- In this video, Herbert Gonzalez, a California City cannabis owner, speaks out after the city cites him for having a service dog on property.
- Tijani Abdurrahman, an employee of Herb's Cali Krush, says his service dog, Hazel, is very important to him after recent struggles.
- Cal City fire marshal Kristy Hightower responds in an email that citations against Gonzalez are active cases and she could not provide any information, but says dogs are not allowed to live on cannabis cultivation properties.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Herbert Gonzalez, a California City cannabis business owner, has faced false accusations before, including being falsely accused of murder in 2006.
I'm Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter.
Gonzalez was cleared of charges and won a million-dollar settlement against the L.A. County Sheriffs. Now, he's trying to win again, this time in the world of weed.
"I felt like they were almost going to ask me for my green card. I felt very violated because, you know, I came here to this city to do something out of nothing," says Herbert Gonzalez, a California City cannabis business owner
That's Herbert Gonzalez voicing his frustration after he said Cal City cited him several times last July. The one made him want to speak out was being cited $250 for having a service dog on his cannabis cultivation property.
The dog, Hazel, belongs to an employee at the property, Tijani Abdurrahman, who says Hazel is very important to him.
"Just a year ago, I was cleaned out of everything, children, job, life, freedom … it was all just taken just like that. So, now, I'm not in the Marine Corps. anymore, I got this dog here, it's kind of like, somebody to hang out with … unless until things get a lot better," says Abdurrahman, an employee of Herb's Cali Krush.
The citation centered around the dog violated California City Municipal Code 9-dash-2-point-501 (b), that states it's a violation when an animal becomes an annoyance/nuisance to neighbors due to excessive behavior. It also says dogs are only allowed at residential properties.
But Gonzalez says Hazel is kept behind the gate and there are no neighbors nearby the property.
Virgen: "When you got that citation, how did that make you feel?"
Gonzalez: "It made me feel unwanted. Like the city doesn't want any businesses to thrive here. Like they're trying to get us out of here instead of working with us, trying to make this a successful industry."
I reached out to Cal City Fire Chief Jeremy Kosick and Fire Marshal Kristy Hightower. Both are code inspectors.
They declined interview requests since Feb. 14 … Hightower responded to questions sent via email on Friday, saying it's an active case and they cannot discuss the details.
She added that dogs cannot live at cannabis cultivation properties, but are allowed, if properly leashed and that there have been several other cannabis properties cited for having dogs.
In addition, loose dogs are a threat to inspectors and first responders in the event of an emergency, she wrote.
Still, Gonzalez disagrees.
"Something is just wrong here. And, I'm not a politician or anything … I grow weed. But there's something very wrong here," Gonzalez says.
Gonzalez posts his pursuits and opinions on Tik Tok and Instagram, where he's HerbG420.
In Cal City, I'm Steve Virgen your neighborhood reporter.
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