens my soul to tears...

 

[KGB47]

Everybody seems real quick to blame the "gangs". Do we know for certain that it was gang related or is everybody just working off of that assumption? From what I gathered from the original post is that the coppers are being tight lipped about it. With legalization looming at the polls I wouldn't put it past some right wing zealots to have engineered this fiasco to sway public opinion. Wouldn't put it past the coppers themselves either. Don't think they did it themselves but I could easily imagine a scenario where a couple of bangers are looking at some real hard time when cops give them instructions to make it messy, keep the loot, and they won't be pursued.....

Wow, just wow. You might want to switch to a nice Indica, the shit you're smoking makes you paranoid beyond credibility.

"How many robberies end with an execution style shooting?"
To answer your question: Lots of them, when they're committed by gangs or individuals belonging to gangs.

 

[toohighmf]

LAPD= largest gang in L.A. However, the most ruthless gangs w 0 respect for human life are the East L.A gangs. If you frequent dispensaries, you know there's ALWAYS an unsavory batch of "clients" instead of medically dependent patients roaming these places. Canadians have no stake in this conversation because they don't have Dispensaries, and they don't live in L.A.

 

[headband 707]

ouch on the Canadian comment toohigh

ouch on the Canadian comment toohigh

I'm Canadain and I know LA and yes we do have dispensaries just to make that one clear.. What is your point? I have nothing to say that really matters here? lol thanks .. PEACE Headband707

 

[toohighmf]

forgive my ignorance about Canadian D's. HB707. I'm not out to insult anyone, and I am not saying that Canadians opinions don't mater either, but when people try to compare Canadian Life to L.A, and talk about the crime and to say Canadians don't have access to handguns, so crime is low is kinda ridiculous. If Canada had a third the population the US does, I'm sure your crime statistics would be much higher. I know how tough it is to legally obtain a handgun in CAN, and I know there are plenty of HA's and Viet Gangs toting them. Unfortunately for L.A, There are FAR more Criminals per capita than in just about any other city in Canada except for maybe Surrey. (not that I know that much about Canada.) I wonder how much less gun related murders there would be if Canadian Law abiding citizens were allowed to protect themselves with a handgun. I guess what I'm saying is that guns are important in the US, and I don't like hearing that just because they arent in CAN, means it's a good policy for the rest of the world. It would be a good idea to make alcohol illegal too, but we all know what happens when you try to prohibit certain commodities...

 

[headband 707]

Guns take the fun out of bud

Guns take the fun out of bud

forgive my ignorance about Canadian D's. HB707. I'm not out to insult anyone, and I am not saying that Canadians opinions don't mater either, but when people try to compare Canadian Life to L.A, and talk about the crime and to say Canadians don't have access to handguns, so crime is low is kinda ridiculous. If Canada had a third the population the US does, I'm sure your crime statistics would be much higher. I know how tough it is to legally obtain a handgun in CAN, and I know there are plenty of HA's and Viet Gangs toting them. Unfortunately for L.A, There are FAR more Criminals per capita than in just about any other city in Canada except for maybe Surrey. (not that I know that much about Canada.) I wonder how much less gun related murders there would be if Canadian Law abiding citizens were allowed to protect themselves with a handgun. I guess what I'm saying is that guns are important in the US, and I don't like hearing that just because they arent in CAN, means it's a good policy for the rest of the world. It would be a good idea to make alcohol illegal too, but we all know what happens when you try to prohibit certain commodities...

You know bro you are so right that this is your reality and your world and it's not the same as a world lets say over here in Van. downtown. I have been there so I do know what your saying bro whole different world lots of ppl .. Lets for the sake of your argument in my pipe dream take guns out of it.. Guns don't make this drug more fun? Guns and drugs don't mix .. you live in a gun culture . I don't ... I don't want everyone around me to have a gun..... I really don't think that is a good idea...I'm not sure why you would think any different if you went to a place that had no guns and still grew bud .. I'm not saying times aren't changing but violence will always be violence and guns brings that shit on IMVHO.. There are more guns here bro but if you get caught with a loaded gun here ,,Your asking for a shit load of charges lol with a grow..It's all good till someone you love dies .. peace out Headband707

 

[vta]

Another one.........

LAPD investigating third shooting at a medical marijuana dispensary

June 30, 2010 | 11:36 am
Los Angeles police detectives are investigating a robbery at a Northridge marijuana dispensary over the weekend that left an employee in critical condition after he was shot in the face.
The shooting took place shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday at the dispensary in the 8900 block of Reseda Boulevard, (MMI) police said. The victim was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center and was listed in critical condition.

The suspects, who were not immediately identified, made off with approximately $11,000 in cash, police said.

The shooting was the third at a medical marijuana dispensaries over a three-day period last week. Two people were fatally shot Thursday and a third man was wounded in pot shop robberies in Echo Park and Hollywood.

It was at least the second time this year that the Northridge dispensary was targeted. Two suspects are awaiting trial in connection with a shooting that left a 33-year-old clinic employee wounded during an attempt to rob the man of his wallet.

Officials did not release the name of the man who was wounded Saturday.

Los Angeles Police Department detectives said they did not believe there was any connection between the San Fernando Valley case and the two attempted robberies in Los Angeles, which occurred hours apart.

"We have no evidence to believe that the three [robberies] are connected," said Kevin McClure, the captain in charge of the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division. "But do I think it's a disturbing pattern based on what it is, absolultely."

The robbery at the medical marijuana clinic on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park left one worker wounded and another dead. The dead man was identified as Matthew Benjamin Butcher, 27, of Los Angeles, the son of labor leader Julie Butcher. Officials said the store was ransacked.
The second incident occurred at 9:15 p.m. a few miles away on El Centro Avenue in Hollywood when an unknown number of suspects stormed into the shop. The dead man was later identified as Ila Ali Packman, 39, of Hollywood.

The killings coincided with a city crackdown on pot businesses that has resulted in the closure of dozens of the outlets.

The City Attorney's office recently notified about 400 marijuana dispensaries that they must shut down if they do not meet location restrictions outlined in a new ordinance that took effect this month. The dispensaries were given six months to comply with the law, but many have already closed.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said last week that authorities shouldn't rule out a link between the robberies and slayings at the pot clinics and drug cartels.

"There's a matter for us having to be on full alert as to what the reasons were for such brutal murders," he said. "It's one thing to go in and put a gun in the face of a person who is running a commercial establishment and ask him for the money. It's a totally different thing by assassinating the person that you're robbing. That, to me, is very cartel-ish in its style."

So if the Sheriff thinks cartels may be involved..which is logical in a way, then he just gave another reason to legalize.

 

[vta]

I don't ... I don't want everyone around me to have a gun..... I really don't think that is a good idea...

I respect your opinion and understand and somewhat agree with the mentality. However the stats show otherwise. Here are just a few.

* In the early/mid 1990's, criminals on parole or early release from prison committed about 5,000 murders, 17,000 rapes, and 200,000 robberies a year. ( I think the no.1 reason to own a gun )

* Americans use firearms to defend themselves from criminals at least 764,000 times a year. This figure is the lowest among a group of 9 nationwide surveys done by organizations including Gallup and the Los Angeles Times.

* In 1982, a survey of imprisoned criminals found that 34% of them had been "scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim."

* Washington D.C. enacted a virtual ban on handguns in 1976. Between 1976 and 1991, Washington D.C.'s homicide rate rose 200%, while the U.S. rate rose 12%.

Washington DC has the most gun crime in the country.

 

[toohighmf]

1st off. if you look in my old gallery, there's pics of my IPSC USPSA SCSA sporting guns. http://www.uspsa.org

I simply love shooting. I am an avid action pistol shooter. It's the 2nd best fuckin high in the world! I also need and very much enjoy my medicinal cannabis; As do I enjoy the lifestyle Medical Cannabis has provided. Guns are part of the equation because criminals use them against us to rob me of my cannabis and the materials to grow it. If I never had a gun put to my head over weed or even grow equipment, I would only need a gun to shoot my sports.
it's a sad world when I have to use a gun to protect my life at work.
That's one of the many sacrifices you make to earn & stay alive. Don't you think these dispensary workers would of had half a chance if they had access to a firearm? It's a Doggy dog world. We didn't bring the guns pot. criminals did.
I don't want to die over pot. therefore, either I stop growing, or I have some personal protection. to be totally honest, even if I didn't need a gun to protect my weed or store, I would need one to protect my home in the US.

 

[headband 707]

You know I'm going to be brutally honest with you guys here lol

You know I'm going to be brutally honest with you guys here lol

I really like the American ppl they have always been nice to me when I go down to visit them, but I must admit that I do feel out of place when ppl have all those guns . Not that I don't understand it one guy has a gun so the other guy has it and so on. But hey it still makes me feel scared lol lol lol.. When I think about all the places to visit in the world the USA just doesn't come up because of the gun thing ,not the ppl thing.
I would love to shot a gun at a pop cans but not ppl or to use it to intimidate ppl or do anything with grows...
The more you push bud underground the more crime you have and the more criminals you will find. I blame the police for this ..I'm not saying ppl are not responsible because they certainly are.. but the cops have got to see their side in this aswell and stop acting like their shit don't stink!!!
I don't know bro if I'm the person here as I don't live there and I know when I went there I was like a fish out of water LOL LOL.. I do hope the best for you guys and hope you figure somthing out cause all this violence just brings more violence and the where do you go from there? I say use your word that what my mom used to say LOL peace out Headband707

 

[toohighmf]

Why are you hanging out with people that are blatantly keeping guns around you? I have plenty of guns, but their not in every room on every table and I'm not always wearing one!
We don't push bud underground. Criminals with guns do. If we weren't allowed to bear arms, but cops were, how do we protect ourselves from bad cops? remember...
"guns don't kill people, cops do"- Tommy Chong

 

[hazydreams]

trust me on this. If the scumbags who did this knew that inside the dispensary there was a 12 gauge loaded with double ought under the counter they would have went and robbed the bodega down the street.

I think that handguns are the problem. Kinda hard to conceal a 12 gauge or a rifle and walk into any establishment with the intent to rob it.

remove ALL the hand guns completely for the united states or make it so that everyone can carry them.

The prob lem is you cant have it both ways. you cant give them out to some and not to others because in the end, criminals dont give a fuck about the permitting process.

If these two dispensary were in texas do you think this would have happened?

 

[toohighmf]

in tx. no. but there wouldn't be a dispensary either!

 

[turbolaser4528]

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

-Ghandi


Nevertheless, "they'll get my gun when they pry it from my cold dead fingers!!!"


be safe my brothers and sisters !!!

this violence needs to stop, we need to legalize cannabis to squash the criminal enterprises profiting from its illegality, ie. cartels, gangs, US government, etc...

I know decriminalization would be nice for us growers but we have to put our selfish desires aside, people are getting killed all the time over this.

Peace be with you all



Namaste