Migz420

Marijuana activists' feud goes to court
04-24-07|daily bulletin

Two medical-marijuana activists who worked together to open dispensaries in Pomona and Claremont are now engaged in a fierce personal feud, with each saying they fear retaliation from the other.

Darrell Kruse, owner of Claremont's now-defunct medical-marijuana dispensary, accuses Dave Touhey, owner of a dispensary in Pomona, of hoarding profits from the Pomona dispensary, which Kruse says he helped form and from which he believes he is owed a share of the revenues.

Touhey calls Kruse's assertion "an extortion plot," and has refused to share with Kruse financial records from the Pomona dispensary. Kruse says he has notified the IRS.

The men live across the street from each other and have been close friends for more than 15 years. Both said they once considered the other as family.

But that friendship has eroded in the past six months, with the feud culminating in recent weeks with a series of sometimes bizarre threats issued by both men and their associates.

Last week, the battle spilled into a Rancho Cucamonga courtroom, where two of Touhey's family members unsuccessfully lobbied for restraining orders against Kruse.

Touhey fears the public fight between the two men threatens to derail the work of marijuana activists in the Inland Valley.

"What he's (Kruse) trying to do is create so much heat for me so that I have to close," Touhey said. "Do you see one shred of evidence that he's concerned about patients?"

The battle came to a head two weeks ago in the Chino neighborhood where both men live.

Kruse walked to the center of Mustang Road, between his and Touhey's houses, and motioned to get the attention of Francisco Lobato, the boyfriend of Touhey's daughter. Lobato was about to get into his car in Touhey's driveway.

Lobato told police Kruse had what appeared to be a handgun in his pocket. Kruse denies he was carrying a gun.

According to Kruse, he told Lobato to tell Dave Touhey that his "world would begin to crumble" in eight hours.

Lobato remembered Kruse saying Touhey's "life is going to end in eight hours," a comment that Lobato and Touhey both believed was a threat on Touhey's life. Cherise Touhey, Dave Touhey's daughter, dialed 911 as Kruse drove off.

San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies swarmed the suburban cul-de-sac, and after interviewing Lobato and speaking to Kruse on the phone, left without making an arrest.

Kruse said the "eight hours" comment was a reference to a planned meeting with reporters to discuss Touhey's unwillingness to share profits from the Pomona dispensary.

The Touhey family didn't take any chances. On April 11, the day after the confrontation, Cherise Touhey and Lobato each filed paperwork seeking a restraining order against Kruse.

Last Wednesday, a San Bernardino County Superior Court judge dismissed both cases because the alleged threat was made against Dave Touhey, not Cherise Touhey or her boyfriend.

In 15 years of close friendship, both men say they've helped each other out of several binds. Kruse turned to Touhey when he lost his house, and Touhey credits Kruse with helping him through a divorce.

Kruse has for more than a decade dated, and now lives with, Touhey's ex-wife's sister.

Both men had been medical-marijuana users for years when, on a trip to Northern California, Touhey made a connection with a dispensary operator who showed him the ropes.

Together, he and Kruse went to several cities in the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys, trying to find a location to open their own dispensary.

They settled on Pomona in late 2005 and soon opened Farm Assist. Initially, Kruse said, the dispensary relied on his money to purchase equipment and pay rent, while Touhey spent more time on day-to-day operations.

Touhey says he doesn't own a credit card, so Kruse's card was the only option for online equipment purchases. Touhey said he paid Kruse cash for all of the purchases.

After Touhey registered the dispensary as a sole proprietorship, angering Kruse, Touhey promised employees that profits "would be spread around," Kruse said. No formal profit-sharing arrangement was ever put on paper.

According to court documents filed by Kruse, Touhey was visited in mid-2006 by a man who wished to open a dispensary in Claremont.

Concerned that a Claremont operation would cut into his territory and customer base, Kruse said Touhey urged him to open a dispensary in the city to spook city officials into enacting a moratorium, with the end result being no new competition in the Pomona Valley.

Touhey disputes Kruse's account, stating that the dispensary was solely Kruse's venture.

The relationship between the two men began to sour when Kruse appeared to crave the media attention he received when he arrived in Claremont, appearing frequently in local newspapers and later on local TV news programs.

Touhey says he preferred to keep a low profile, to avoid the ire of Pomona officials.

The disagreement escalated with Kruse's accusation in December that Touhey was supplying his dispensary with inferior "meds" - medical marijuana. Touhey said the marijuana he was supplying Kruse was no different from what he was selling in Pomona.

Soon after, at Touhey's orders, Kruse was barred from entering the Pomona dispensary.

Both men say that they are traumatized by recent events. Both have lost weight in recent months. At the conclusion of Wednesday's court hearing, Kruse buried his head in his hands and shed tears.

"We've been family for years," Kruse said. "His entire family comes to my house every Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. And Fourth of July we have the largest fireworks display in Chino every year."

Dave Touhey cried while discussing his feud with Kruse last week.

"This guy is ruining my life. He's ruining everything I've ever stood for," Touhey said.