cannabisnews.com: Plot To Steal Pot Turned Deadly, Prosecutor Says










  Plot To Steal Pot Turned Deadly, Prosecutor Says

Posted by FoM on November 09, 1999 at 12:58:07 PT
By Ramon Coronado, Bee Staff Writer  
Source: Sacramento Bee 

A plan to steal thousands of dollars in marijuana plants turned to murder after the thieves discovered they had been outsmarted and the pot was gone, a prosecutor told a jury Monday in Sacramento Superior Court.
He shot because he was angry," Deputy District Attorney Mark Curry said of Anthony Jason Salcedo, also known as "TJ."Salcedo and David Jonathan Quindt, known as "Sylvester," are accused of busting down the front door of a Fair Oaks home last year and firing a barrage of bullets from two handguns.Riley Haeling, 18, was killed when he used his body to protect Jennifer Salmon, 14, who was wounded in the attack at her home on Oct. 6, 1998.Defense attorneys urged jurors Monday not to rush to judgment, however, contending the prosecution made errors in linking Salcedo and Quindt to the crime scene.Others in the "marijuana culture" at Bella Vista High School knew of the pot and wanted to get their hands on it, according to defense attorneys.The trial, which the prosecution concedes is "somewhat complicated," could last into the middle of December. In his opening statement, Curry said that Salcedo admitted to a friend that he was one of the shooters, and Salmon has identified Quindt as another shooter.The two had planned to steal about 20 high-quality marijuana plants growing at the home on Maui Way, the prosecutor said.The Salmon family has said the marijuana was grown for medicinal purposes with a doctor's authorization.The plants were hastily cut down and moved elsewhere when the Salmons -- because of an attack the previous day -- suspected thieves were planning to harvest the pot, Curry said.Defense attorneys said there is no evidence to support murder charges.Salcedo's lawyer, Alexandria Jo, told jurors that her client's parents will testify that he was asleep at home at the time of the shooting."There is no direct or credible evidence against my client," Jo said.Assistant Public Defender Thomas Carlson, Quindt's lawyer, said Salmon's identification of Quindt as a suspect was faulty.In her first statement to police, Jennifer Salmon said there were as many as five gunmen and that she couldn't identify any of them, Carlson said.Later, Salmon picked Quindt out in a photo lineup. But it was a "preconceived identification" because a friend had described Quindt to her as the one he suspected to be a gunman, Carlson said.Both defense attorneys said the Salmon family's backyard marijuana patch, which Carlson said was worth $100,000, was common knowledge among students at Bella Vista High School.The night of the murder, two young men dressed in black and equipped with garbage bags "were going to steal marijuana plants in the same neighborhood," Jo said.The Maui Way home was "fortified" with barbed-wire fencing and boards with protruding nails. At one point there was a video camera. And the master bedroom contained seven or eight shotguns, the defense attorneys said.The defense also questioned the veracity of charges made by a different pair of young men who have implicated Salcedo and Quindt.In exchange for their testimony, Curry has given the two immunity from prosecution for marijuana sales."This case revolves around a conspiracy to rob and steal marijuana," Curry said. "There were as many as five suspects involved, and TJ and Quindt are the main ones."Salcedo also is charged with robbery and assault with a deadly weapon for "masterminding" the attack at the Salmon home a day before the murder, Curry said.In that incident, Salmon's brother, Danny Salmon Jr., 17, was hit over the head with a baseball bat. The robbers made off with a small amount of marijuana, Curry said.The prosecutor accused Salcedo of having "bought and brokered" marijuana before the murder. He once sold five pounds of pot for $3,000, Curry said."Therein lies the motive for both of these crimes. It is over money," Curry said.Testimony resumes this morning before Judge Richard H. Gilmour.Published: November 9, 1999Copyright © The Sacramento Bee 

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