By Charlotte Wright, The Press-Tribune

NARC AGENTS RAID WRONG HOME -- ELDERLY ROSEVILLE COUPLE HANDCUFFED AND HELD CAPTIVE

ROSEVILLE - Septuagenarian Sandy Sanborn said the loud beating on his front door jolted him out of bed Thursday morning. As he reached the door, sheriff’s deputies kicked it in, yelling, "Warrant search!"

According to the 78-year-old Roseville resident, he landed on his backside, and then nine Placer County Sheriff’s deputies stormed into his Vine Avenue home. Sanborn told the Press-Tribune a deputy then pushed a gun and a warrant in his face, demanding he reveal the location of his pot-growing operation.

(Marijuananews note: Even if one is a prohibitionist, this kind of behavior on a raid looking for marijuana growing operation is inexcusable. First, there is no way that a grower could flush the plants down a toilet, the usual excuse used to justify bursting into "drug houses."
See
Florida Judge Says 15 Seconds Not Enough Time To Flush 2.8 Kilos of Marijuana Down the Drain
– And Dismisses Key West Medical Marijuana Case -- Marijuananews Special Report

Obviously, the police cannot be absolutely certain what they will find, but they should know whom they will find.

Consequently, the police behavior toward the elderly residents was truly inexcusable, even by the prohibitionists’ own standards, assuming that they have any.)

"They put me in handcuffs and shoved me in a chair," he said.

The other deputies rushed into his wife’s bedroom, where she lay asleep.

Grace Sanborn said she awoke to gun-wielding officers, who handcuffed her and then forced her into the living room with other handcuffed family members.

Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Hall confirmed that at 7:10 a.m. Thursday, narcotics agents burst into the Sanborn home with a warrant to search for a drug operation.

"Our investigation led to probable cause for officers to believe that there was in fact illegal marijuana cultivation occurring in the Roseville area," Hall said. "On that investigation, a legal search warrant was obtained from a judge. That morning, the warrant was executed However, the search failed to produce evidence of criminal activity. Therefore, no arrests were made."
See
Dead Plants Returned To California Cancer Patient Under Court Order In Placer County

Hall refused to make further comments about the raid. Roseville Police Department officials said while they did not participate in the raid, they knew it was happening.

The elder Sanborns said they felt violated and frightened as deputies broke doors into the kitchen, pantry, and other rooms, rather than unlocking them first.

Sandy Sanborn said he became outraged when they refused his family basic needs.

"They wouldn’t even let my son go to the bathroom," he said. "They held guns at us and kept demanding the location of our pot operation."

An emotionally distraught Grace Sanborn burst into tears as she recounted how she had to sit handcuffed and watch her elder children brought into the room, handcuffed, and placed on the floor.

"Here is this strange man with a gun pointed at my daughter," Sanborn said.

Grace Sanborn told The Press-Tribune it was surreal as it happened.

"I can not believe this is in my life," she said, as she threw up her hands and left the room in tears. "Do you know how it would feel? I cannot even talk about it."

After an exhaustive search netted nothing, Detective Ron Goodpaster apologized to the elder Sanborns.

"There is no reason for an apology," Sanborn said he responded. "You were doing your job."

Sanborn told The Press-Tribune he has been accused of wrongdoing before. As an assistant to Assemblyman Eugene Chappie during Gov. Ronald Reagan’s administration, Sanborn was working on a case that would have indicted an insurance company for fraud. The tables were turned, however, and Sanborn found himself charged with fraud. After five years in court, he was cleared of all charges, according to him.

"I have had a lot of fun with various law offices," Sanborn said.

He says he does not believe that the officers were wrong for searching his home. Yet, he believes that something went wrong in the legal process. He does not know who made the accusation against his son for cultivating marijuana.

He intends to investigate why the bust was made on his house.

This is going to end-up costing Placer County even more money.)
See
Evidence In Kubby Case Obtained Through Bedroom Surveillance;
Narcs Observed And Videotaped Kubbys Having Sex

Copyright: 1999 Placer Community Newspapers, Inc.

July 6, 1999

From The Auburn Journal
ElPatricio@aol.com
http://www.auburnjournal.com/
By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer

SUPERVISORS TO DISCUSS MARIJAUANA SUPPRESSION PROGRAM GRANT
See
Kubby Appeals To County Supervisors To Supervise Law Enforcement.

By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer

Sheriff Ed Bonner will ask the board today to approve a resolution authorizing his office to ask the Office of Criminal Justice Planning for a $206,000 Marijuana Suppression Program grant.

The grant, which has been awarded in previous years, provides funding for one deputy sheriff, overtime for five more deputies and a sergeant, and a 15 percent portion of costs for a deputy district attorney.

Placer County’s Marijuana Eradication Team implements the grant and related program. No cash match is required from the county.

(Marijuananews note: Well, they had better budget for the damages they will have to pay as a result of more incompetent raids and to hire more officers to do the real police work, etc.)

The department uses state and federal grants to search out illegal marijuana growing operations in the county. Since 1996, it has been using its own fleet of helicopters and planes to augment ground searches.