March 15, 2010 in Region

Washington medical pot activist shoots robber

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SEATTLE — A well-known Washington state medical marijuana activist traded gunfire with robbers who invaded his Kirkland home early Monday, suffering minor shotgun pellet wounds and sending one intruder to the intensive care unit of a hospital.

Activist Steve Sarich, 59, runs CannaCare, an organization that provides patients with marijuana plants and advice about Washington’s law.

“I don’t want to shoot people, but God, this is our eighth home invasion since last May,” he told The Associated Press.

Sarich said he was awakened at his home by the barking of his dogs, then grabbed a .22-caliber handgun and headed down a hallway outside his bedroom.

A man with a shotgun confronted him in the living room and fired, he said. The main blast struck a wall a few inches from his head, Sarich said. One pellet struck his face while another hit his leg.

Sarich shot at the robber but missed. When his gun jammed, he darted back to his bedroom and grabbed another handgun. He spotted another robber standing outside the glass door to his bedroom and fired three times, hitting the robber multiple times.

Sarich’s live-in girlfriend called 911, as did the wounded robber, a 19-year-old from Renton. King County sheriff’s deputies found him in the backyard and took him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he underwent surgery for life-threatening wounds.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested a second suspect, also 19, as he tried to flag down a ride nearby a few hours later. That suspect gave investigators the names of two others involved in the robbery attempt who had fled in a vehicle. They remained at large, sheriff’s Sgt. John Urquhart said.

The home invasion came just two days after a medical marijuana patient from Orting, Michael Howard, died of injuries sustained March 9 when robbers targeted his growing operation, according to Ben Livingston, of the Cannabis Defense Coalition.

Howard was struck in the head during the robbery, possibly with a crowbar, Pierce County sheriff’s Detective Ed Troyer said Monday. Deputies found 150 marijuana plants in a shed on the property and are investigating the case as a homicide.

Sarich said he only grows starter plants and clones in his home that are provided to patients. He himself is a patient who suffers from painful back conditions including degenerative disc disorder, he said.

Sarich said he fired shots to scare robbers during a January break-in at his home when intruders escaped with seeds, a vaporizer and pipes.

Sarich said he typically doesn’t call police when his house is broken into because he doesn’t want to deal with the hassle of having his home searched by law enforcement checking his compliance with the state’s medical marijuana law.

Investigators on Monday were waiting to obtain a search warrant for Sarich’s home, but Urquhart said he didn’t immediately know if the warrant pertained to the shooting investigation or the marijuana present.

Douglas Hiatt, a medical marijuana attorney in Seattle who has worked with Sarich and who knew Howard, said the cases show the dangers presented by marijuana prohibition.

Hiatt is gathering signatures for a ballot initiative that would remove all criminal penalties for adult use, possession and distribution of marijuana.

“This is directly related to prohibition,” Hiatt said. “It’s what happens when you make a house plant worth more than gold.”

© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

16 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  HANK on March 15 at 6:22 p.m.

  PEOPLE WITH ILLNESSES OR DISABLITIES ARE TARGETS FOR CRIMINALS WITHOUT THE ADDED INSENTIVE OF FREE WEED! I HOPE THE LAW REPRESENTS THESE PEOPLE AS STRONGLY AS THEY DO OTHER CITIZENS THAT DON’T USE WEED FOR MEDICAL REASONS. ITS TO SIMPLE TO LEGALIZE IT.WHAT WOULD CITIZENS DO WITHOUT BIG BROTHER MAKING OUR DECISIONS ON PERSONAL FREEDOM FOR US? THERE ARE TIMES I FEEL WE ARE MERE CATTLE TO BE HERDED TO WHAT EVER DIRECTION BIG BROTHER WANTS

• 

  force_vector on March 15 at 6:58 p.m.

  If this wasn’t a “medical pot” dealer, the headline would have read “drug deal gone bad leads to shooting”, break-in or not. If nothing else, let this be a lesson to all: potheads have guns…do you?

• 

  empyrius on March 15 at 7:00 p.m.

  A perfect exemplification of the violence government has been the direct cause of due to its un-Constitutional war on marijuana. If marijuana had never been criminalized to begin with, tragic incidents such as this would never have occurred. As it stands now, when us Washingtonians decriminalize marijuana this November, there shall probably be unfortunate incidents and border issues we shall have to deal with until we all become acclimated to our newfound freedom: but great change is never easy!

  Alas, instead of the law of the land being decreed from Washington D.C., a state, the Evergreen State nonetheless, shall initiate a sea-change in the law of the land that will ramify from Washington to Washington; from the west coast to the east coast all freedom-loving Americans shall sow freedom plants (marijuana that is) from sea to shining sea!

  Praise the Lord! Amen.

• 

  force_vector on March 15 at 7:00 p.m.

  Hank-

  Even though you stated your poinr in all “caps”, I still can’t figure out what it is. Please clarify.

• 

  force_vector on March 15 at 7:02 p.m.

  Empyrius- yeah sure, if pot was legal, no one would try to steal it. Dream on, and go smoke another.

• 

  empyrius on March 15 at 7:02 p.m.

  Well force-vector it sounds like that “pothead” was using his 2nd Amendment to protect his home and possessions: now surely you have not a problem with defending yourself against people burglarizing your house do you?

• 

  empyrius on March 15 at 7:06 p.m.

  Well, money is “legal” and people steal that, booze is “legal” and people steal that, TVs are “legal” and people steal those, cars are “legal” and people steal them: so what is your point? Is your point that since marijuana is “illegal” people will steal it, and if it is “legal” people will still steal it? Ummmmm, well, people will usually steal stuff worth money, call that a natural by-product of capitalism.

• 

  force_vector on March 15 at 7:33 p.m.

  “If marijuana had never been criminalized to begin with, tragic incidents such as this would never have occurred.” That was you empyrius. So, do you stand by that or not? Your later posts seem to be an argument against your first. And no, I have no problem with people defending their home by way of firearms. It is an American right. However, people stealing stuff is not related to capitalism, it is related to the nature of those who are unwilling to work for what others have. Or in this case, what others claim to need for medicinal purposes. Capitalistic rants by those who have the freedom to do so by virtue of the very nature of the system he/she railes against ring very hollow indeed.

• 

  flutieflakes on March 15 at 7:44 p.m.

  I’d feel safer being around a pothead with a gun than a neocon with a gun…

• 

  empyrius on March 15 at 8:09 p.m.

  I would love if informed citizens could have a debate upon the pros and cons of the effects the re-legalization of marijuana will have on our society, a debate to be published on the front page of the Spokesman, and every local news agency, and I myself will represent pro-legalization against all comers. I can refute all naysayers with science and common sense!

  And even those still suffering from the government propaganda of decades ago, I am quite sure I could convince some of them know-nothings that in fact no, the communists did not create marijuana so America would become a stoner peace-loving nation: just look around the world today as proof enough!

  When we re-legalize weed you will still have an ample supply of children willing to go kill whoever for our “freedom” (to smoke weed nonetheless!) and “representative” democracy.

  In Scripture force_vector the farmers are supposed to leave a portion of their fields to be harvested by the poor and hungry, but of course us Americans have made the unholy distinction that that is just a “Jew law”; well, I am one of those social justice Jesus-loving brothers that will provide for the poor and hungry, they need not steal from me b/c I will hook them up for free b/c I love my fellow human beings! I don’t need to make money to help out somebody that needs some food, clothing, sheesh, even a bonghit if I had any weed!

  My point is that marijuana would be growing everywhere like the weed it is, and nobody would have to steal it. I know, I know, that is pretty anti-capitalist type of thinking, but hey, some people have ideals far higher (he-he) than simply making money!

  God bless bro

• 

  SugarShane on March 15 at 10:29 p.m.

  Awesome. No such thing as bad publicity. Theres way too much information on the internet about cannabis to remain ignorant any longer unless its by choice, which seems to be the case with most folks.
  Man has used this natural God given herb for over 5000 years without one death, unless you count those that result from prohibition.The biggest danger in using Cannabis is being prosecuted by the corrupt system that made it illegal in the first place. There are awesome videos on the “history of marijuana” on youtube.

• 

  cowboy on March 15 at 10:56 p.m.

  Sorry to burst your bubble but it will never be legalized. They will turn events like this one around to show medical weed is too dangerous a drug to grow and the medical guys will have to go buy it from the pharmaceuticals.

  I think we have seen the state legislator can change any law we vote on, so sure maybe the Washington voters may vote yes to legalize but that doesn’t mean our wonderful state government will keep their end of the bargain.

  As far as lifting the law that will never happen. Simply because our system no longer has anything to do with freedom or personnel rights now it only has to do with money. And they make a lot of money busting weed smokers because if they can just barely hint that the person was selling they can take everything the guy owns.

  (And the cops basically steal it from you, by time you figure out they pulled a fast one all your stuff is gone. The cops will tell you, you need to appear at a meeting with them the minute you do, you forfeit all your stuff. What you want to do is wait for your appearance with the judge then he can decide what happens to your stuff, but the cops will never tell you that).

  And in keeping it illegal they can hire more police, judges, prison guards, build more prisons, etc.

  Sure the average Joe thinks tax it tax it but they will never do that because that would actually be intelligent.

  We have lost site of what our country was intended to be and have become cattle that believe everything we are told and stay with in the lines.

• 

  smarg on March 16 at 8:42 a.m.

  A friend with weed is a friend, indeed.

• 

  Verbal on March 16 at 8:59 a.m.

  Well put, Cowboy.

• 

  cowboy on March 16 at 9:37 a.m.

  I was going to go get my license but i know so many people that have been hassled and jailed while obeying the written law, I would rather stay under the radar.

  Any carrot they dangle in front of us is really going to be a piece of dynamite painted orange.

• 

  Loudin on March 17 at 1:50 p.m.

  Call me crazy, but I feel bad for the guy…now he has to go back to his previous job (Taco Bell Drive-through Technician).

  Seriously: If all other forms of prescribed drugs have to be manufactured by license and conform to FDA quality control systems, why is pot getting a freebie? I have no problem with legalizing pot for medical or recreational use; but the way it’s being grown and distributed in this state is like the Ol’ Wild West. Most of the guys growing and selling are two-bit scumbags who only do it because they don’t already have means of gainful employment and they know they can price gauge their customers. For Christ’s sake…we have greater production and quality control measures for cabbage growers than we do for pot farmers. What a joke!

  Legalize it, regulate its production and quality, tax it and enjoy! So simple…