Politics & Government

Attorney for Marijuana Dispensary: Oak Tree is Open, City Has Acted Illegally

Oak Tree Alternative Care at 257 E. 6th St. was open for business Saturday, said Attorney Joseph Rhea of Palm Springs. "The business has operated illegally as a criminal enterprise," Beaumont police Chief Frank Coe said Sunday.

The owner of the Oak Tree Alternative Care marijuana dispensary in Beaumont and his attorney said Saturday the collective has re-opened for business.

Five people were arrested and five locations were searched last week in a multi-agency task force crackdown on Beaumont's only known marijuana dispensary.

Owner Art Day Moreno, one of those arrested June 21, invited reporters to Oak Tree Alternative on Saturday, but he declined to be interviewed.

Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Attorney Joseph Rhea of Palm Springs spoke for Moreno, and said the raid last week amounted to retaliation by the city of Beaumont for a lawsuit filed by Oak Tree Alternative. The lawsuit claims $600,000 in city fines imposed on Oak Tree Alternative were illegal.

"For two years the city of Beaumont's been collecting a thousand dollars a day," Rhea said Saturday. "It's over $600,000. And the collective has been paying it, a thousand dollars a day.

Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Now normally when a city wants to shut down a business or company that it thinks is operating illegally, it goes to court and it seeks an injunction, a court order that they then turn over to the police, and it becomes the basis for shuttering the building," Rhea said.

"And that doesn't make a difference whether you're operating a paint store or whatever it is," Rhea said. "Say you have a hardware store located in a residential neighborhood. The remedy for the city is to go seek an injunction and shut down the business.

"For two years they have not sought an injunction to shut down the collective," Rhea said, referring to Oak Tree Alternative.

"After they got sued a few weeks ago, for illegally collecting a thousand dollars a day, all of a sudden they're shutting down the collective," Rhea said. "It's organized and incorporated in California as a collective, and it's been here two years. . . .

"You know we're two blocks from city hall, and the city has suddenly discovered it after two years because they're getting sued," Rhea said. "And they've been collecting a thousand dollars a day, they haven't sought an injunction, nothing.

"They've just been sitting over there quietly taking their money and when they get called on the fact that they were illegally seizing this money, now they're unhappy," Rhea said. "And that's what this is all about. It's about the city being called on the illegal seizure of $600,000."

The searches and arrests last week were also unlawful, Rhea said.

"The city has a ban on marijuana collectives that is itself illegal," Rhea said. "They have not sought to enforce that ban in court for two years, and they haven't gone to get an injunction, which is just very puzzling.

"The city attorney again is two blocks from here, and for two years he hasn't sought an injunction," Rhea said. "Why? The only explanation for that is he liked getting a thousand dollars a day in cash. Now he's not getting his thousand dollars a day."

Beaumont City Attorney Joe Aklufi could not be reached to comment for this report.

Rhea said Oak Tree Alternative was open Saturday.

"It's wide open, it's accepting new patients, and it's open," Rhea said. "There's no marijuana in the building because of the raid. But this is a lawful dispensary and the dispensary's itention is to re-open."

When marijuana will be available is unclear, Rhea said.

Signs posted outside the dispensary Saturday stated "Thanks! For Using Taxpayers Money Wisely" and "Thank you Joe Aklufi."

The signs were posted as "political commentary on what happened," Rhea said.

Moreno, 39, of Yucaipa was arrested last Tuesday along with Nicole Ward, 19, of Beaumont; Jae Hoon John Sihn, 24, of Cherry Valley; Sara Lynn Mudd, 21, of Yucaipa; and Arlene Roseanna Soto, 21, of Beaumont.

Searches of five locations and the arrests concluded a seven-month investigation of Oak Tree Alternative Care at 257 E. 6th St., Brian Link, commander of the Allied Riverside Cities Narcotics Enforcement Team, said last week.

Investigators determined the business was operating outside the scope of California Senate Bill 420, known as the Medical Marijuana Program Act, and Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, Link said in a statement.

According to Link, searches occurred at Oak Tree Alternative, in the 39000 block of Grand Avenue in Cherry Valley, the 1000 block of Massachusetts Avenue in Beaumont, the 33000 block of Old Trail in Yucaipa, and the 33000 block of Yucaipa Boulevard in Yucaipa.

Two of the residential locations had illegal marijuana grows inside the homes, Link said. Seized during the searches were processed marijuana, hashish, business documents, and other evidence of illegal sales and use of marijuana, Link said.

All the arrested persons were charged with conspiracy and possession of marijuana for sales, Link said. They were booked at Larry Smith D. Correctional Facility in Banning, Link said.

Link is with the Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, Beaumont police Chief Frank Coe said.

Moreno, Ward, Sinh, and Soto were released Wednesday on $5,000 bail each, according to inmate records. Mudd was also released Wednesday, on unspecified bail.

Coe said Sunday the searches and arrests were justified.

"The business has operated illegally as a criminal enterprise under the guise of a collective and after a criminal investigation a judge authorized a search warrant in support of our efforts to obtain evidence to support the prosecution of those involved," Coe said.

"If the owner's attorney believes that he can defend their operation, he will do so in court and the city will support a jury's decision. Until that time we will continue to stand by our position that a business that provides marijuana for profit is a criminal enterprise in violation of both Federal and State laws."

The Beaumont city council adopted a local ordinance March 1 to ban medical marijuana dispensaries or to regulate them if a ban is ruled unlawful.

If courts determine a ban is unconstitutional, the ordinance would allow the city to regulate the establishment of collectives and cooperatives, according to city staff and a draft of the ordinance.

The council voted 4-1 to adopt the ordinance to prohibit establishment and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries. No one commented during a public hearing preceding the council vote.

"These dispensaries, they're illegal," Coe told the council. "Everything about them is illegal."

At the time, Oak Tree Alternative Care was the only marijuana dispensary known by city officials to be operating in Beaumont, city spokeswoman Darci Mulvihill said.

"Oak Tree opened illegally in violation of the City’s moratorium on marijuana dispensaries and zoning," Mulvihill said. "It's currently operating without a planning and zoning permit and a business license. Oak Tree is being fined $1,000 a day."

Mulvihill said she was not sure when Oak Tree opened, but the city started fining the business on Aug. 12, 2009.

Banning-Beaumont Patch contacted Oak Tree management in late February, before the council voted on the local ordinance, seeking an interview. No one from Oak Tree contacted B-B Patch until Friday, June 24, after news reports about the searches and arrests.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here