Port Huron Township Couple Consider Suing County In Marijuana Case

[bobandtorey]

A Port Huron Township couple whose marijuana charges were dismissed last month is considering civil action against the county.

Marijuana charges against Dale and Annette Shattuck were dismissed in late February by Circuit Judge Daniel Kelly, about a year and a half after the couple’s home, business and grow barn were raided.

In early March, TVs, laptops, iPads, phones, paperwork, guns, a lawn mower, and vehicles were returned to the family of six.

But a safe was returned without a key, a phone was damaged, vehicles had to be jumped after 19 months of storage, and several electronics were missing cords or controllers.

In the 19 months since their arrest, the Shattucks had to borrow money while their bank accounts were frozen, they were barred from volunteering at their children’s schools and, Annette Shattuck said, her children will always remember the July 2014 raid on their home.

“I and my family would have never in a million years thought this could happen if it didn’t happen to us,” Annette Shattuck said.

“… Reform needs to happen. Change needs to happen.”

The Shattucks’ lawyer, Michael Komorn, agreed.

 

http://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/local/port-huron-township/2016/04/04/port-huron-township-couple-consider-suing-county-marijuana-case/82483392/

“I don’t think that people who would look at this case would say it’s fair that a child had to go through that,” Komorn said.

The trouble started when the Shattucks opened a compassion center, DNA Alternative Wellness Clinic, after receiving approvals from Kimball Township in March and May 2014 for the business. The couple also contacted the St. Clair County Drug Task Force, asking the agency to perform an inspection of the facility.

The St. Clair County Drug Task Force raided the Shattucks’ marijuana dispensary, home and grow barn on July 28, 2014. The couple was charged five months later with possession with intent to deliver and manufacture marijuana and maintaining a drug house.

Kelly dismissed the charges Feb. 19, stating the Shattucks’ charges constituted entrapment by estoppel — in other words, defendants can’t be prosecuted when they reasonably relied on government approvals for their operation.

“… There is nothing that would alert a reasonable citizen that Kimball Township’s representation was erroneous,” Kelly wrote in his opinion.

“Further, it stands to reason that Defendants would not have called (Drug Task Force) and invited law enforcement to their compassion center for an inspection unless Defendants believed in good faith that DNA Alternative Wellness Center was properly licensed and operating within the law.”

About 10 days after Kelly issued his opinion, the civil forfeiture case against the couple also was dismissed.

But the couple maintains the return of their items is neither complete nor capable of making things right.

Annette Shattuck said seized paperwork is missing, electronics were returned broken and cords were missing from other devices.She said the home was left in disarray after the search.

The Shattucks still are unable to volunteer at their children’s school. They had to borrow money while theirs was tied up in the civil forfeiture process. And the couple’s credit scores, auto insurance costs and reputations are still suffering.

Besides damage to personal property, Komorn said, the emotional trauma inflicted on the Shattuck children during the raid and the time the family went without a large portion of their possessions can’t be remedied easily.

The Shattucks’ four children were with their grandmother at their Port Huron Township home when Drug Task Force members raided the home in tactical gear.

The Shattucks maintain Drug Task Force members pointed their guns at the children when they were in the home, but St. Clair County Sheriff Tim Donnellon takes issue with the claim.

“Those kids were rounded up and sat on the couch,” Donnellon said.

“We do not aim guns in the faces of children. Those deputies are parents, too.”

Donnellon, who worked on the Drug Task Force for several years prior to becoming sheriff, said the dynamic entry in tactical gear is made to protect both law enforcement and those inside the home.

"You’re going to always go in there to your advantage tactically so your deputies come home at the end of the day," Donnellon said.

“...It’s very easy to armchair quarterback what the Drug Task Force does. That is the most difficult job in law enforcement in St. Clair County and the most dangerous.”

Annette Shattuck said she observed a similar dynamic entry when the Drug Task Force raided the Shattucks' Kimball Township compassion center shortly before entering her home. She said she has little reason to question her children’s perception of the entry.

“I am shocked that Sheriff Donnellon has made any comments about the forced entry considering he wasn’t here,” Annette Shattuck said.

“When my children tell me a gun was pointed at them that seems very believable because I’ve witnessed a dynamic entry ... they dynamically entered the home knowing the possibility there were children in there was extraordinarily high.”

Donnellon said the search of the home was performed with a valid search warrant, but he said he understands and respects Kelly’s decision on the case.

"We acted within our legal boundaries with good faith with a valid search warrant," Donnellon said.

Donnellon said the Shattucks should alert the sheriff department of any missing or damaged property.

“If she is missing something, we will track it down,” Donnellon said.

Annette Shattuck said she and her attorney were working to recover the missing items.

“Do I have much faith we’ll get it back? No,” she said.

“… My opinion — they take all this property with absolutely no intention of giving it back.”

St. Clair County Prosecutor Mike Wendling said he felt the investigation and prosecution were handled appropriately.

He said the complications with the case are a reflection of the changing interpretations of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.

“The statute is so difficult to implement that we’re left with kind of a moving target,” Wendling said.

“The clarity we get is usually after a case is initiated and it leads to a case like this. You get new issues and new situations that no one anticipated occurring.”

Both Donnellon and Wendling said the case won’t stop them from investigating violations of the medical marijuana act. But they also don’t expect those cases to get any easier.

“Michigan has a lot of work to do to decide how we’re going to deal with medical marijuana and marijuana in general,” Wendling said.

“We’re going to continue to enforce the statutes on the books to the best of our ability; they just keep changing the books as we go.”

Komorn said the case is unsettling, “the idea that the government is breaking into people’s homes and taking their property without a conviction.

“I’m reinvigorated by the ruling of the court … but this is not how our system of justice is supposed to be.”

Komorn said he believes the continued scrutiny of medical marijuana cases is due in part to a lack of education about the medical marijuana act.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen this happen a lot,” Komorn said.

“This is not unique to just St. Clair County. My practice has exposed me to other cases as well.”

[trichcycler]

 what kind of parent takes a job sneaking into sleeping family homes at night masked with laser weapons to steal and destroy in the name of flowers? to ruin family lives? to permanently affect the children for life?  steal dildo's? shoot family pets?   in the name of some peaceful pot smoking? really?  seems misaligned to me, in these days of cannabis cures and treatments, big pharma cannabis production, etc. 

 

Are they still afraid we're spreading communism or something ? 

 

 

the dna sign is still hanging !

[t-pain]

dont forget grass, those police force members are "fathers too"... yeah, so were most of the facists in history.

[Pain]

 what kind of parent takes a job sneaking into sleeping family homes at night masked with laser weapons to steal and destroy in the name of flowers? to ruin family lives? to permanently affect the children for life?  steal dildo's? shoot family pets?   in the name of some peaceful pot smoking? really?  seems misaligned to me, in these days of cannabis cures and treatments, big pharma cannabis production, etc. 

 

Are they still afraid we're spreading communism or something ? 

 

 

the dna sign is still hanging !

Jackboots!!!

[phaquetoo]

When a mother and father decide to open a business in the mm industry, I would think they would think of their children and what can and has been happening to people all over this state, yea I know they got all of their permits, etc,  That has not stopped law enforcment from breaking down doors, shooting pets, scaring the bajesus out of kids!  Take every thing you own!

 

I dont think they are bad parents, but they are the ones that put their children in a position for this to happen, why should the tax payers have to pay them for something they chose to do, with children they are raising!

 

I dont agree with any of the seizures and warrants, none of us do,,,,,but how many people have had this same thing happen to them, Im not opening a store front, or a big grow for profit with young kids at home,  I beleive they should get all of their belongings back and if some are broken the should be paid to purchase new, but thats about it!

 

I know im gonna get beached at, I just wouldnt do that, It took me a few yrs before I even considered growing under 12 plants legaly in our home, when my pt, the legal mother wanted me to grow for her, it took over a yr to talk me into it,  and the only thought was getting caught with kids living in the home, and the kids telling others it was happening, The kids could have brought leo in on me,  That is only my opinion and I dont expect people to think the same as I do!

 

Peace

 

Be careful out their growers!

[trichcycler]

I don't think they were trying to get away with anything. They were heroes among their friends and associates. Brave and doing it by the book. they were set up in my opinion from the start.  They asked police and other officials all about it, did their homework and read all the same news we do. They hear and see that other dispensaries are doing it wrong, selling to uncarded people or whatever. They come up with a solid biz plan and present it to authorities, open their doors to police, and they all say "It's a Go!!!   Once you know the costs of even going about setting this thing up you can see they were the real deal and wanted to do this correctly, and in fact were rewarded for doing so, until they were not, I think the day before they opened? (could be wrong about that though)  There is room for a dispensary some cities say, and some cities don't break their doors down. Why not Kimbal Township, only fifteen minutes from a giant indoor multi greenhouse cannabis "compassion club" that grows and sells, has been for years and years. last owner fugged it up, next owner locals love. go figure.

[trichcycler]

maybe just in time for a retired police officer to purchase the DNA signage at a discount.

[bobandtorey]

The City's given the people the go ahead to open may not know the whole story

 

 

The dispensary in Macomb County that got raided was under digase as being a medical supply store the News paper said

 

So I'm not sure if the owners are tell the City's that they our going to be selling Marihuana to every Card holder that comes into the story

 

I don't think the City's would give out any permits for that ?

[bobandtorey]

When a mother and father decide to open a business in the mm industry, I would think they would think of their children and what can and has been happening to people all over this state, yea I know they got all of their permits, etc, That has not stopped law enforcment from breaking down doors, shooting pets, scaring the bajesus out of kids! Take every thing you own!

 

I dont think they are bad parents, but they are the ones that put their children in a position for this to happen, why should the tax payers have to pay them for something they chose to do, with children they are raising!

 

I dont agree with any of the seizures and warrants, none of us do,,,,,but how many people have had this same thing happen to them, Im not opening a store front, or a big grow for profit with young kids at home, I beleive they should get all of their belongings back and if some are broken the should be paid to purchase new, but thats about it!

 

I know im gonna get beached at, I just wouldnt do that, It took me a few yrs before I even considered growing under 12 plants legaly in our home, when my pt, the legal mother wanted me to grow for her, it took over a yr to talk me into it, and the only thought was getting caught with kids living in the home, and the kids telling others it was happening, The kids could have brought leo in on me, That is only my opinion and I dont expect people to think the same as I do!

 

Peace

 

Be careful out their growers!

 

 

 

I can understand how you feel Jim and although I can't tell people how to rais their own children

 

I know of one that has their Kid working at one and she must have some new best friends in high School Working at her Moms new dispensary

[phaquetoo]

I can understand how you feel Jim and although I can't tell people how to rais their own children

 

I know of one that has their Kid working at one and she must have some new best friends in high School Working at her Moms new dispensary

I didnt judge them or say how to raise their children!

 

They want to sue for damages, including scarring the kids for life! Yea I totaly beleive it happened!

 

They would have to have been living under a rock, while going about to do the necisarry legal way to run their biz!

 

This stuff isnt new!  Im saying they Knew of the chances, they had to have read or heard of other court cases,  while trying to be the only people in MI to pull it off Legaly! 

 

They are as much at fault, than the hit squad that raided their home,  while the kids were there. (it totaly sucks)

 

People need to take their blinders off while venturing into a legal mm business!

 

I feel for all of the people being arrested, for helping other's while trying to make a living!  Im all about free enterprise lol!

 

Im just gonna stick to what I know legal or not!

 

Peace