Home Invaders May Pose As Police

[Rocky Balboa]

Mendocino County law authorities have uncovered physical evidence that some marijuana-seeking home-invasion robbers are using law enforcement gear to impersonate police.

A security badge, bullet-resistant vests and baseball-type caps lettered with "Police" and "Narcotics" were discovered during a drug-related search Thursday of a modular home set amid vineyards southeast of Ukiah, law officials said.

Police have heard unconfirmed stories that robbers have been impersonating police while conducting home invasion robberies to steal marijuana and money, said Mendocino County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Rusty Noe.

"Most go unreported because they're ( illegal ) dope growers," said Bob Nishiyama, commander of the Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force.

Victims who are in the country illegally also are afraid to report such crimes, officials said.

Two residents of the home, Juan Carlos Garcia Arringuin and Veronica Sandoval Vega, both 35, were arrested Thursday on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine and marijuana for sale and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Their two young sons were retrieved from school and taken into custody by child protective services, said Nishiyama.

A third suspect staying at the home is being sought, he said.

Investigators had not determined whether those living in the Ruddick-Cunningham Road home had been involved in a robbery or whether the police gear was left behind by a man who had once stayed at the home, said Sheriff's Sgt. Greg Van Patten.

Seized at the home were about 2 pounds of processed marijuana; an estimated 10 pounds of unprocessed marijuana; a quarter ounce of methamphetamine; and a rifle, Nishiyama said.

The law enforcement equipment included handcuffs, black pants and vests that can be fitted with bullet-resistent panels. Most of the items can be purchased online or from stores or catalogs specializing in security supplies, Noe said.

The equipment could belong to a man who had previously stayed at the suspects' home, Gary Robert Villa, 26, who recently was arrested on suspicion of participating in a December home invasion robbery on Cow Mountain, Van Patten said.

The victim of that robbery reported Villa was wearing body armor when he and an accomplice made off with 3 pounds of marijuana following an exchange of gunfire.

Search warrants served in the Ukiah area in connection with Villa's arrest turned up a bullet-resistant vest with the same serial number as one seized in Thursday's raid, Van Patten said.

At least two other home invasion robberies in which the robbers reportedly identified themselves as law enforcement officers were reported in Boonville last year, officials said.

They believe the actual number may approach 20. No suspects have been arrested in those cases.

The police impersonations are of grave concern to law enforcement officials.

They are not only a danger to victims, they're also a danger to law enforcement, Noe said.

"If we're doing our job and we're on a legitimate raid, how are ( pot growers ) going to know we're not a robber?" he asked.

"It doubles our risk," Noe said. "I'm very concerned."

Source: Press Democrat, The
Author: Glenda Anderson, The Press Democrat
Copyright: 2008 The Press Democrat
Website: Santa Rosa Press Democrat

[sicntired]

They were probably just off duty.Cops have been taking off drug dealers for ever.There's all those informants to pay and there's nothing like a real good bong hit before you hit the door.Then there's all that cash just waiting for a new owner.Dressed as cops.You betcha!

[Herb Fellow]

I don't care who they are; I'd be totally pissed. Growers put a lot of care in their plants, not for some capitalist home invader to rip them up by the roots.

[alienpornopot]

two weeks ago a man in my community was home invaded. he is a sixty two year old artist who also grew a little weed. the perps arrived at about 1030pm and rousted him out of bed. there were four of them dressed in black all wearing balaclavas . they claimed to be cops at first but when he challenged them they beat and bound him. they beat his feet with a cane asking were the money was. he refused to cooperate. he cracked three hours later when they took a razor to his feet. the bastards made off with $150 grand of this mans hard labours and left a genuinly decent person in fear for his life. he doesn't know what to do as he grows for a living and really wishes to avoid the police. i told him to go to the cops anyways .

[Boss]

Never tell anyone.

[alienpornopot]

yeah. especially if you intend to go comercial. when i was involved , it was on a "need to know" basis: my live in girlfriend , the kid that did all the lackey shit, the dog. thats about it. the guy i sold it to thought it came from a nice little vietnamese chap who lived down the way.

[Midwestsmoker]

I guess that could be considered grounds for not cooperating with the pigs when they come to do a seizure. You can say that you're not sure if it was cops or thieves. This is just another good reason to decriminalize mj. It's proof positive that having to be underground causes more crime.

[obiwannatokie]

I like how when the Feds steal money and property from a legal buisness in California it is called a seizure but when a civilian does it, it is called robbery!

[Herb Fellow]

Never get the police involved. The last thing you want is for them to know your name.

[sicntired]

I have to agree with the don't ask don't tell crowd.Nothing good would come of calling the police.The guy is either going to have to move or find a new line of work.Letting the cops know would just put him out of business no matter where he goes.Once they are aware of your proclivity to grow,they'll be all over you.The last guy that I know that reported a rip wound up as a paid informant as the cops wouldn't leave him be.You can do whatever you want if you just turn in every one you ever meet.I hate rats.

[Racefan]

I grew up in the town this story is based in. I know very well where Ruddick-Cunningham road is as well. I was even there (in this town) yesterday and today visiting friends and family. It doesn't surprise me that things like this are happening in this town. There are more gangs in this small town of 16,000 than in my new home town of 100,000. It used to be we could leave or doors unlocked and not worry about who was dong what. Now one has to watch everything and lock up anything of any value including oneself. The world has been changing for the worse for years. Trust is just a word now a days.
I agree that the less officials who know ones business the better. Especially cops.

[alienpornopot]

i live in canada...we have national police . they function much like your F.B.I. except much more efficiant. the local constable is a member of the community and as such he knows pretty much everything (he's very charming and there isn't much the old girls won't tell). pot here is in a quasi legal state . unless you are directly informed on by more than one person, they will not come. when they do , they simply remove the plant matter and leave all your stuff. usually , no charges are laid. four years ago my x and her mother and my x-grow partner rolled on me. the cops came to check out my property without a warrant. they never entered a building and they knew we were out as we were talking to another officer at the time about my girlfriends truck being in the river. later this same cop pulled me over about 100km from home(the hotsprings) and asked if he could speak to me on the bumper of my truck(police jargon for "off the record"). i agreed. he told me it was his belief that i was opperating a sizable grow show on my property. i told him that as i was talking to a law officer about it ; i was done. this was good enough for him . he never came by . granted , i now run a legit business. but up till now ... pot growing is not a crime. home invasion and torture are . i believe torture carries a 25 year sentence. thats the problem, you see. if pot was legal there would be no question as to who was breaking the law. as a strawberry farmer who gets home invaded, should i take the law into my own hands? pot attracts criminally minded people because it is lucrative and illegal. criminals are usually not farm types . farm types are usually not criminals. we farmers aren't busy stealing cars. so, you criminals shouldn't be busy growing pot. and as for my name , the cops already know it . it's stephen.

[sicntired]

I read Steven's letter twice because I thought I must be missing something.I'm not clear on what exactly his point is but if he's suggesting a switch to strawberries it's not much help.Sure it's better not to be a criminal.Pot should and will be legal one day and then we won't have this problem any more.Until then,don't give the police any information at all.And how did you get the idea that the FBI were less competent than the clowns at the RCMP?They're even stealing from each other.When they're not killing people in lockup.

[alienpornopot]

my point is this: people who commit home invasions where they bind and torture someone after posing as cops have broken several laws as well as moral violations beyond belief. these people are criminal and should be treated as such and should be charged and punished to the full extent of the law. that is why we have a law.

[alienpornopot]

would you suggest he hire thugs to go waste these people? or pehaps move away from his community that he has loved for decades? the unfortunate part about this is , like many of us , he is afraid to act ; whatever that action might be . i'm sure i'll see a for-sale sign on his place by spring. i'm just a simple farmer . not an outlaw or someone who is afraid of the police . i just believe that pot laws are wrong and outdated . they hail from an era almost as repressed as the post 911 one we are in.