March 22--Steve Smith, 57, and his wife Rita Smith, 54, of Ahwahnee were arrested Friday, March 16 at Heaven Scent Organics Collective, a medical marijuana collective in Oakhurst off Highway 41 behind McDonalds. According to the Madera County Sheriff's Department, both Steve and Rita Smith are accused of resisting arrest and assault on a peace officer.
According to reports, Madera County Environmental Health inspectors were in Oakhurst conducting routine health and safety checks on area businesses that sell food when they went to the collective.
When they tried to carry out their inspection inside Heaven Scent, the report stated that the Smiths tried to force the door shut to prevent health inspectors from entering the establishment.
A deputy assisting environmental health inspectors tried to keep the door open but said the Smiths came charging at them. When deputies tried to detain the suspects, Rita reportedly kicked one of the deputies.
Initially there were two sheriff vehicles at the collective but two more arrived for back up.
After the arrests, Rita refused to enter a sheriff's vehicle, saying she had been assaulted. When deputies tried to take her out to a sheriff's vehicle, she refused to walk and laid on the sidewalk outside the collective's front door.
"You are offending me. You are assaulting me," Rita yelled. "I am not going until you bring me an ambulance."
Both Rita and Steve were calling out for someone to call 911 until a bystander responded.
Rita told deputies and health department officials that they had no official complaints and could not enter her shop without a search warrant.
Health department officials informed her she could not sell edibles without a license.
Addressing a sheriff deputy she said, "Best thing you can do is call an ambulance, boy."
Deputies offered to make her more comfortable with a chair or in the back of a sheriff's vehicle but she refused.
Smith finally sat up, still handcuffed, on her own and not long after the fire department arrived, followed shortly by Sierra Ambulance.
Steve was put into the back of a sheriff's vehicle with a wound to his head, shouting, "Veterans are getting screwed all the time. "
Rita was taken from the scene by ambulance followed by the sheriff deputy with Steve handcuffed in the back of the vehicle.
Both were later booked into the Madera County Department of Corrections. They have since been released.
On Monday, Rita said she and her husband's rights were violated despite the fact that they were injured "psychologically" causing her to suffer memory loss from post traumatic stress disorder.
Phil Hedecek, Madera County Environmental Health, was one of the health officials present at the scene.
"We represent environmental health and we are just enforcing these laws because she is selling food without a permit and refuses to get one," Hedecek said.
Shainalea Zelazo, office manager for Heaven Scent, came to the scene shortly before the Smiths were transported. Hedecek informed Zelazo they would keep coming back until the collective stopped selling edibles without a permit. He also gave her a copy of excerpts from the California Retail Food Code.
Madera County Environmental Health Director Jill Yaeger said Heaven Scent was one of two sites visited on Friday for health inspections. Yaeger said the first time they attempted to gain entry into Heaven Scent they were verbally told that they would not be allowed inside the building to do an inspection until they received counsel from an attorney. Yaeger said it was a violation of health and safety codes so on their second attempt Friday, about a month after their first attempt, they had the sheriffs department with them because they "knew the proprietors were not very cooperative," according to Yaeger.
Yaeger said that is standard protocol when conducting an enforcement order and that the health department went to the business specifically with a notice of violation to inspect. Yaeger said they were not allowed entry to inspect and that is when a physical altercation ensued.
Jacqueline Mittelstadt, the Smith's lawyer, said Madera County representative's conduct in the situation is "abhorrent."
"It is the worst, most unjust conduct by a government agency which I have experienced in my career," Mittelstadt said.
In a prepared statement, Mittelstadt said that Bob Gabriele, Madera County assistant county counsel, falsely promised in a court hearing that the county would not engage in any enforcement action against Heaven Scent until a hearing could be held on Heaven Scent's challenge to citations issued by the county.
Gabriel couldn't be reached for comment at press time.
Mittelstadt said the county failed to diligently proceed with appeal hearings that are required before Heaven Scent may file legal action. Heaven Scent filed an appeal of a county citation alleging operation of a medical marijuana dispensary in violation of the code in early December. Mittelstadt said the county should have scheduled the appeal hearing within a matter of weeks, but instead continued issuing illegal citations daily -- because the hearing had not been held -- amounting in thousands of dollars.
"Further, law enforcement forcibly tried to enter Heaven Scent, without a warrant or consent, a non-public area of Heaven Scent's facility," Mittelstadt said. "When Heaven Scent representatives informed them they were not authorized to enter, and county counsel promised no enforcement would occur, the officers used excessive force and are now characterizing it as resisting arrest."
Mittelstadt said Friday's incident was in retaliation against Heaven Scent for exercising first amendment rights at a the Madera County Board of Supervisors hearing a few days before.
Rita, a medical marijuana advocate, was restrained by security guards Tuesday, March 13 at a Madera County Board of Supervisors meeting for refusing to stop her remarks when her time was up at a hearing on a Medical Marijuana Cultivation Ordinance.
Ryan Hoagland, manager and mechanic at a bike shop in the same shopping center as Heaven Scent, was witness to Friday's incident.
He said he heard shouting and yelling almost immediately after environmental health and the sheriffs department went inside Heaven Scent.
"I don't think that (yelling/shouting) was really warranted but I can kind of sympathize because the cops seem to be harassing her (Rita)," Hoagland said. "They went into her (Rita's) business a couple weeks ago while a meth deal was going on in front of my shop. I see that stuff going on a lot in that parking area. They're awfully concerned about shutting down a medical marijuana outlet and are not concerned about the real drug trafficking going on.If you pay any attention to what's going on, you can see it."
Heaven Scent Organics Collective remains open for those with doctor recommendations for medical marijuana.
Copyright 2012 - Sierra Star, Oakhurst, Calif.
