By William McCurry
SACRAMENTO, CA – Banks might be difficult to rob, but defendant Kevin Thompson, in a preliminary hearing here in Sacramento County Superior Court last week, allegedly took on another difficult target—a marijuana dispensary with security present.
Two Rivers Dispensary, much like other marijuana dispensaries, has a lobby where you wait to be let into the bud room where all the product is located.
Deputy District Attorney Allison Wieder called Sacramento Police Department Officer Michelle Owen, who was dispatched on Nov. 15, 2020, to Two Rivers Dispensary after a “panic alarm” there was activated.
When she arrived, Thompson was flat on his stomach near the side of the building with some product from inside the dispensary. She was informed that security told him to get on the ground.
After Owen saw the defendant on the ground, she went inside the dispensary to talk to one of the workers who was working in the bud room. The worker informed her that he heard loud banging on the window that startled him because he thought Thompson was going to break the window.
Shortly after he heard the banging on the window, he saw Thompson walk in the bud room behind him. He thought that he had entered the room through an employee entrance. At this time, the worker was currently helping a customer and Thompson started to throw product all over the room.
The worker told Officer Owen that he was scared because Thompson wasn’t supposed to be back there. He then pressed the panic button and he, along with the customer he was helping at the time, ran out the front door. He also told Owen that he recognized Thompson.
Assistant Public Defender Kimberly Miller then cross-examined Owen, asking him if the worker called 9-1-1 in addition to hitting the panic button. Owen responded no, and she confirmed the worker never saw Thompson grab any product.
Sacramento Police Officer Ryan Arruda then explained that his investigation found Thompson was buzzed through the first door and then proceeded to the second door, where he tried to get into the second door but it was locked. When he wasn’t given access into the second door, he started pulling the door aggressively and banging on the glass, according to the manager.
After he started banging on the glass and wasn’t given access to the second room, he went past the reception desk into the break room where he started to knock over items. The manager told Arruda that she feared for her life and that the security guard could be overpowered by Thompson.
She also informed the officer that Thompson took approximately $3,400 worth of marijuana products from the dispensary. On top of the items that were stolen, the manager also claims that there was approximately $425 worth of damages.
Weider questioned Arruda, who said he was told by workers that Thompson did not make any threats to any of the workers directly, nor did he make any demands for property.
Judge Delbert Oros found sufficient cause to believe that Thompson is guilty of second-degree robbery and second-degree burglarym and a pretrial arraignment was set for March 1, in Sacramento Superior Court.
William McCurry is a fourth year at Sacramento State, majoring in Criminal Justice. He is from Brentwood, California.
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