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Capitola Village resident thwarts home-invasion robbery

By CATHY REDFERN | Santa Cruz Sentinel staff writer | September 3, 2004

Three men looking for a cache of medical marijuana in a Capitola Village home instead found a man who fought them off, despite being shot and perhaps stabbed, police said.

Detectives are investigating what they are calling an attempted murder and thwarted home-invasion robbery about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 300 block Riverview Drive, near Stockton Avenue, Police Chief Richard Ehle said.

It was not a random robbery, Ehle said. The 30-year-old victim, who rents the creekside home, has grown medical marijuana there in the past, Ehle said, and the intruders apparently knew that.

The victim was in stable condition in intensive care Thursday afternoon at an undisclosed hospital, police said. He is expected to recover from wounds to his lower back and leg, Ehle said.

The robbers remain at large, and may be hurt, Ehle said. Detectives on Thursday were compiling sketches of them. The men were seen leaving the tidy, touristy neighborhood in a small to mid-size, four-door white car.

One attacker was described as a thin Latino, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, with his hair pulled back behind his ears. Another was a heavy-set Latino, about 6 feet tall, with short hair and a poor complexion. The third was a white man with blond hair, also with bad skin.

It started when the three men, one armed with a handgun, entered the home, and told the victim and two guests to lie on the floor, Ehle said.

A male visitor crashed through the front window and escaped, suffering a cut to his lower leg. A woman, the resident’s girlfriend, was uninjured.

A fight between the victim and robbers spilled outside, Ehle said. It was unclear if the attackers stabbed the resident, Ehle said, though kitchen knives were used in the attack. Detectives could not interview the victim Thursday due to his injuries.

Blood was found in the kitchen and outside, Ehle said, though he was unsure if shell casings had been recovered.

It was unclear whether the intruders took anything from the small home, which is steps from the Esplanade, Ehle said.

Crime-scene investigators from the state Department of Justice spent most of Thursday at the home, combing the scene for evidence.

A neighbor, Sara Froid, who lives nearby in the historic Old Riverview Court apartments, said she has not had many problems in her three years there, aside from some "rowdy" people walking down the street late at night coming from restaurants on the Esplanade.

"I feel scared," she said. "I will definitely have my doors locked."

Such violence in the village is rare, but Ehle said it happens from time to time.

"I’m not happy with the circumstances here," he said. "It’s one of the dangers of these (medical) marijuana (gardens). It still has a sizable value on the streets and now we have one that drew the wrong people to downtown Capitola.

"If this guy needs it, maybe he should consider buying it. It nearly cost him his life this time."

Ehle urged people with information about the case to call 471-1141. Callers can remain anonymous, he said.

Contact Cathy Redfern at credfern@santacruzsentinel.com.

[Suetaznote: Medical marijuana patients will never be safe until marijuana is fully legalized, not just for medical use. Medical growers will always be targets of robbers as well as the Feds until the laws are changed and the criminal element is removed. Make it legal for everyone to grow and people won't need to steal it!]

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