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U.S. Marshal arrested in marijuana heist

October 18, 2014

us marshalA California Highway Patrol officer arrested a deputy U.S. marshal for allegedly stealing 24 pounds of marijuana from drug traffickers with the intent to sell the pot. [KCRA]

On Oct. 11, Clorenzo Griffen and two accomplices, Andre Jamison and Rodney Rackley, pulled up behind three drug traffickers in a Yuba City motel parking lot. The men were dressed in tactical gear, impersonated police officers and robbed the victims at gunpoint of several garbage bags full of pot, federal authorities said.

According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Wednesday, the defendants planned to sell the marijuana.

Shortly after the robbery, which was caught on a surveillance camera, a California Highway Patrol officer saw the suspects run a red light while speeding in a Jeep Patriot.

The officer pulled the Jeep over in a parking lot and the three suspects attempted to flee, but were caught. Officers arrested Griffin, who has been a deputy marshal since 2010, along with the two other suspects and booked then into the Sutter County Jail on charges of robbery, possessing and distributing marijuana and brandishing a firearm while committing a crime, according a criminal complaint.

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Sounds like he had a profitable little side job going. I guess the us taxpayer wasn’t paying him enough. More corrupt government Scum. What a surprise!


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Oooooh. Like Yuba city is even on our radar!


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The only innocent people here were the drug “traffickers.” They were the only one providing seeking to provide a product for sale to people who wanted that product and were willing to pay for it voluntarily. The CHP, although appearing to be the hero in this case, sit on the side of roads like highwaymen seeking to steal money from hard working people who are trying to get where they are going. I’m sure they do some beneficial things as well, but until they stop robbing people for driving over the speed limit then they are criminals in my book.


And in case you think it’s not robbery. I recently received a speeding ticket. The actual fine for the offense was $70. But with court construction fees, jail construction fees, administrative fees, and so on and so on, plus a $300 late fee for paying 3 days late, the total came to $677.


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Agreed.


Plus a $300 “late fee” is absolutely ridiculous, literally highway robbery!


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I beg to differ that drug traffickers are “innocents.” The Mexican Mafia people who control most of the mota trade will kill you without remorse. It is not about the drugs, it is about the MONEY! Cops and robbers both! Stupid people do drugs, smarter people (still dumb) try to profit from it.

Regarding your off topic highwayman comment; I totally agree. Traffic enforcement has more to do with revenue generation than prevention. Catching the easy fish. Speeding along a freeway alone does not cause crashes; albeit will cause more damage if there is a crash. It is the unsafe turns and lane changes, unsafe passing, following too close, too fast for conditions (fog, obstructed view), distracted drivers. Giving out these huge fines to mostly law abiding folks will backfire one day.


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Just think, you could have saved $300 by paying on time. I thought you were smart enough to avoid that extra cost.


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Nope.


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I am not going to make excuses for the fact that I was late. But at what point does a penalty become too high? $1000? Imprisonment? Firing squad? What if the state doesn’t send me a tax return within the time limit I demand them too? Do I get an extra $300? Have you considered the fact that some people may not pay on time because they couldn’t afford to? How is the extra assessment going to help them?


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Not to derail the “gee, what’s new? People in power are corrupt” theme, but what gets me about the traffic tickets is: the court that supposedly will find you guilty or innocent profits from your guilt. There is no incentive for them to be honest, let alone even try to find innocence.


I once asked a local cop how he could prove that the vehicle he clocked with the laser was, in fact, the driver he was ticketing. He laughed and said, “You can’t!” Now, I’m sure he was getting the right vehicles, etc. But that is just too easy to abuse. I mean, a lot can happen from tagging, putting the gun away, starting the motorcycle/car, pursuing… especially if there’s traffic, etc.


Add on to that the plethora of bullshit speed limits in and around town (four-lane Santa Rosa with a 25 mph limit? Sure…), and it starts to stink. I am not saying there is corruption, but the possibility to abuse the system that is in place from the ticketing officer through the court system is pretty severe.


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With the laser they do know exactly which car it is, but with the Ka band radar they generally use they cannot determine the exact vehicle. They either pick the fastest or the largest if it is speeding because the speed reading is generally coming from the larger vehicle.


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You deserve to pay every penny of the $677. The CHP is there to catch stupid a-holes like you. The average Joe going 80 who drives safely and is AWARE is glad that these officers are on the job and NEVER get caught. I swear, I watched a CHP car behind a guy accelerating away from me for 8 miles between A-Town and Santa Margarita. The dude was oblivious and the CHP officer clearly interested in how long it would be before he was noticed.


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First of all, my commute is over 200 miles a day. Second, I was not driving the speed I was ticketed at. I was going a full 10 mph below that speed. The officer was holding the LIDAR gun in his hand with no tripod and I came over a riise on the left, passing a semi on my right. Clearly he swept the LIDAR gun from the truck to my vehicle and therefore obtained a higher speed.


I don’t know what speed you think I drive on average, but it’s not 89. I may occasionally get up to that speed on a wide open road in the middle of nowhere, or I may occasionally get up to that speed in order to complete a pass and get over to the right so I’m not getting in anyone else’s way, but I don’t cruise through my 200 mile a day commute at 89.


I am absolutely aware of everything going on around me. I ALWAYS signal. I do not bunch up with the pack, always leaving a healthy distance to the car in front of me. I stay to the right and pass on the left. When I’m in the left lane coming up on a car closing in on a truck, I slow down and let them in. I move over to the left for anything on the shoulder and for merging traffic.


So you can take your self righteous attitude somewhere else. YOU CANNOT AVOD getting caught over a blind hill by a LIDAR, no matter how “aware” you are, If you’re going over 75, you’re getting a ticket. Do you understand the the difference between LIDAR and RADAR?


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Are you an officer? I hope if you are that you have enough integrity to acknowledge it because I think your comment will communicate volumes about your personality to the other readers


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What are YOU smoking!? The FINE is $70.. $607 of that was administrative fees. So because I went over the speed limit, a crime which had no victim and no actual consequence, I should allow them to subject me to ANY sort of consequence they want? Even if it is above and beyond the penalty proscribed by law? What country do you think this is?


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