Illegal pot shop raided, shuttered in N. County

Sheriff ’s personnel raided and shuttered an unlicensed cannabis shop Friday morning in the far northern reaches of San Diego County, seizing hundreds of pounds of product and arresting three people.

A SWAT team served a warrant about 7 a.m. at the illicit dispensary on Rainbow Valley Boulevard near Old Highway 395, sheriff’s

Sgt. Mark Knierim said in a news release.

During an ensuing search of the premises, deputies impounded 117 pounds of cannabis; 528 pounds of cannabis-infused products, including edibles and vape materials; about 250 tetrahydrocannabinolinfused drinks; $24,155 in cash; three guns; and a ballistic vest.

Deputies arrested three men — ages 30, 28 and 27 — on suspicion of drug-related charges, according to Knierim.

“The warrant (stemmed from) an investigation by the Sheriff ’s Marijuana Enforcement Team ... and the Fallbrook Sheriff ’s Substation Crime Suppression Team in connection with two shooting incidents at the location that happened in January and October of last year,” the sergeant said in the news release.

The January 2020 shooting involved three would-be robbers, including at least one who was armed with a gun, sheriff ’s officials said at the time.

During a confrontation with a security guard at the dispensary, one of the three would-be robbers was shot.

County code-compliance officers who took part in the raid determined the building housing the dispensary “posed an extreme hazard to anyone who entered” due to structural deficiencies and exposed wiring.

They asked Southern California Edison, which supplies electricity to the building, to cut off power to the property immediately, Knierim said.

Despite the 2016 vote that legalized cannabis in California, county officials for years chose not to authorize cannabis businesses in unincorporated parts of the county.

Sheriff ’s officials said unregulated cannabis businesses in those areas have spurred criminal activity.

County supervisors voted 4-1 last month to create a new policy that will legalize and regulate cannabis growers and sellers in unincorporated areas.