Crime & Safety

UPDATE: One Danville Resident Arrested, Three More Sought After Newark Pot Club Police Raid

Raid is on Newark marijuana collective and Danville home.

Editor's Note: This report was updated at 8:08 p.m. Dec. 14.

Authorities are searching for three people after raids Wednesday afternoon in Newark and Danville connected to a medical marijuana dispensary in Newark.

One person has been arrested, and authorities are searching for three others who are believed to be Danville residents, said Special Agent Michelle Gregory of the state Department of Justice.

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Keila Santos Gonzalez, 27, of Danville is currently in custody, said Gregory, who said Gonzalez lives on Victoria Place in Danville. Gregory said Gonzalez is the manager of the medical marijuana dispensary known as Happy Wellness Center in Newark.

Gregory added that one other person is believed to have been at the Danville home at the time of the raid but fled while SWAT teams were serving the search warrant.

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A Danville resident who did not want to release his name said the residents of the Victoria Place home seemed to be a young couple with children.

He said the police activity was "strange for this neighborhood."

Gonzalez and the three other suspects are connected to the Happy Wellness Center, 7200 Jarvis Ave. near Hayley Street in Newark. Gregory said one of the individuals is a convicted felon and that people who live in the Danville home have registered firearms.

Commander Robert Douglas of the Newark Police Department said members of the Southern Alameda County Major Crimes Task Force served a search warrant at the Happy Wellness Center around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Happy Wellness Center opened in Newark on Aug. 31, despite being denied a business license by Newark on Aug. 17.

The collective, which was the second one in Newark, remained open even after the Newark City Council voted to pass an ordinance banning all marijuana dispensaries.

Last week, attorneys of the other pot club, North Bay Dispensary (NBD) Cannabis Collective, confirmed that NBD had  at 7180 Thornton Ave. The club had been raided by authorities and shut down several months ago.

Justin Hammer, the co-founder of Happy Wellness Center, which is an entity of Alpha Rising Inc., has spoken out publically in Newark in favor of collectives. He has said the dispensary wanted to work with the community to be able to provide medical marijuana to patients.

“Why can’t we have something that is simple and effective where we can come together,” said . “This place is going to be transparent. We want (police) there. If we have criminals there, come get them. I’m so saddened that this is the angle, [that it’s] this way or this way… because of other things that have happened.”

Hammer stated at that council meeting that he is a resident of Danville.

Gregory said the dispensary is not set up for patient care but rather to make a large profit.

"It's not about patients' needs, it's clearly about making money and selling drugs," Gregory said.

The suspects are facing charges of sales of marijuana, possession for sales of marijuana and conspiracy, according to Gregory.

City staff and Newark leaders have been firm in their stance against marijuana collectives and have been in legal battles with NBD Cannabis Collective since shortly after its 2009 opening in 2009 and with Alpha Rising, Inc., starting in early December.

Alpha Rising, Inc. and the City of Newark have .

Newark Patch will update this story when information is available.

For more immediate updates, follow Newark Patch at twitter.com/NewarkPatch or facebook.com/NewarkPatch.

San Ramon Patch Editor Patrick Creaven and Bay City News contributed to this report.


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