Jump to content

Dea Raided This Woman's House After She Shopped At A Garden Store


Recommended Posts

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/12/dea-marijuana-garden-store_n_5128771.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

 

Angela Kirking never thought shopping for garden supplies would lead to agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration waking her up with guns drawn, but that's what happened last October.

"I bought a bottle of organic fertilizer, a 16-ounce bottle," said Kirking, a 46-year-old face-paint artist. "Three weeks later I was raided by DEA."

The DEA is refusing to answer questions about the law enforcement operation targeting an Illinois garden store that has netted Kirking and at least 10 other people. But Kirking and her lawyer contend it's a case of misplaced priorities and federal overreach. They're asking why the DEA is treating ordinary customers of a garden store selling hydroponic equipment as if they were major drug dealers.

The Oct. 11, 2013, raid on Kirking's house, first reported by Patch, involved four DEA agents and five Shorewood, Ill., police officers, according to a police report. Its alleged yield from Kirking's art room, whose entrance is guarded by beads: 9.3 grams of marijuana, or less than one-third of an ounce.

Now Kirking's defense lawyer, former Will County (Ill.) prosecutor Jeff Tomczak, is trying to have the search warrant and the two misdemeanor charges it produced thrown out.

Kirking's visit to the garden store, Midwest Hydroganics, was the predicate for the whole investigation of her, according to Tomczak. "100 percent nothing else," he said, calling that far too thin a thread on which to base a search warrant.

In the search warrant application, a Braidwood, Ill., police officer assigned to the DEA, Donn Kaminski, wrote that he had observed Kirking exit the garden store "carrying a green plastic bag containing unknown items." Kaminski stated he had "previously conducted numerous investigations that involved the surveillance of Midwest Hydroganics and persons purchasing items at Midwest Hydroganics, which has led to the arrest of suspects for production of cannabis sativa plants and production of cannabis."

 

A man answering the phone at the Midwest Hydroganics store declined to comment on the DEA operation.

Kaminski wrote that he then sifted through Kirking's household trash, detecting "a strong odor of green cannabis" in one plastic trash bag, and compared her home's electrical bill to that of her neighbors, finding that it was higher. Another officer conducted a field test on a green plant stem, which allegedly tested positive for marijuana. That was enough for a judge to sign a warrant.

An application for a search warrant for a different Midwest Hydroganics customer, Tomczak noted, stated that police had found no evidence of marijuana plant residue in the trash -- and suggested that was evidence a suspect was covering up his marijuana grow.

The result in Kirking's case was an early morning raid on her home.

"They were in full attack mode, came at me guns raised, flashlights. Just like you see in the movies," Kirking said. "I had to ask them for a warrant. I said, 'Who are you,' when they came in the bedroom. Somebody said, 'DEA.'"

A spokesman for the Will County State's Attorney described Kirking's case as just one among many resulting from surveillance of the store.

"There are 11 total cases based upon search warrants that were written and charged based upon this type of surveillance in Will County by the DEA," said Charles Pelkie, director of public affairs for the state's attorney's office. "Eleven of those cases are charged, eight have been prosecuted in Will County."

Kirking's alleged marijuana stash was paltry. But Pelkie said other searches have produced more serious amounts. The largest of these in Will County, he said, yielded 120 marijuana plants, 290,510 grams of cannabis and 178 Ecstasy pills. That raid has resulted in one person pleading guilty to a felony.

Pelkie said the Will County State's Attorney makes its decisions on charges when the DEA presents its evidence. He refused to comment on whether targeting a garden store was the best use of the agency's resources.

"With regard to how the DEA conducts its investigations, you really have to refer to them," said Pelkie.

But on that count the federal agency is not being helpful. Special Agent Owen Putman, spokesman for the DEA's Chicago Division, declined via email to comment on the operation targeting Midwest Hydroganics.

The Illinois law enforcement operation seems to follow the same pattern as a two-state operation out of Kansas City, Mo., that also involved the DEA. The effort dubbed "Operation Constant Gardener," led by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, also staked out hydroponic garden stores and eventually arrested 14 people. To maximize publicity, those raids happened on April 20 of 2011 and 2012 -- 4/20, also known as "Weed Day."

After the initial favorable headlines, however, the other side of Operation Constant Gardener came into focus: Innocent gardeners had been harassed, and garden stores saw diminished business.

In the Kansas City suburb of Leawood, Kan., law enforcement agents clad in bulletproof vests and carrying assault rifles raided the home of a couple and their two children. The parents turned out to be former CIA employees. Even after no marijuana was found, police allegedly suggested to Adlynn and Robert Harte that perhaps their 13-year-old son used marijuana.

"These folks have never used drugs at all. They have the cleanest backgrounds ever," said the couple's lawyer, Cheryl Pilate. "They used a SWAT team -- or a bunch of deputies dressed up like SWAT officers using SWAT tactics -- which was totally inappropriate."

Pilate said the couple's ordeal started after the husband went to the hydroponic garden store to buy supplies for an educational indoor vegetable garden he planted with his son. The Hartes are now suing for damages.

In many cases, Pilate argues, the police rely on inaccurate and unreliable field tests like those used to identify alleged traces of marijuana in suspects' trash. Her clients contend in their lawsuit that the supposed "marijuana" found in their trash was actually discarded tea leaves.

Pilate said police departments are quick to put out press releases when such raids turn up drugs or marijuana plants.

"What you hear about are the people who are charged. You generally don't hear about the people who aren't," said Pilate.

In Illinois, the Will County State's Attorney has so far not answered HuffPost's request for statistics on how many search warrants were executed as part of the Midwest Hydroganics investigation that did not result in prosecutions.

Kirking, the face-paint artist who faces two misdemeanor charges for the small amount of marijuana found in her home, is hopeful the judge in her case will throw out the warrant. She thinks the garden store operation should stop.

"You feel very violated. I mean extremely violated. My husband and I were in shock for days afterwards -- how did this happen?" she said. "It's sad that they are resorting to this method."

HuffPost Readers: Have you encountered problems after shopping at a hydroponic garden store? Contact Matt Sledge by emailing sledge@huffingtonpost.com.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The DEA needs to be disbanded.  How much has been wasted going after american citizens doing things for other american citizens?  They act like it's a war on drugs and they're prosecuting evil people but these people are just people getting things that other Americans want.  Who ever gave the government the right to act as our parents?  There should be laws against driving on drugs, stealing on drugs, killing on drugs, basically all the things we already have laws for.  So sick of people ruining other people's lives over nothing.  It's our gov't that let's it in, it's our people who want it and they'll get it with or without laws!

 

If the Gov't is supposed to take a parental role then why not make sure the drugs are pure and offer any help possible if your kid is going to take them whether you like it or not? Would ANY parent that's not brainwashed rather see their kid in jail than on drugs?  Esp. when they can get those same drugs IN JAIL?  No, they'd rather see their kids get help.  They have essentially created a permanent job as a brute squad going after USERS.  Whether they went into a hydro shop to get supplies to grow pot or not they never did the research to see if the person in question was SELLING or not.  If you can produce a drug in your home for yourself and don't drive on it or hurt anyone other than possibly yourself then where is the crime?  I don't see one and neither did they!  Brute squad!  You should see the tactics when you live in the country and they find a grow near your home(not mine).  8 hrs a day for 3 days rumbling the bolts out of my house because they can fly 50' over your house since they don't have to abide by the 300' rule.  The old guy across the street almost got into a fight with the marshall, after complaining they fly so low they wake him up from his naps, because the marshall told him they can do ANYTHING they want to. They were looking into the house next door and rutted up the yard since they had 6 agencies there for 20 some plants.  6 agencies!  They hold it under training for the helicopter pilots and coordinate 5-7 agencies over a pot grow.  They call it training so it won't be defunded and it's federal and they use the presence to stir up the community.  Low flying helicopters, quick presence of several agencies and slow riding and going on to people's properties without warrants, questioning neighbors, etc.  And the officers love it, they act like military against their own citizens.  And not one of them knows or cares about our rights(even thought they took an OATH to uphold them).  If your in the community it's found your an enemy!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To be expected in a state where cannabis is totally illegal. They look for people buying grow supplies then check your trash and power bill. We always had to be careful here too before we had legal growing. I often made sure I couldn't be easily identified or followed when I went to the hydro store.

Kaminski wrote that he then sifted through Kirking's household trash, detecting "a strong odor of green cannabis" in one plastic trash bag, and compared her home's electrical bill to that of her neighbors, finding that it was higher. Another officer conducted a field test on a green plant stem, which allegedly tested positive for marijuana. That was enough for a judge to sign a warrant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

when I was under ground before this law, I had way less to worry about than what growers have to worry about today, I purchased alot of my stuff thru high times, I got bulbs from a friend who worked in a ware house for electrical companys and even had bulbs for mdot for their street lights and I could get my hps and mh bulbs there also! we kept things to ourselves, we had good neighbors, and we did the best we could to make sure no one could smell the grow room, no one ever seen it but me and my partner!

 

We didnt get busted because we didnt do anything with any one we did not know for most of our live's, sure we made new contacts here and there, but they were screened better than any one that screens out people who do not fit in our circle!

 

Me personaly, I have shut my stuff down quite a few times when I would get word or a feeling I was not comfortable with! You cant have people in your chain doing things that we all agreed not to do, most important was doing things with people we did not know personaly or young people who would let it get into schools! to me that is one of the biggest no no's and would cause me to clean my grow room out like now, ive quit more times than I would like to remember,,,,But I totaly have no regrets, when I did stop it wasnt long that the reason I stopped for put a few bad links in the chain in prison, they would not follow rules and they went to jail, I did my best to not leave a foot print anywhere, and if I did, It was gonna sure as heck be hard if not impossible for leo to connect me to it!

 

Loose Lips Sink Ships!

 

Peace

Edited by phaquetoo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Privacy no longer exists. Hope you find that drone you like,Rest. They were built to monitor OTHER countries hot spots,but apparently you think we need them here. BTW....................................UP YERS BLM! Cattle ranchers won! And the Govt didn't have to kill anybody. The guy will pay his overdue grazing fees, now leave him alone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's logistically impossible for them to arrest everyone. They may pick a store from time to time to use as an example then spend for or five million to make an example out of a handful of people.

 

There seems to be a grow store on every corner lately in Michigan. They'd be hard pressed to supply manpower to watch them all.

 

If they did arrest all the customers, where would they put them?

 

I don't have figures but just theoretically;

Think about how many customers were in the store the last time you went. Multiply that by the number of hours the store is open and then multiply that by the number of stores in the state.

 

Now how many citizens would the DEA have to investigate and arrest?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't expect them to watch every grow store or investigate every customer.

 

but I would expect them to watch frequent/large purchasers AND profile customers, both of which I'd probably qualify for

 

besides, old habits (that have served you well) are hard to break (and probably shouldn't be anyway)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...