Santa Ana Medical Marijuana Grower is Victim and Suspect

After responding to an armed robbery Friday, Irvine Police indicated the city may shut down the victimized business: a medical marijuana dispensary.

After responding to a robbery in Santa Ana Monday in which the homeowner was beaten by two men, Orange County sheriff's deputies seized items from the victim: medical marijuana and cultivating equipment.

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A city official later told the Weekly, “Dispensaries are not
authorized in the City of Irvine because we do not issue licenses for
businesses that plan to operate in a way that is inconsistent with
state and federal law.”

The Sheriff's Department reportedly says the Santa Ana homeowner is now the
subject of a narcotics investigation, even though he showed deputies a
medical marijuana patient card and explained he was growing for his
local collective.

Just after 1 a.m. Monday, he heard a side door opening in his home in the 18000 block of Romelle
Avenue in unincorporated Santa Ana. Next thing he knew, two men were beating him with an unknown object.

They took cultivated cannabis and several electronic items before fleeing. The resident drove himself to the hospital for treatment, then called deputies Amormino said.

The resident then drove himself to a local hospital, where he was
treated for head injuries. He called deputies to report the robbery after being released. He explained he grew medical marijuana for a collective and delivered the medicine to patients.

While uniformed officers came to the home to investigate the robbery, narcotics officers began seizing the remaining plants and pieces of the sophisticated hydroponics growing system.

A sheriff's spokesman told the Orange County Register the investigators want to know if the marijuana was being distributed illegally.