California, Bellflower

[budman]

Article Launched: 08/28/2006 10:31:00 PM PDT

Bellflower says no to marijuana
By Karen Robes, Staff writer
The Press-Telegram


BELLFLOWER - In light of an herbal remedy store that apparently sold marijuana as medicine, city leaders Monday imposed a temporary ban on marijuana dispensaries.

The City Council unanimously voted to place an urgency moratorium to give the city officials at least 45 days and up to a year to hammer out an ordinance.

California voters in 1996 passed Proposition 215, which permits the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Currently, Bellflower zoning does not address the distribution of medical marijuana, said city Community Services Director Brian Lee.

The city began receiving inquiries about establishing dispensaries and at least one business - Premium Care, 16900 Lakewood Blvd. - has been operating as one. According to a staff report, the city issued a June 16 permit to an "alternative healing" business that sold vitamins, garlic pills and other natural remedies. However, the business owner failed to mention the sale of medical marijuana. When the city found out, officials ordered the business to stop. The business, in turn, wrote the city Aug. 14 of its intention to operate as a "cannabis co-operative."

Premium Care will continue to do business, but it will not be able to sell marijuana, Lee said.

One person voiced opposition to the council's decision.

Darrell Kruse of Chino said he uses marijuana to alleviate chronic back pain. "I don't think you have a right to do an urgency ordinance barring an act that's been in existence for 10 years, but cities often do what they want," he said.

Bellflower joins neighboring cities such as La Mirada and Pico Rivera, where councils there imposed bans on medical marijuana dispensaries while an ordinance is in the works.

Karen Robes can be reached at karen.robes@presstelegram.com or (562) 499-1303.

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2 held after teen dies of gunshot

<span class=postbold>L.B.: Victim allegedly involved in burglary; his accomplice, gunman arrested. </span>

By Tomio Geron, Staff writer
The Long Beach Press-Telegram
Article Launched: 01/21/2007 09:57:11 PM PST


BELLFLOWER - A 15-year-old boy who was allegedly breaking into a backyard shed containing marijuana was shot to death Sunday morning, authorities said.

The boy was identified as Jacob Walker of Paramount, said Sgt. Diane Hecht of the Sheriff's Department Headquarters Bureau.

Detectives have arrested the homeowner and alleged gunman, Jerry Cress, 57, as well as Walker's alleged accomplice, Duane Berry, 24, of Paramount, on suspicion of murder.

Berry was arrested because the shooting happened during the commission of a felony, said Hecht.

Lt. Al Grotefend told KCAL9 that Cress has stage three liver cancer and a prescription for medical marijuana. Cress told Grotefend that he was growing 15 marijuana plants in his shed and alleged that the men were trying to steal them.

Lakewood sheriff's deputies responded to a 6:26 a.m. burglary call at a house on the 8500 block of Park Street near the Artesia (91) Freeway, said Deputy Anthony Moore.

Cress told arriving deputies he saw two black males breaking into a shed behind his home, Moore said.

Cress said he confronted the two men and saw that one of them was armed with a hammer, the deputy said.

Cress said he feared for his safety and shot three rounds at the men with a pellet gun, hitting one of them in the upper torso, Moore said.

The two men fled on foot, Cress said.

Walker, who was shot in the upper torso, turned up at a local hospital and later died of his injuries, Hecht said.

It is still not clear whether the pellet gun was actually the weapon that killed Walker, Hecht said.

Detectives believe Walker was one of the men involved in the burglary, Hecht said. Berry is believed to be Walker's brother, she added.

Berry was arrested on suspicion of murder because the shooting occurred while Berry and Walker were allegedly in the act of committing a felony burglary, Hecht said.

"When the partner, the person he's with, is murdered, you're considered culpable," Hecht said.

Both Berry and Cress are being held without bail at the Lakewood Sheriff's Station, Hecht said.

Detectives are continuing their investigation and the case will be turned over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office to determine what charges, if any, will be brought, Moore said.

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Teen killed by homeowner in LA area

KESQ
January 22, 2007


BELLFLOWER, Calif. A man with liver cancer growing medical marijuana behind his home in Bellflower was suspected of fatally shooting a 15-year old boy to death for allegedly trying to steal his plants.

Police say fifty-seven-year-old homeowner Jerry Cress claimed the victim and his older brother were trying to steal the marijuana he had growing in his shed. He also told police that one of them was armed with a hammer. He opened fire on them with a pellet gun and struck Jacob T Walker of Paramount.

The teen was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Cress, who is suffering from stage three liver cancer, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held without bail.

Police say the victim's 24-year-old brother, Duane Berry of Paramount, was also arrested on suspicion of murder because the death occurred during the commission of a felony crime. He says he told authorities they were just walking by Cress' home when they were attacked.

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Shooting Highlights Hazards of Growing Medical Marijuana

KNX 1070
January 22, 2007

LOS ANGELES, CA (CNS) -- Medical marijuana activists plan to demonstrate against recent federal raids at Los Angeles-area dispensaries, while sheriff's deputies investigate the death of a 15-year-old boy allegedly shot by a cancer patient while supposedly trying to steal some pot the man was growing in a shed behind his Bellflower home.

Jerry Cress, 57, who lives in the 8500 block of Park Street, told sheriff's deputies he confronted two young men on his property about 6:25 a.m. yesterday and shot at one who was carrying a hammer, according to deputies with the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.

Jacob T. Walker of Paramount later turned up at a hospital with an apparently fatal wound, and detectives tied him to the confrontation in Bellflower, deputies said.

Detectives then arrested Cress on suspicion of murder, along with Walker's brother or half-brother, 24-year-old Duane Berry, who allegedly had been with Walker when he was shot, deputies said. Under California law, accomplices to a crime can be charged with murder if someone dies while that crime is in progress.

Cress, who supposedly has Stage 3 liver cancer, had about 15 pot plants growing in the shed, KCAL reported, though sheriff's deputies would not confirm that. Cress apparently told deputies he fired at the trespasser with a pellet gun. Berry, however, told authorities he and his brother were simply walking by the shed when Cress shot at them, Channel 9 reported.

Neighbors told television station reporters that Cress, who has razor wire ringing his back yard, had complained about being burglarized before.

An autopsy on the boy is pending.

The shooting comes on the heels of Drug Enforcement Administration raids at 11 medical marijuana outlets. While California laws allows some people to grow and smoke pot, federal law prohibits marijuana use and cultivation for any purpose.

A demonstration organized by Oakland-based Americans for Safe Access is planned for noon outside the downtown federal building.

Jacob's mother Yolanda Rice told the Los Angeles Times she saw entry wounds in Jacob's right shoulder and his lower back.

''I just don't understand how somebody could shoot somebody, even if he thought somebody was on his property,'' she said.

Rice said her older son recently was released from jail and was charged with the alleged sale or furnishing of marijuana, the newspaper reported.

Cress and Berry, both of whom were denied bail pending arraignment, were booked at the sheriff's Lakewood Station.

Americans for Safe Access estimates that pot raids and prosecutions over the past 18 months have cost California taxpayers more than $9 million.

Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton recently issued a report to the Police Commission on guidelines for medical marijuana outlets in Los Angeles.

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Jan 22, 2007 1:44 pm US/Pacific

Demonstrators Protest Pot Dispensary Raids

<span class=postbold>Several Hundred Rally 1 Day After Teen Was Allegedly Killed For Stealing Marijuana</span>

<img src=/bin/icon_video.gif> <a href=http://www.cbs2.com/video/?id=32392@kcbs.dayport.com target=_blank>Homeowner Alleges Slain Teen Was After His Marijuana </a>


(CBS) LOS ANGELES A day after a teen was allegedly killed by a cancer patient who thought he was trying to steal his marijuana plants, demonstrators Monday protested recent federal raids of Los Angeles-area pot dispensaries.

Several hundred people rallied about noon outside the Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles, holding up signs with such sentiments as "Safe Access: It's the Law," and "The DEA is Stealing Cannabis."

As some passing motorists honked their horns in apparent support, demonstrators lined both sides of the street in the 200 block of East Temple Street -- some spilling into the roadway -- and shouted "safe access now!"

The demonstration, organized by Oakland-based Americans for Safe Access, took place a day after the death of a 15-year-old boy allegedly shot by a cancer patient while supposedly trying to steal some marijuana the man was growing in a shed behind his Bellflower home.

Jerry Cress, 57, who lives in the 8500 block of Park Street, told sheriff's deputies he confronted two young men on his property about 6:25 a.m. Sunday and shot at one who was carrying a hammer, according to deputies with the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.

Jacob T. Walker, of Paramount, later turned up at a hospital with an apparently fatal wound, and detectives tied him to the confrontation in Bellflower, deputies said.

Detectives then arrested Cress on suspicion of murder, along with Walker's brother or half-brother, 24-year-old Duane Berry, who allegedly had been with Walker when he was shot, deputies said.

Under California law, accomplices to a crime can be charged with murder if someone dies while that crime is in progress.

Cress, who supposedly has stage three liver cancer, had about 15 pot plants growing in the shed.

Cress apparently told deputies he fired at the trespasser with a pellet gun. Berry, however, told authorities he and his brother were simply walking by the shed when Cress shot at them.

Neighbors told television station reporters that Cress, who has razor wire ringing his back yard, had complained about being burglarized before. An autopsy on the boy is pending.

The shooting comes on the heels of Drug Enforcement Administration raids at 11 medical marijuana outlets. While California laws allows some people to grow and smoke pot, federal law prohibits marijuana use and cultivation for any
purpose.

Jacob's mother Yolanda Rice told the Los Angeles Times she saw entry wounds in Jacob's right shoulder and his lower back.

"I just don't understand how somebody could shoot somebody, even if he thought somebody was on his property," she said.

Rice said her older son recently was released from jail and was charged with the alleged sale or furnishing of marijuana, the newspaper reported.

Cress and Berry, both of whom were denied bail pending arraignment, were booked at the sheriff's Lakewood Station.

Americans for Safe Access estimates that pot raids and prosecutions over the past 18 months have cost California taxpayers more than $9 million.

Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton recently issued a report to the Police Commission on guidelines for medical marijuana outlets in Los Angeles.

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Man not charged in teen's slaying

<span class=postbold>Authorities need more time to probe the boy's shooting by a Bellflower man, who said the victim was trying to steal his medical marijuana.</span>

By Richard Winton, Times Staff Writer
The L.A. Times
January 24, 2007


Prosecutors have so far declined to file charges against a Bellflower man arrested on suspicion of murder in the weekend shooting death of a 15-year-old boy allegedly trying to steal marijuana plants grown for medicinal purposes.

Officials said more investigation is needed into the fatal shooting of Jacob Walker. Detectives arrested Jerry Cress, 57, in connection with the shooting outside his Park Street home before daybreak Sunday. Cress has told police that he grows marijuana to ease liver cancer pain and that the teenager and an adult accomplice were trying to steal the plants.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has yet to charge the alleged accomplice, Duane Berry, 24, Jacob's brother. Berry was arrested because the shooting occurred during the alleged commission of a felony burglary. He is unlikely to be released from custody, authorities said, because he faces a pending trial on unrelated drug charges.

"There will be no charges at this point, but it doesn't mean the case is closed," said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office. "We are referring the matter back for further investigation. We are also hoping witnesses come forward."

Sources familiar with the investigation said that other people might have been at the scene at the time of the shooting.

Jacob's autopsy was still pending, Robison said.

To file charges against Cress, prosecutors would need to show that he wasn't acting in self-defense and wasn't in reasonable fear for his life when he allegedly shot the teenager.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department homicide detectives said people in the neighborhood had tried to break into Cress' backyard shed before.

According to Sheriff's Capt. Ray Peavy, the brothers were trying to break into the shed about 6:30 a.m. Sunday when Cress came out, confronted the intruders and fired a gun. Accompanied by Berry, Jacob turned up a short time later at Lakewood Regional Medical Center in Lakewood, where he died.


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richard.winton@latimes.com