MARIPOSA COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS BELIEVE THE PROLIFERATION OF HOME-GROWN MARIJUANA BY MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD HOLDERS WILL LEAD TO INCIDENTS OF THEFT, AND POTENTIAL INCIDENTS INVOLVING FIREARMS. A Mariposa couple say they found themselves on the floor of their home at gunpoint on Nov. 29, after three men forced their way into the Triangle Road residence. The three alleged suspects fled after the male victim feigned a heart attack.

According to a press release issued by the Sheriff’s Office, the victims said the three men forced their way into the home. Jack Early and his wife were reportedly ordered to the ground while the suspects demanded “unspecified items.” Early told investigators that he believed they were after his medical marijuana.

The sheriff’s report indicates that they in fact took the pot and some cash and other items. “It appears that the suspects were aware that the victim possess a sizable amount of medical marijuana and were targeted specifically for that rea- son,” the release reads.

On Monday, Early said the ordeal was “pretty scary.” He told the GAZETTE he first saw a “figure” on the porch, dressed in camoflauge, then the men burst through the door, carrying a shotgun. Early said he pushed the gun toward the ceiling, but the men continued to enter the house.

One of the men hit his wife in the face with a pistol and tried to zip-tie the couple, but Early said they were unsuccessful. He said they got a “good look” at one of the men, but the other two had their faces covered. He said he recognized the jacket and size of the larger man, but did not identify him.

“It scared the hell out of us,” Early said of the incident. “They told us if we called 911, they would come back and kill us.” The victim said at one point, one of the men held the gun to his temple, then to his jaw.

At first, Early said he didn’t think the men had the couarge to pull the trigger, but he soon came to believe the threat was real. “He said, ‘I’ll blow your (expletive) head off.’”

The men kept asking where the money was, according to Early. “I’ve got something just as good as money,” Early told them. “I’ve got a five-gallon bucket of marijuana.” Early claims they took that and $1,100 in cash, along with some jewelry and a gaming system.

“It’s scraping pennies to try to get by around here,” Early said. “They took our mortgage money.”

Early said he was in the process of becoming a part of a cooperative to grow marijuana for a dispensary. He said he has an authorization to grow 499 plants, enough for 84 medicinal marijuana patients.

The man with whom he was trying to do business isn’t buying the home invastion story. “I think he wants to borrow money from me,” he said. “I think that he smokes too much of what he grows,” said Phil Maita.

Maita, who lives in Nevada and works with a dispensary in South Lake Tahoe said the whole thing sounds fishy. “I get a deal for him to grow 499 plants from a legititmate source, and all of a sudden, he’s got a home invasion. I just don’t believe it, that’s all.”

The business associate said Early’s claims are a “controversy of stories.” Maita said “I don’t want to get involved with these people if that’s what they’re all about.”

Maita said he didn’t spend the last 66 years of his life playing a fool and doesn’t intend to start now. “They all want something for nothing,” he said. “I don’t want to get involved with people who are not quality type people.”

The case remains under investigation, and law enforcement is concerned about the growing trend of theft related to medicinal marijuana. This is the second recent case. Both involved the use of firearms.

“The increasing number of criminal incidents surrounding the cultivation and possession of medical marijuana is of great concern,” Sheriff Brian Muller said. “As individuals continue to exploit and abuse the intended purpose for which the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 was passed, the frequency and seriousness of these types of crime will undoubtedly increase exponentially.”

For Early, the crime is a scary sign of the times. “Our happy little safe sanctuary is no longer safe,” he said.

Early’s marijuana has been the target of thieves before. According to the sheriff’s office, he reported that plants were stolen last year. Investigators believe that deer ate the plants.