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Plainsman1963

Alleged pot club robber faces murder charges
08-09-06 | MercuryNews.Com

An Oakland man will be arraigned on murder and robbery charges this afternoon, nearly a year after a hold-up of a cannabis club that left one of his alleged accomplices dead.

The Alameda County district attorney's office filed the charges against 20-year-old Joseph McWoodson today. He is being held without bail and will be arraigned in Alameda County Superior Court at 2 p.m.

The charges stem from an Aug. 19, 2005 robbery and shoot-out at A Natural Source, a medical marijuana dispensary in unincorporated San Leandro.

Employees of the dispensary told police that when they arrived to open the business at 11:30 a.m., five to six armed men confronted them.

``They ordered the employees to lie on the ground while they stole money and marijuana,'' Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. Scott Dudek said.

Police said as the robbers were making their escape, one of the employees armed himself. One of the employees also pressed a silent alarm to alert police.

``As the suspects were leaving, one of them turned around to shoot the clerk, and the clerk instead shot them,'' Dudek said.

A shoot-out ensued, and the dispensary employees captured one of the alleged robbers, Jarrell McKneely. Sheriff's deputies took him into custody and he pleaded guilty to his involvement in the crime last month, Dudek said.

About 20 minutes after the robbery, two men in a black, four-door Buick reportedly dropped off a gunshot victim at Children's Hospital in Oakland. He was later identified as Demarco Lowery, 17, of Oakland. Lowery, who police say was one of the robbers, died at the hospital.

Dudek said detectives have gathering evidence on McWoodson's involvement in the case in the past year.

``As word gets out on the street that one person is dead and another is going to do some serious time, people started coming forward,'' he said.

Although he didn't fire the fatal shot, McWoodson is being charged with murder because the robbery led to Lowery's death, Dudek said.

``Because his friend got killed, he's responsible. His actions led to his friend's death,'' he said.

 

TheNewGuy

Sweet, sweet justice. This is why I love the second amendment.

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"Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power." ~P.J. O'Rourke