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By GLENDA ANDERSON <br />THE PRESS DEMOCRAT <br />A Laytonville pot guru who founded two Mendocino County medicinal cannabis <br />dispensaries was shot to death during an apparent robbery in his home early Friday <br />morning. Les Crane, who called his pot dispensaries churches and referred to himself as <br />a reverend, said he was in the business to help ailing people, not to make money. He had <br />said he had nearly 1,000 patients. He was killed at about 2:30 a.m. Friday in his home, <br />which is about a mile from the center of Laytonviile.... Two other people in Crane's <br />home at the time of the shooting were beaten....Crane's death is believed to be related to <br />his marijuana-growing and dispensing activities, Mendocino County authorities said. "I <br />am totally surprised we haven't had more robberies and violent crimes associated with <br />these things because of the amount of money involved and the value of the product," <br />Sheriff Tony Craver said. Crane's Ukiah cannabis dispensary, Hemp Phis, offered exotic <br />varieties of pot that sell for as much as $350 an ounce. He also had a dispensary in <br />Laytonville. He called marijuana "the tree of life" and said God placed it on Earth to <br />benefit man. His religious credentials were issued by the Universal Life Church, which <br />supplies certificates through the mail and the Internet. Sheriffs Lt. D.J. Miller provided <br />few details of the crime, pending further investigation, including how many times Crane <br />was shot or if any money or items were taken. Mendocino County officials had doubts <br />about Crane's purpose for growing pot, and in May he was arrested for marijuana <br />cultivation and several thousand pot plants were confiscated from hi.s home. The criminal <br />case was pending when he was killed.... <br />(Source)http://www 1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2005 T 119/NEWS/5 <br />11140303 <br />LOS ANGLES COUNTY <br />January 2004, Approximately six to eight known MMJ Dispensaries operating in West <br />Hollywood. Several of the MMJ Dispensaries have generated calls for service. <br />January 10, 2004, An Assault with a Deadly Weapon and a Vandalism are reported at one <br />of the MIv1J Dispensaries as well as calls generated reporting obstruction of the street or <br />sidewalk. <br />February 19, 2005, A MMJ Dispensary "LA Patients and Caregivers" reported that two <br />subjects armed with handguns robbed the dispensary. <br />May 6, 2005, A search warrant was served at one of the dispensaries by L.A.P.D. (no <br />further information provided) <br />May 15, 2005, A MIvIJ Dispensary "Alternative Herbal Health Services" four to five <br />subjects armed with handguns entered the business at 4:25 pm, one of the employees was <br />"pistol whipped" as the suspects demanded access to the dispensary's safe. <br />(Source Declaration of Sgt. Robert McMahon Los Angles County Sheriff's Department) <br />13 <br />75A-22 <br />