Marijuana Blog

Medical marijuana activist Jose Gutierrez was brutally arrested in April as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raided Blue Sky, one of Oakland’s four allowed dispensaries. Mr. Gutierrez is facing federal assault charges and will appear in court on August 1st at 2:30pm. He has retained J. Tony Serra to lead his defense team, which also includes E.D. Lerman and Omar Figueroa.

J. Tony Serra was named one of the “ten best criminal defense attorneys of the century” in 2000 by the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice.

Gutierrez was arrested April 2^nd during the raid on the Oaksterdam district of Oakland, and Serra says he “believes the federal government acted outrageously in both their attack and their hostile arrest of Mr. Gutierrez.”

His other attorneys spoke out as well. Figueroa said, “Mr. Gutierrez was exercising his First Amendment rights by speaking out against federal officials engaged in nullifying California law and ignoring the will of the People of California. He was targeted because of his activism and idealistic and passionate views opposing the federal prohibition of cannabis for medical use.”

”The police in this case were derelict in their duties and failed to properly execute this search warrant,” said Mr. Serra. “Their lack of preparation, communication and control led to Jose Gutierrez being the victim of an unnecessary and brutal attack, and he committed no crime.”

Ms. Lerman believes that Mr. Gutierrez is “an innocent man shoved like a domino in a crowd of unpleased protestors and overzealous federal agents.”

When faced with serious charges, there is nothing better than having good lawyers on your side, and it looks like Mr. Gutierrez is well-covered in that area. And a victory for him will send a message to law enforcement around the country that they are not invincible; even the powerful DEA.

Source: http://www.indybay.org

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