*See the end of the post for an update on today's court hearing and photos of today's protest.
Original Post, Nov. 13, 12:52 p.m.: Joe Grumbine, the medical marijuana activist (and OC Weekly cover story subject) who was charged and convicted of selling pot in Long Beach last year only to have his case thrown out because of judicial misconduct, was arrested this morning.
According to other activists with Grumbine's medical marijuana courtroom-support group The Human Solution, Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies arrested Grumbine when he appeared in court for a scheduling hearing on his new criminal case. They cited a traffic stop that occurred near his house in Riverside County a few months ago, in which Grumbine was found to be carrying marijuana.
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Details on that incident remain sketchy, although supporters claim the amount of marijuana was legal under state law. However, apparently this violated the terms of Grumbine's bail, because the judge rejected his current bail, increased it to $250,000—more than the county recommends for child molesters, kidnappers and rapists, activist Cheri Sicard points out–and remanded him into custody.
The next hearing in Grumbine's case is scheduled for November 27.
“Please mark your calendars,” Sicard writes in a Facebook alert. “We need to PACK that courtroom.”
Stay tuned for updates as more details emerge.
Updated, Nov. 27, 2:10 p.m. Two weeks after being arrested at his last hearing, Joe Grumbine remains behind bars. A small group of supporters gathered in front of the Long Beach courthouse shortly before his hearing this morning, and then watched as prosecutors argued that they needed more time to determine that the $250,000 bond that was secured for Grumbine's bail was not from drug money. (Grumbine's supporters claim the amount was in fact raised by a wealthy donor who put his Newport Beach mansion up as collateral).
Grumbine “looked ragged in court and wasn't cheerful like [the] last two bail hearings because he knew he wasn't getting out,” said one supporter. “I think they are trying to punish Joe hard enough to make him cop a plea to avoid a very embarrassing second trial. Hopefully he will outlast the bastards.”
Grumbine's next court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11.
Here are some photos of today's protest courtesy of Larry King.
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Award-winning investigative journalist Nick Schou is Editor of OC Weekly. He is the author of Kill the Messenger: How the CIA’s Crack Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb (Nation Books 2006), which provided the basis for the 2014 Focus Features release starring Jeremy Renner and the L.A. Times-bestseller Orange Sunshine: The Brotherhood of Eternal Love’s Quest to bring Peace, Love and Acid to the World, (Thomas Dunne 2009). He is also the author of The Weed Runners (2013) and Spooked: How the CIA Manipulates the Media and Hoodwinks Hollywood (2016).
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