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Elected Official Appeals Federal Judge's Decision, Claims Medical Marijuana Harassment


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THETFORD TWP, MI -- A Thetford Township trustee is appealing a federal judge's decision, claiming that a township building inspector and police illegally searched his house after they suspected he possessed marijuana.

Eric Gunnels, whose lawsuit against Thetford Township officials was dismissed by in Detroit by Senior U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen in September, says that the police officers unlawfully obtained a search warrant for his house. He said they cited a building permit issue when they really had suspicions about his possession of medical marijuana.

His appeal focuses on the State of Michigan's building inspection statute, calling it "unconstitutional."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It violates my rights as a citizen, and cuts to the very core of our constitutional rights - particularly the Fourth Amendment, the right to be a secure person in possession," said Gunnels. He alleges township officials violated his rights when they searched his property in 2014.

"I am standing for the residents of Thetford Township against the pre-crime police state mentality," he said.

 

Attorney G. Gus Morris, who represents the four officers and building inspector involved in the suit, claims the search was legal because Gunnels was allegedly renovating the house without a building permit. He said the appeal of the federal judge's decision is "just ludicrous" and "burning taxpayer money of the people he serves" by continuing to press the case.

"Judge Rosen is highly respected and gave a well-reasoned opinion," said Morris. "Why didn't (Gunnels) just pull a permit? There were clearly construction materials outside (the building), and police found all kinds of construction going on inside."

Morris denied the search was in any way connected to marijuana.

The lawsuit claims Gunnels, who purchased the 14007 N. Lewis Road property in December 2013, was removing snow from his driveway Feb. 12, 2014, when he was approached by township building inspector Stuart Worthing, who demanded to search the property. Gunnels, 36, denied him access.

Judge Rosen's opinion dismissing the suit said Worthing had been in contact with Gunnels for a month before the encounter in attempts to inspect the building after he heard that construction was underway. According to the opinion, Gunnels told Rosen the work he was doing didn't require a permit as it was "just cosmetic stuff."

The lawsuit claims Worthing left, but soon returned with a Thetford Township police officer. He again demanded to search the property, but Gunnels refused, and the officer parked his car outside the property and observed him after Worthing left.

The lawsuit claims the officer read Gunnels a text message the officer received that stated Gunnels was "being harassed because 'they suspect marijuana,'" according to the lawsuit.

Gunnels has been an outspoken supporter of marijuana law reform, including speaking on a panel at High Times magazine's Cannabis Cup at Auto City Speedway in 2015.

More police officers, including Chief Robert Kenny, arrived at the home later that evening and demanded to search the home, and again, Gunnels  denied the officers access, the lawsuit says.

The suit also claims officers held Gunnels at his property for three hours while they obtained a warrant to search the home.

After officers obtained the warrant and searched the home - including opening doors inside the building that had been screwed shut - Morris said they discovered evidence of unpermitted construction in the home, including plumbing, mechanical and electric materials. They also found a jar of marijuana, which Gunnels said was legally obtained for medical purposes, and it was not seized by officers.

No criminal charges related to the marijuana were ever filed, and Morris said it was ignored by the officers.

Gunnels, who worked as a construction foreman, was cited for the construction items. The lawsuit claims the citations were falsified, and authorities violated his Fourth Amendment rights by searching the home.

"As a resident, I feel like I was accosted in my own home," said Gunnels. He was recently re-elected to his second term on the township board. "But as an elected official, I look at it as a serious policy issue. You can't procure a criminal warrant for an administrative search."

Gunnels says he has still not filed a building permit for the property and is living elsewhere in the township.

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, is scheduled to hear the appeal in the spring of 2017.

 

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2016/12/elected_official_appeals_feder.html

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