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KTVU Fox CH2:
Mercury News: San Jose: Another violent pot robbery stokes cops' fear of trend
An armed invasion of a San Jose marijuana grow house dominoed into violent chaos Tuesday night near the Children's Discovery Museum, the latest in a string of crimes aimed at pot growers and dispensaries. It ended with a San Jose police officer blasting his gun at an onrushing vehicle, shattering the leg of a suspect who might not have been involved in the robbery at all.
By Wednesday, four people were in custody and a fifth was on the run. A victim and a suspect were hospitalized and officers armed with warrants were searching the little Locust Street home, where a crop of pot plants may have lured out-of-town robbers to start the whole thing.
Acting Police Chief Chris Moore said he was "concerned" about the growing crowd of criminals who have targeted private grow houses and medical cannabis clubs in the city.
"We have had suspects tell us that they came to San Jose to specifically target the marijuana and large amounts of cash they knew they would find here. They know we have so many of these places," Moore said. "Unless we get a handle on this problem, it will continue to get worse."
Police say single-family homes throughout the city are being converted into urban marijuana gardens capable of generating millions of dollars in profits. But they have also renovated themselves into lucrative targets for criminals like the men who burst into the San Jose home and robbed a terrified couple, grazing one man in the head with a fired bullet.
As city officials debate regulation and even the basic legality of medicinal marijuana growth and distribution, the list of violent crimes associated with pot, which can sell at dispensaries for $35 to $70 for an eighth of an ounce, is growing. Cops have located marijuana gardens of at least 180 plants in about 20 homes this year, a large increase from previous years, said Capt. Larry Ryan.
Earlier this month, four San Jose dispensaries and a marijuana grower were targeted by criminals in a single week. In one case, a dispensary owner was knocked out of his wheelchair by a masked intruder who demanded: "Where is the bud and the money?"
But those within the growing medical marijuana movement evoked the prohibition on alcohol during the 1920s, saying city officials have created the danger by leaving the burgeoning industry virtually unregulated. Oakland, for example, has explored plans to allow a small number of large and highly taxed pot farms to supply the city's medical marijuana dispensaries.
Said Dave Hodges, who started one of San Jose's first medical marijuana dispensaries: "Marijuana is not a cause of crime; prohibition and lack of reasonable regulations are. This unfortunate situation could have been completely avoided if marijuana was fully legalized."
This week's bizarre and bloody night -- all contained in a half-mile radius -- began at 11:04 p. m. at a small home decorated with potted succulents on a residential cul-de-sac near Interstate 280. A dispatcher with the California Highway Patrol received a 911 cell call and overheard what sounded like a robbery in progress.
The CHP dispatcher transferred the call to San Jose police, which sent out officers. Four minutes later, they arrived to find the shaken victims but the suspects gone.
Moments later, two San Jose police officers working a DUI patrol spotted two men who matched the description of the robbery suspects near the House of Pizza on South Almaden Avenue, Lopez said. As the officers approached the men, one of them tossed aside a handgun.
The two men arrested are James Kaufusi, 21, of East Palo Alto, and Lulnani Kailahi, 30, of San Francisco. Police say a third man wanted in the home invasion is Aminiasi Ofa, 22, of East Palo Alto.
Police declined to say whether the Locust Street home was an illegal marijuana grow house. Officers searched the home Wednesday. The owners, one of whom came back briefly to retrieve his dogs, declined to comment.
Tuesday, at 11:22 p.m., a few blocks away, two patrol officers spotted another man who matched the description of a suspect in the robbery standing next to a 1991 Acura Legend four-door sedan on West Reed Street, Lopez said.
As officers approached, the man leapt into the car driven by Zebry Mary Lou Martinez, 30, of San Jose. As Martinez started to speed away, she steered toward one of the officers, police said. A 43-year- old officer, identified early Wednesday night as Bryant Washington, opened fire.
Police policy prohibits officers from shooting at moving vehicles, unless the vehicle is causing an imminent and life-threatening danger to the officer or others. As is protocol, the officer was placed on administrative leave, pending an internal investigation.
"When you're dealing with violent suspects, guns being discarded and vehicles driving toward the police, you've got violent issues to deal with," Lopez said. "It's something that's very dynamic and it has to be controlled swiftly."
The Acura fled south on South First Street, but it didn't get far.
A short time later, police received a call about a suspicious man hiding between vehicles on Street, south of I-280. Officers found the man, who by then was in a gold GMC Yukon that picked him up, police said. The man had been shot in the leg and officers identified him as the suspect who fled in the Acura. His name is Anthony Silva, police said.
Police are still trying to determine whether Silva and Martinez were connected to the robbery or were "fleeing for some other reason." Silva had an active "no bail" narcotics warrant for his arrest.
Anyone with information about Ofa's whereabouts may contact the San Jose Police Department robbery unit at 408-277-4166. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may contact Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP (7867).
KTVU Fox CH2:
Mercury News: San Jose: Another violent pot robbery stokes cops' fear of trend
An armed invasion of a San Jose marijuana grow house dominoed into violent chaos Tuesday night near the Children's Discovery Museum, the latest in a string of crimes aimed at pot growers and dispensaries. It ended with a San Jose police officer blasting his gun at an onrushing vehicle, shattering the leg of a suspect who might not have been involved in the robbery at all.
By Wednesday, four people were in custody and a fifth was on the run. A victim and a suspect were hospitalized and officers armed with warrants were searching the little Locust Street home, where a crop of pot plants may have lured out-of-town robbers to start the whole thing.
Acting Police Chief Chris Moore said he was "concerned" about the growing crowd of criminals who have targeted private grow houses and medical cannabis clubs in the city.
"We have had suspects tell us that they came to San Jose to specifically target the marijuana and large amounts of cash they knew they would find here. They know we have so many of these places," Moore said. "Unless we get a handle on this problem, it will continue to get worse."
Police say single-family homes throughout the city are being converted into urban marijuana gardens capable of generating millions of dollars in profits. But they have also renovated themselves into lucrative targets for criminals like the men who burst into the San Jose home and robbed a terrified couple, grazing one man in the head with a fired bullet.
As city officials debate regulation and even the basic legality of medicinal marijuana growth and distribution, the list of violent crimes associated with pot, which can sell at dispensaries for $35 to $70 for an eighth of an ounce, is growing. Cops have located marijuana gardens of at least 180 plants in about 20 homes this year, a large increase from previous years, said Capt. Larry Ryan.
Earlier this month, four San Jose dispensaries and a marijuana grower were targeted by criminals in a single week. In one case, a dispensary owner was knocked out of his wheelchair by a masked intruder who demanded: "Where is the bud and the money?"
But those within the growing medical marijuana movement evoked the prohibition on alcohol during the 1920s, saying city officials have created the danger by leaving the burgeoning industry virtually unregulated. Oakland, for example, has explored plans to allow a small number of large and highly taxed pot farms to supply the city's medical marijuana dispensaries.
Said Dave Hodges, who started one of San Jose's first medical marijuana dispensaries: "Marijuana is not a cause of crime; prohibition and lack of reasonable regulations are. This unfortunate situation could have been completely avoided if marijuana was fully legalized."
This week's bizarre and bloody night -- all contained in a half-mile radius -- began at 11:04 p. m. at a small home decorated with potted succulents on a residential cul-de-sac near Interstate 280. A dispatcher with the California Highway Patrol received a 911 cell call and overheard what sounded like a robbery in progress.
The CHP dispatcher transferred the call to San Jose police, which sent out officers. Four minutes later, they arrived to find the shaken victims but the suspects gone.
Moments later, two San Jose police officers working a DUI patrol spotted two men who matched the description of the robbery suspects near the House of Pizza on South Almaden Avenue, Lopez said. As the officers approached the men, one of them tossed aside a handgun.
The two men arrested are James Kaufusi, 21, of East Palo Alto, and Lulnani Kailahi, 30, of San Francisco. Police say a third man wanted in the home invasion is Aminiasi Ofa, 22, of East Palo Alto.
Police declined to say whether the Locust Street home was an illegal marijuana grow house. Officers searched the home Wednesday. The owners, one of whom came back briefly to retrieve his dogs, declined to comment.
Tuesday, at 11:22 p.m., a few blocks away, two patrol officers spotted another man who matched the description of a suspect in the robbery standing next to a 1991 Acura Legend four-door sedan on West Reed Street, Lopez said.
As officers approached, the man leapt into the car driven by Zebry Mary Lou Martinez, 30, of San Jose. As Martinez started to speed away, she steered toward one of the officers, police said. A 43-year- old officer, identified early Wednesday night as Bryant Washington, opened fire.
Police policy prohibits officers from shooting at moving vehicles, unless the vehicle is causing an imminent and life-threatening danger to the officer or others. As is protocol, the officer was placed on administrative leave, pending an internal investigation.
"When you're dealing with violent suspects, guns being discarded and vehicles driving toward the police, you've got violent issues to deal with," Lopez said. "It's something that's very dynamic and it has to be controlled swiftly."
The Acura fled south on South First Street, but it didn't get far.
A short time later, police received a call about a suspicious man hiding between vehicles on Street, south of I-280. Officers found the man, who by then was in a gold GMC Yukon that picked him up, police said. The man had been shot in the leg and officers identified him as the suspect who fled in the Acura. His name is Anthony Silva, police said.
Police are still trying to determine whether Silva and Martinez were connected to the robbery or were "fleeing for some other reason." Silva had an active "no bail" narcotics warrant for his arrest.
Anyone with information about Ofa's whereabouts may contact the San Jose Police Department robbery unit at 408-277-4166. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may contact Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP (7867).
Found you in the SJ group... If you frequent downtown at all we may have crossed paths already. At least I wouldn't be surprised haha!
Nice make your acquaintance!
xoxxx