California, Woodland

[palmspringsbum]

Harris arrested on old warrant

<span class=postbigbold>The City Council candidate has had a long history of legal problems.
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The Daily Democrat
By LUKE GIANNI
Article Created: 03/20/2008 10:48:08 AM PDT


City Council candidate Robert "Bobby" Harris was arrested Wednesday afternoon by Woodland police detectives on a drug-related felony bench warrant.

Details were sketchy, but officials at the Monroe Detention Center confirmed Harris was brought in on a 13-year-old probation violation bench warrant stemming from an unlawful marijuana cultivation charge.

Jail officials confirmed Harris had posted bail around 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Officials at the Woodland Police Department confirmed Harris had been arrested around 3:30 p.m.; however, no one at the department was available to provide official details as of Wednesday evening.

Yesterday's arrest marks one in a series of drug-related legal struggles for Harris, 56, whose first city council run was cut short in 1990 after police seized more than 20 marijuana plants from his Walnut Street home.

Harris challenged that arrest in federal court and lost both his case and his house after the state seized it under the authority of California drug laws. He eventually pleaded no contest to the charges.

Harris was placed on probation after an unsuccessful appeal in 1992 - the same year he lost his second bid for a city council seat.

Harris then left the Woodland area and reappeared in Arcata in 1996 as an advocate for California Prop. 215, a ballot measure that amended state law to decriminalize marijuana possession and cultivation for medical use.

Harris registered again on the Yolo County radar in 2007, after two of his associates were arrested in Woodland for transporting more than 9 pounds of marijuana on his behalf during his move back to the city.

Harris could not be reached for comment as of Wednesday night.

As for his City Council run, Yolo County Clerk Freddie Oakley said the arrest in and of itself will not eliminate Harris from the ballot.

"He can remain on the ballot until he is convicted of a felony," Oakley said. "At that point, his voter registration is revoked and he can no longer run."

- Staff writer Lizeth Cazares contributed to this report.

[palmspringsbum]

I know just how he feels.

Harris decries arrest

<span class=postbigbold>City Council candidate says political motives are at work
</span>
The Daily Democrat
By LUKE GIANNI
Article Created: 03/22/2008 08:51:42 AM PDT


Woodland City Council candidate Robert "Bobby" Harris vowed to fight the charges behind his Wednesday arrest, which he said was unnecessary and politically motivated.

Harris was arrested by Woodland police Wednesday on a 13-year-old arrest warrant for a probation violation charge, stemming from an unlawful marijuana cultivation case against him in 1990.

Harris, 56, was running for Woodland City Council in February 1990 when police stormed his Walnut Street home and seized more than 20 marijuana plants in his basement.

The arrest came after Yolo County Narcotics Enforcement Team agents, acting on a informant's tip, examined Harris' utility bills and found he was using significantly more electricity relative to his neighbors.

Based on this evidence, police secured a search warrant for his house and arrested Harris on illegal marijuana cultivation charges.

Harris was placed on probation after an unsuccessful appeal in 1992 - the same year he lost his second bid for a city council seat.

Harris pleaded no contest to the single cultivation charge and was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay $1,425 in fines.

However, Harris never paid the fine and a bench warrant was issued in 1995 for his arrest - the same warrant police got him on Wednesday.

Harris sued the City of Woodland in 1994 and a host of other law enforcement agencies and officials in federal court for civil rights violations, stemming from his initial arrest.

"It was spurious from the outset," Harris said. "That PG&E thing was a complete hoax."

However, around that same time, the county initiated a civil suit against Harris and seized his home and, with it, his sole resource to fund his litigation.

Short on funds, homeless and "stone-walled" by a vigorous defense, Harris said he was forced to abandon his claim.

"I was economically executed," Harris said. "Your rights go as far as your pocketbook."

Harris then left the Woodland area and reappeared in Arcata as key advocate for California Prop. 215, a ballot measure that amended state law to decriminalize marijuana possession and cultivation for medical use, which passed in 1996.

Harris registered again on the Yolo County radar in 2007, after two of his associates were arrested in Woodland for transporting more than 9 pounds of marijuana on his behalf during his move back to the city.

Harris, who made bail Wednesday, said he doesn't plan on paying the county.

"I am drooling to litigate this case," Harris said. "They drove me into the ground. I am not going to give them one penny on this fine."