Family of Garret Rodriguez Accuses Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office of ‘Hiding Behind Excuses’

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Garret Rodriguez

Garret Rodriguez

This letter is in response to a press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office which in turn was a response to the Netflix series Murder Mountain.

To whom it may concern,

I am Bonnie Taylor, the paternal aunt of Garret Rodriguez, and the family representative for Garret’s case. This letter is the result of my no longer being able to keep quiet and wait for the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. I have been more than patient for 6 years while the HCSO has conducted themselves in an incompetent and unprofessional manner in the handling of Garret’s case from the very beginning. I had hoped that Sheriff Honsal would invite a new era of professionalism into the department, but after the recent HCSO press release regarding the “Murder Mountain” series, I now feel the HCSO will only continue to hide behind excuses. It is also clear to me that they only sought to discredit the documentary because it exposes their incompetence in the case. I will now outline for the public to see exactly what I have been dealing with the last six years when I speak of their incompetence and unprofessionalism:

  1. Det. Todd Fulton told me within the first weeks of the missing persons report that, “[my] nephew was a drug dealer, and these are the consequences of that life.” Det. Fulton later went on record for the Times Standard before Garret’s truck was found, and claimed there was no evidence Garret made it to Humboldt County. It is only through the professional and highly competent efforts of Cook & Associates that the evidence of Garret’s truck was discovered and eventually returned to the family.

  2. When we first approached private investigators about Garret’s case after getting the aforementioned responses from Det. Fulton, Cook & Associates outlined for us the problem of hearsay evidence in Garret’s case. The recent HCSO press release even went so far as to give the public a legal definition of hearsay. The HCSO wants the public to believe their hands are tied in the case due to the lack of non- hearsay evidence. Why did Det. Jennifer Turner tell me in July of 2017 that, “[The suspect] gave an original statement to law enforcement, and it is on file as, ‘I shot Garret and buried Garret’?

Please tell the public Sheriff Honsal, under what conditions you choose to ignore probable cause for arrest?

  1. The HCSO took several days to come and retrieve Garret’s body after Alderpoint residents had repeatedly called them about the now infamous “Alderpoint 8” incident. This is in direct conflict with the false narrative of the HCSO that Alderpoint residents forced the alleged murderer to confess due to “increased pressure on the community […] because the community wanted the Sheriff’s Office to stop looking for Rodriguez […]”. HCSO was not out looking for Garrett. If HCSO had been looking for Garrett, we never would have had to get private investigators involved.

  2. The HCSO published the identification of Garrett’s body in the media before the family had been notified. Despite near daily and weekly calls to the HCSO and national news media coverage, the Rodriquez family was not given the professional courtesy of being notified their loved one was dead before the public knew.

  3. The family was never informed about the local and federal prosecutors declining the case. The first time I became aware of this information was when it was published publicly in the recent HCSO press release.

Despite HCSO calling “Murder Mountain” ‘sensationalized’, I feel as a person who lived through this horrific event that the producers and the persons interviewed accurately portrayed the events that led to the recovery of Garret’s body. While there are elements of the story that no one knows but those who were present, the main element of Garret’s story that the public needs to take away is this: Garret’s alleged murderer is still at large, and the HCSO has not conducted this investigation in a way that is satisfying to the family of the deceased. We do not feel that justice has been served in this case.

I look forward to seeing Justice for Garret!

Note: The original post contained a partial name of the suspect. We failed to delete it when we posted it. We’ve removed his name. Please do not use it in the comments as he has not been identified by law enforcement publicly as a suspect.
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Lotta Wordsworth
Guest
Lotta Wordsworth
5 years ago

“Why did Det. Jennifer Turner tell me in July of 2017 that, “[The suspect] gave an original statement to law enforcement, and it is on file as, ‘I shot Garret and buried Garret’?”

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago

Coerced testamony doesn’t count in court, nor does heresay.

4justice
Guest
4justice
5 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

Was the statement to law enforcement coerced? It certainly wouldn’t be hearsay!

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  4justice

The dude was tortured. He had multiple bullets in him. He was on pain killers. I don’t think anything he said during that time is going to be admissible in court.

Nick Benjamin
Guest
Nick Benjamin
3 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

Then how if coersed did he take them to a body in a huge landscape which turned out to be Garrett’s? Coincidence? Hearsay? [edit]

Frank
Guest
Frank
5 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

Actually there’s a thing that police officers use in the city all the time… It’s called an anonymous tip. It could be false. It could be a lie. It could be obtained by criminals themselves doing criminal things and they’re just snitching. It’s called an anonymous tip. The guy confessed to them. They didn’t get a compression on a piece of paper. They anonymously. Tip that there is a guy at the hospital. That was involved. Remember cops don’t hate child molesters, cops hate other people trying to be cops

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago
Reply to  Frank

Usually, anonymous tips lead to someone getting shafted who should not have which is raping the justice system.

yesbutno
Guest
yesbutno
5 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

nor does evidence nor does discovery of body nor does the only possible person to know where he was buried.

Jeffersonian
Guest
Jeffersonian
5 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

An admission is an exception to the hearsay rule and admissible unless involuntary

Horselover Chick
Guest
Horselover Chick
3 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

But finding a body EXACTLY where he said it would be….

Nomorewhitewashing
Guest
Nomorewhitewashing
5 years ago

He lead them to the burried body.

John doe
Guest
John doe
4 years ago

It smells like someone was getting some kick backs and that’s why they never investigated the murder.

aba
Guest
aba
5 years ago

if he weren’t a drug dealer he would be alive still. get messed up in drugs- that is what happens

George
Guest
George
5 years ago
Reply to  aba

You are a very heartless person. Are you saying if you grow pot you should die?, because that is what it sounds like to me. Shame on you. I hope none of your family ever does anything you do not agree with

Y Knot?
Guest
Y Knot?
5 years ago
Reply to  George

It’s not called The Devil’s Lettuce for no reason, marijuana culture is extremely violent and people are killed constantly over weed.

It’s sad, but mess with drugs and you could end up dead.

I feel bad for the family involved.

T
Guest
T
5 years ago
Reply to  Y Knot?

I feel bad for you too[edit], marijuana did not evoke murderous tendencies from the suspect. You cant be dumb enough to think that if you live in an area saturated in marijuana such as humboldt county is. There would be nothing but body’s if that had any truth to it. The suspects actions were more likely a result of poor parenting, generally being touched inappropriately or being beaten. Sometimes just being ignored but generally the first two.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  T

Read carefully. “Y Knot?” said it was the marijuana culture which is dangerous, not the weed itself. And that is patently obvious that the illegal growing has created a place where the law is not respected and so many decide to execute “justice” on their own. That idea is behind the whole article and is evidenced in the remarks that talk about protecting oneself.

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/04/-american-students-reading/557915/

Sleepy Alligator
Guest
Sleepy Alligator
5 years ago
Reply to  Y Knot?

Y Knot it’s not called the devils lettuce by anyone other than maybe three narrow minded people who comment here. And it sounds even more ridiculous each time one of those three says it.

LostCoastEMP
Guest
LostCoastEMP
5 years ago
Reply to  Y Knot?

Satans cilantro I thought Y knot?

Sid Vicious
Guest
Sid Vicious
5 years ago
Reply to  Y Knot?

Maybe look to the endless wars fought in the name of peace and security to understand human beings propensity for death and destruction. Stalin, Mao, pol pot, some might say Hitler were “killing in the name of”?

“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”

B.
Guest
B.
5 years ago
Reply to  Sid Vicious

Half of the deaths attributed to Pol Pot were directly caused by the massive famine in Cambodia that Kissinger and Nixon caused. They ordered the bombing of the thousand year old, genius engineering gravity flow, irrigation network in Cambodia that made it a farming paradise. Responsibility for he rest of the mayhem there should probably be shared equally by Nixon/Kissinger and Pol Pot because the coup and civil war and mass murder arose out of that bombing and the “secret” invasion.
The excuse for all of the USA destruction: the Cambodian government “would not defend their border.” So the USA helped them out by invading and destroying a civilization.

Robert Mirabilio
Guest
Robert Mirabilio
4 years ago
Reply to  Y Knot?

Never Heard of it being called the devils lettuce. But yes I do agree in the old days it would lead to plenty of violence. However there should be no more violence with it being legalized in most states

Robert Mirabilio
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Robert Mirabilio
4 years ago

This is WEED

Marilyn
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Marilyn
4 years ago

Doesn’t matter!

doogie
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doogie
3 years ago
Reply to  Y Knot?

has anyone posting here lived in Humboldt or the emerald triangle for that matter pot culture is not violent and most growers are pretty passive i grew up in trinity County not far from where this all happened and most people only use violence when faced with it if a gang member stoll you Mercedes and took it to a chop shop thats not your fault for driving a Mercedes just like growing a high commodity plant shouldn’t make it your fault you got robbed and no matter the content of property doesn’t give you any less right to protect it

Horselover Chick
Guest
Horselover Chick
3 years ago
Reply to  doogie

Thank you Doogie! I will never understand why (some) people just don’t get it. Judge other people until it’s THEIR property or THEIR family member. And a person (yes, he was a HUMAN BEING and did NOT deserve to die just because he wanted to be a part of that culture) should never be shot and murdered (for asking to be paid) no matter what the job is! So prostitutes deserve to be beaten, not paid, murdered because they are a prostitute? God people make me sick. Judgemental azzholes! And to the azzhole that said he doesn’t blame cops for not giving a shit…if your brother, best friend or someone you knew chose (yes, chose) to grow/sell/work around weed and KNEW the risks and was murdered, would you really not give a shit if the cops didn’t care? WOW okay. And just a reminder….it’s a cop’s JOB to INVESTIGATE and give a shit…To Protect And Serve….YEAH…SEEMS WE’VE FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT IN THIS GREAT COUNTRY OF OURS. Yes, some choose to live under their own ways, their own rules, their own choices…but to not care if someone is murdered or missing is just disgusting.

Working man
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Working man
5 years ago
Reply to  George

, he chose to be a drug dealer and knew the risks, he wasn’t growing a few pot plants in his back garden. I don’t blame the cops for not giving a shit.

Dan F
Guest
Dan F
5 years ago
Reply to  Working man

[Edit: Please stop accusing people of being Trevor –this goes for everyone. As far as I know they are not. And since a wide ranging number of people have been accused including long established commenters, this just seems likely to cause frustration for no good end.]

Gasquet
Guest
Gasquet
5 years ago
Reply to  Working man

you are doing a great in Justice my prayers go out to this family.
So if I sold an ounce of pot to my friend for a hundred bucks that makes me a drug dealer [edit]

Sheriff Hass Unclean Hands
Guest
Sheriff Hass Unclean Hands
5 years ago
Reply to  Working man

Well that’s your shortcoming, the cops to which you refer are civil servants paid to investigate crimes especially murder and arrest & prosecute criminals. The indifference of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s was a shameful display of “unclean hands” from start to finish. Someone needs to investigate the investigators!

Sharpen your pencil
Guest
Sharpen your pencil
5 years ago
Reply to  George

I think if the family cared as much as they want to say they do, they would have been up here before the body was found. The dad didn’t come up until afterward…….. WTF! Get real, you want to sit behind a camera and act like you did everything? Seriously!

Taunya Diedrich
Guest
3 years ago
Reply to  George

I agree I can not believe that anyone would think someone deserves to die even if they were involved in pot deals. Further more I am so shocked no one has been arrested my heart goes out to Garretts family and I find my self brain storming what I can do to put pressure on law inforcment to rectify the wrongs they have done

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago
Reply to  aba

If the federal government did not lie to the American people and oppress the individuals growing a medicinal plant he would be alive is what I think you are saying.

Frank
Guest
Frank
5 years ago
Reply to  aba

Live in the county where drug dealers live and everything horrible that could possibly happen to you or your family you deserve. Pretty [edit] statement.

yesbutno
Guest
yesbutno
5 years ago
Reply to  aba

thats not true he was a cultivator who used his hard earned money to invest make a profit and hoped to retire. So cause he dealt in weed he deserves what he got, thats like saying all police officers who die in the line of duty deserve that because they are chasing the scum of the earth.

Hippie4justice
Guest
Hippie4justice
5 years ago
Reply to  aba

Is it a generational thing? I came of age in the sixties. The time of hippies, flower power, Woodstock, make love not war. It seemed everyone I graduated with smoked pot. If someone bought a “brick” and broke it down into “lids”, we never thought of them as our drug dealer but rather someone helping their friends. We thought nothing of someone growing.

I was an honors student, respectful and obedient child. Smoking pot was just something my generation did, at least where I lived. And pot was not legal in any state.

Never once did it enter my mind that someone would be of the opinion that my friends and I could be murdered with impunity because we were drug users, drug dealers etc. It never entered my mind that people would say we were putting ourselves in the line of fire, didn’t deserve justice because we were breaking the law.

I also went to a slumber party while still in high school where my friends and I drank liquor even though we hadn’t reached the legal drinking age of 21.
If someone had gunned us down, I would have expect them to be prosecuted even thoug we were breaking the law by drinking.

So like I said maybe it’s a generational thing. But I’m glad I wasn’t part of a generation that is as judgmental, uncaring and unsympathetic as many of the posters here are. I’m glad I was allowed to grow up, mature and become a responsible adult. It pains me that so many of you here feel that Garret didn’t deserve to do that.

You are the rare person if you never had an error judgement, never went over the speed limit, never did a thing that others would deem as a bad decision.

Central HumCo
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Hippie4justice

~Right On Hippie4Jusitice! I love reading clear clean articulated thoughts of common sense.

I’ll add Legallettuce and yesbutno in here too.

Thanks guys and/or gals.

Gabriel King-Turner
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Hippie4justice

Hippie for justice like you but a bit younger I grew up in 60s (but in NZ)and never saw dope-still haven’t.Its true if Garret hadn’t come to Murder Mountain he might still he alive but that’s what youth do-we take risks-I myself did loads of hitchhiking alone when some girls got murdered here!At the heart of this story is a father who lives every day and probably in his dreams the agonising sense of loss of a much loved murdered son-words can’t describe the pain of that kind of suffering.The ex Vietnam vet is a man of great kindness and courage.I hope enough pressure is put on the authorities to get justice for Garret’s family.

Nomorewhitewashing
Guest
Nomorewhitewashing
5 years ago
Reply to  aba

He was a farm worker.

guest
Guest
guest
5 years ago
Reply to  aba

you are insane, working on a cannabis farm is zero excuse to murder someone. This is classic sloppy, lazy & careless police work. The police let this individual get away with murder. Humboldt County needs to hire highly skilled, trained & experienced law enforcement officers/detectives (instead of rookies & rejects who can’t make it in tougher areas) b/c the County has a lot more people & high crime to deal with.

doogie
Guest
doogie
3 years ago
Reply to  aba

Drugs your crazy it is classified in botany as an herb the goverment labeled it a drug and your a sheep following the uninformed unintelligent herd

onlooker
Guest
onlooker
5 years ago

It is a terrible ordeal to not only lose a loved one but to helplessly witness the failure of law enforcement to apprehend a murder, particularly if there is a confession on record. The logical thing to do is to contact the state Attorney General and ask that the state take over the investigation, and also investigate the way that HCSO has conducted the case.

Willie Caso-Mayhem
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  onlooker

🕯Thank you for putting out some common sense advice.

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  onlooker

There isn’t a state in the union that accepts testimony taken at gunpoint, nor heresay.

4justice
Guest
4justice
5 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

Most law enforcement agencies recognize probable cause and would at least investigate.

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  4justice

They did. I’ve got some bad news…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/investigations/unsolved-homicide-database/?utm_term=.384eab9c41f1

The good guys don’t always win, especially in places like Rancho.

Neverwrong
Guest
Neverwrong
5 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

People watching too much T.V. where cops spend unlimited resources tracking down the bad guys. Doesn’t work that way.

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  Neverwrong

The identity of the murderer is known. His name rhymes with Lentin Quinig. No resources required.

Brian Kirk
Guest
Brian Kirk
5 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

??

Sarah Bowers
Guest
Sarah Bowers
4 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

Hes living it up RIGHT NOW in Knox Indiana!! THE MOST CORRUPT TOWN COUNTY EVER!

Fighting Irish
Guest
Fighting Irish
3 years ago
Reply to  Sarah Bowers

Sarah Bowers sad but true

Antichrist
Guest
Antichrist
5 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

umm sorry but it happens everyday.in every state. the only differance is the willingness to beleive certain classes of people over another.

Taunya Diedrich
Guest
3 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

I get a court may not take any testimony that’s done at gunpoint but still the fact remains he knew exactly where that boy was buried and he does need to be questioned about that they’ve been doing their jobs to begin with and went and questioned that individual when it was told he had a kid buried up on his property none of this would have happened they didn’t do their job from the very beginning someone else took it into their hands yes maybe they shouldn’t have but it happened and it still needs to be dealt with someone needs to pay for what they did

Horselover Chick
Guest
Horselover Chick
3 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

Testimony at gunpoint is one thing, yes….and then they found EXACTLY where Garret’s body was….hmmm just a coincidence I guess?? People have gotten life sentences on LESS than this. AND the fact that the sheriff was told they found the truck and they STILL did nothing…just saying. Give me a da*n break.

Sharpen your pencil
Guest
Sharpen your pencil
5 years ago
Reply to  onlooker

Yeah, the family never came up, not when he was alive, not once he was missing. But after the body was found? That isn’t exactly being an advocate for justice. They want to trash the area, then when he gets up here, “oh, I see why Garret likes this place”, seriously? This family is full of shit!

Pike Mortar
Guest
Pike Mortar
5 years ago

I’m somewhat torn about this.

From a humanitarian standpoint of course I feel for the family, and they deserve justice, closure, and privacy. They deserve to have the offender prosecuted and punished.

From a more practical standpoint I feel like this is the life he chose, and had Garrett not made a series of poor – and illegal – decisions, he would be surfing in old Mexico right about now. I feel that way about anyone who dies while in the commission of an act they knew to be dangerous and / or illegal. They made the decisions that ultimately led to their death and while someone else might have pulled the trigger, so to speak, they put themselves in front of the gun.

I don’t think dog-piling the sheriff’s office is going to be helpful; if anything I think backing them into a corner is going to put them on the defensive and they might very well never get around to solving the case simply out of spite.

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago
Reply to  Pike Mortar

It should have never been illigal activity. We the people have been lied to all these years by lobbyist of the pharmaceutical industry and the federal government’s wicked immigration viewpoint of the 1930s.

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

lol, I do not use auto-coreext.

Mdg
Guest
Mdg
5 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

Legallettuce: Well, the documentary also makes clear that he came to humboldt looking to make quick cash and get out. So, that can only be done illegally. The whole balance of risk/reward thing.. you don’t make a lot of cash growing actual lettuce, for example. So, when you make those choices, it doesn’t always work out. However, the sheriff has a responsibility to everyone in this county to create a safe living condition, and that includes solving any and all murders, treating them all the same. It can also mean raiding the fuck out of places like Rancho and other neighborhoods where this shit goes down way too often.
Garret (is it one T or two- the aunt doesn’t even seem to know!) should never have come here, period. But that doesn’t excuse the HCSO from doing a poor job, that’s my take.

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago
Reply to  Mdg

So capatilism kills is what you are saying? It is the right of every citizen to challenge government when governing is wrong. That being said I carry sentencing in my clip the law comes out of my mouth and justice is at my side. Justice is backed up by other high powered weaponry if need be and I am not the only one.

Not making excuses for HCSO but in reality law enforcement is bound by strict laws. Enforcing that law in an area of limited resources or an understanding of our way of life. Working in terrain they are not familiar brings a bit of hesitation if they were to come under fire and the likelyhood is pretty high. An overall disdain for law enforcement in general (me included) and no fuck’in way am I gonna let a court document allow a badge on my property. I been raided after a two hour standoff and assurances they still buttstocked several of my crew and were complete fucktards and walked away with nothing except a scared informant who is still under federal protection.

My best advice keep your badges, private investigators and your film crews outta our (my) hills we can clean up on our own!! The only media we need is Kym and hopefully we can succeed to increase her donations to hire other staff.

Central HumCo
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

~i agreed with you right here yesterday, Legallettuce, and i agree with you today.

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago
Reply to  Central HumCo

Thanks, been in the shadows for many decades. Maybe this legality thing won’t be bad after all. To me a lot have an odd perspective on these comments.

Disrespectful to the deceased, lack of understanding our way, belief of filming the worst of our area and thinking all of us behave this way. Ignorant fools if they believe the media and that a documentary shows our morals and true values. Simply put it is more about who you associate yourself with that will get ya killed if your a decent human which is the same for any business anywhere in the US.

However, what is clear to me is a reminder to us locals of us not being led by the herd. A reminder why we live here which is funny because most of who I talk with discuss scenery in the film. This fact quickly reminds me of the beauty of the people who live here. I am damn proud to be from Humboldt, damn proud I fought my government over their lies and damn proud I am a legal marijuana grower. I will stand and protect the area I love and the industry I have chosen so thanks voters for allowing me to finally have a voice.

AWallace
Guest
AWallace
5 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

I agree with the things you say. Though I am not from there, which looks like beautiful land. It does have a sense of peace! And the people who do have morals and have lived there don’t deserve for it to be just known as murder mountain. Most seem to have worked too hard for it to be like that.

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

Witness protection is for federal cases only. Did you get Rico’d?

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

Hard to press charges since I caught the informant first with a camera filming my underage kids on my property. Not allowed to talk about case just yet but I am itching to tell as soon as I can.

Mdg
Guest
Mdg
5 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

You try to sound like a hard core outlaw but then you embrace legalization? Hmm how do you square that circle? The huge county fees are going to law enforcement and helping to bust your neighbors grows. And giving money to water board etc… The agencies that are trying to destroy our way of life here. I couldn’t ever do that. Imo legal = sellout

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago
Reply to  Mdg

Yep I sold out. Got raided, lawyers, judges, DEA, DFW, even EPA (I think have to ask the ex). Seems the smartest thing to do was get compliant after all them folks know ya. Long time ago a close friend of mine before he died talked about the day “this shit is gonna be legal man.” I am here he ain’t and I dont believe “P” would be thinking I sold out. Guess in my book my dead friends opinion of over 25 years ago matters more to me than you living [edit]!

onrust
Guest
onrust
5 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

Shoulda, woulda, coulda; some of the most destructive words in the world. “However, the sheriff has a responsibility to everyone in this county to create a safe living condition, and that includes solving any and all murders, treating them all the same.” What planet are you living on? The Sheriff has not such mandate. His or her purpose is to investigate some crimes, ignore others and arrest people he or she believes committed illegal acts. If you expect to be protected in the wilds of Humboldt poking around on someone else’s property you need to buy or grow better weed.

Peter S Reyes
Guest
Peter S Reyes
2 years ago
Reply to  onrust

Why were the shierff dept scared like bitches to go up there and take those fuckheads guns.

You can’t make your own fucking laws. The head dickhead sheriff should be fired at the very least

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  Pike Mortar

1 . You are victim blaming.
2. The case is solved. The identity of the murderer is known. Justice just needs to be served.

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

Do you want courts to start convicting people based on coersed testimony and heresay? The AP 8 decided to let the guy live, what else can be done? ANOTHER lynch mob?

Antichrist
Guest
Antichrist
5 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

it isnt the courts job to convict. it is the jurys. it is the courts job to hold a trial where the accused can face their accursers. it is the da job to bring the accused to trial where the case can be heard. all thid is merely people cherry picking cases to try based upon what they beleive the outcome might be. and since the win lose stats mean more to the da office than the truth it is very hard to get the whole story.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Antichrist

No. A jury is a right, not an absolute. The right can be waived. In which case the judge decides. The is the nature of a court.

Of course the DA is interested in win/lose stats. If they don’t win a case, either they brought an innocent person to trial or allowed a guilty one to escape justice. Since double jeopardy prevent a second chance, they will only being a case to trial when they think they can win. Anything else will not be justice. It will be a waste of everyone’s time.

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  Antichrist

A jury will not be shown evidence that was coersed and they will not be shown heresay evidence. What evidence is left?

Cruciferae
Guest
Cruciferae
2 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

“I like stars” give me his name

Dmarie
Guest
Dmarie
5 years ago
Reply to  Pike Mortar

YOU JUST STATED GARRETT: “made a series of poor and illegal decisions,” THEN ABOUT THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE: “they might very well never get around to solving the case simply out of spite.” WOULDN’T YOU CONSIDER THE HCSO NOT ATTEMPTING TO SOLVE A MURDER CASE OUT OF SPITE A “POOR ILLEGAL DECISION?” I SURE WOULD.

Sad to read
Guest
Sad to read
5 years ago
Reply to  Pike Mortar

Well then I guess any political, high ranking person that’s been assassinated for choosing that line of work,made a series of poor choices to loose their life in such a way…they could be surfing in Mexico now…it’s quite sad the bad name Marijuana growers get. He wasn’t doing anything Illegal but growing a harmless plant but because big pharma is legal their greed & what they get away with makes it okay! I was born and raised into this industry and have watched it grow and change for the past 40 years & the saddest thing to me is watching it be taken ove by (Licensed)greed! Southern Humboldt used to be a thriving community and look at what happens when you push out the small mom & pop farms you loose your community. People die everyday but to say that’s what he gets for choosing that lifestyle is quite sick!

T
Guest
T
5 years ago
Reply to  Pike Mortar

Speeding on the highway is dangerous and illegal. That doesnt mean you DESERVE to be shot to death. AND, if you are shot to death, it does not excuse the sherriffs office from doing their job of determining the who and why you were shot to death.
[edit]

'Merican Woman
Guest
'Merican Woman
5 years ago

Professional law enforcement is sorely lacking in this county. Whether the HCSO or a local agency like the APD or EPD are involved, the quality of investigation is very poor. One need only have followed the news for a few years to come to this conclusion. I have been paying attention for nearly 50 years. The most likely resolution of murder or missing person cases here come when evidence is presented to them on a platter, by a witness or a third party.

Elvis Costanza
Guest
Elvis Costanza
5 years ago

People, here’s a tip: when you’re typing a comment and word displays a red line under YOU MISSPELLED IT. It’s called “spell check”, look into it.
Also, shifting the topic to big pharma/gov’t suppression/blahblah is BESIDE THE POINT. It was ILLEGAL then and he knew or should have known not to place himself in this position, get killed, and consign his poor father to a living hell.

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  Elvis Costanza

I think there is an open position for an English teacher at SFHS. If you apply and are hired you can correct spelling to your heart’s content.

Why tenure is a bad thing
Guest
Why tenure is a bad thing
5 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

Correct spelling? That require that the students think, and write papers, and not just watch endless videos like the curriculum of the one LAZY and UNINSPIRED “English” teacher at SFHS.

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago

Put in your application and get started doing it right.

Blahblah
Guest
Blahblah
5 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

Obviously you don’t know what tenure means. Their positions become permanent and the old bored coots never leave , they just keep churning out the diplomas regardless of skill level. Shame really .

T
Guest
T
5 years ago
Reply to  Elvis Costanza

Elvis, you need to use your noodle, at least a little.
Garrett did not choose to be killed, nor did he choose for his fathers pain. I am glad you know how to use your spellcheck, however with a few more years of education you could have also learned coherent thought.

yesbutno
Guest
yesbutno
5 years ago
Reply to  Elvis Costanza

wow your rant about spelling is equivalent to waving your palms in the air out of anger

Sheriff Hass Uncleanhands
Guest
Sheriff Hass Uncleanhands
5 years ago
Reply to  Elvis Costanza

How dare you defend the unclean hands of the HCSO, get off your confused high horse and stand with the rule of law and justice for all!

SearchingforBobby
Guest
SearchingforBobby
5 years ago

Our family has experienced the same thing. I’m happy for Garret’s family that the Alderpoint 8 cared enough to step up. I wish someone would have done the same for Bobby. It’s frustrating when you know who killed your loved one and nothing is done. Law enforcement Officer Swithenbank sent me an email and told me what happened to Bobby was an unfortunate accident. They didn’t even know what happened to him. 9 years later the murderer commits suicide. It’s been over a year since the murderer left a note disclosing his whereabouts. His remains still have not been recovered. I hope Garret’s family gets justice.

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago

Blood has been spilt over your beloved Bobby’s whereabouts I will have you know. The community cares and as well are deeply saddened over recent events. We will not stop until he is found I assure you.

SearchingforBobby
Guest
SearchingforBobby
5 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

I can’t even begin to understand your comment but appreciate that you cared about Bobby. Our family is desperate for any information that will help locate him and bring him home. I pray someone who knows will eventually give a specific location. Any assistance from the community is greatly appreciated.

Hapfarm
Guest
Hapfarm
5 years ago

All I can say is WOW,it is absolutely repulsive how people can trash a man who gave so much time, energy and hard work to be apart of something that you as Humbolt proud people believe in…Or say you do and are proud business ownersfarmer who have love and joy of what you do and what it can bring to the world of pot farms and you say your good hard working folks…but the moment something horrible happens to a innocent
man or woman or whomever you automatically flip your script of all the morals and values you ALL say you have and that are apart of the farm life. But then as soon as something absolutely horrible happens to someone you go into such a horrible place and your litterly putting blame on other people who come to share in and be apart of a life that you all have said is awesome and beautiful. So how dare you say it was in any way Garrett is to blame,or he should’ve known!! Cause when u say that all it shows is all the crap u ramble about the good, decent and blah blah blah… It tell us the truth,that ur not shit ur not good people or living a laid back cool calm life. It’s tell me furesure that u,most who comment like idiot thug wanna be punks are just uneducated or broke asses who have never even lived on or worked on and absolutely don’t or didn’t have a grow farm. Ur just the low life do hard drugs and steal and have nothing. But that boy did his job busted his ass like a man does and he was done ready to move on did what he came to do and wanted what was his… No NO No did he deserve what happened. So get ur head outta ur ass n stop bashing inccent hard working poeple!! How dare u even speak his name! U shit talkers don’t get that right to say his name or sqy ur shitty trash opinion! So stop show some respect!! Cause when u open ur mouth it’s real sad…cause u make all of us good people of the emerald triangle look bad!! Take ur toxic ways some place else it doesn’t belong here on this boys page!! And u really should think about what u bring to the world!! He had a lot of happiness, kindness and joy and it showed! Most of all he was LOVED! So take ur bull crap off this page it doesn’t welcome the ugly some of u bring…he deserved to pack up get his pay and head home…NOT what he got!!! So I’m sorry Garret for the ugly,the pain u had to endure. I hope ur riding some awesome waves in heaven bro…rest easy my friend. And to the family I pray everyday justice happens… Please don’t listen or entertainin the things that are said on here from the trash we all are fighting to remove from the area…. Bless u and stay stong

AWallace
Guest
AWallace
5 years ago
Reply to  Hapfarm

Read every word! And was caring and kind!

Blackberry Amnesia
Guest
Blackberry Amnesia
5 years ago

There is so little factual information surrounding the accusations made by Garrett Rodriguez’s family, especialy with regard to the Sheriff’s office:

1) It seems clear that Mr Rodriguez made a series of very poor choices, when he decided to traffic in marijuana and possibly, in other substances. The activities he engaged in, were clearly illegal, at the time, and little of substance was presented, in the TV show made by Netflix, to explain exactly what Mr Rodriguez was involved in.
To my eye, he was participating in cultivation, and transport of cannabis, sales of cannabis, and my have been moving marijuana South and other substances North. Who knows the extent, quantity, or specifics?
2) The code of the west, in a few words, stated: “you ride with outlaws, you die with outlaws”. What part of this do the folks in the hinterlands of Humboldt not understand? In a county of 10,000 square miles, containing very few deputies, what level of law enforcement can we expect?
3) One thing for sure, the final choice made by Mr Rodriguez, as presented on Netflix, to demand payment from a very shady dude, at night, by himself, of drug money, was probably not the best idea.
4) So many of Mr Rodriguez’s choices appear to be so very poor. The idea that the manufacture, transport, and sales of illegal substances could somehow be protected, or that sanity and order could be maintained in a place like Alderpoint, Garberville, Redway, Shelter Cove or SoHum in general, seems pretty absurd.
5) There are things that you should just not do! In my world, this includes travel into Eastern Humboldt entirely! Certainly, you should not work for people that exhibit a tendency to not pay their workers, you should only buy and sell drugs for spot cash on the barrelhead, and, in general, if there is a dispute, you should not go alone, to demand payment! Probably, drug dealers should never operate alone at all!
Most drug dealers know these things! Also, in SoHum, people don’t fool with other people’s property, their partners, or, run to the police over minor matters! What happened in Alderpoint to all these people who were murdered, stands as a great example of what can happen when you mess with Karma, or violate the general tenets of out-lawism and drug dealing…
6) One thing is absolutely clear here: If you shoot someone, dump them at Jerold Phelps Hospital. Oh, and, if you want to buy or sell drugs, go to the motels of Garberville.
The appearance that Garberville is an enclave of Narco-Terrorism seems accurate, and this is a description applying to many parts of Humboldt, including Hoopa, Orleans, Willow Creek, Alderpoint, Island Mountain, Redway, Whitethorn, and on and on. These places do not operate by the usual policies of our society, so act accordingly!

The very idea that Sheriff’s deputies can function effectively when outlaws decide to kill each other seems purile. Law enforcement officers are required to operate according to standards, according to the law. Outlaws, on the other hand, operate only according to the moment and by the lack of rules and standards. Also, Deputies have to be very careful where they go, and when, and, must be cognizant that there are firefights that they could well lose! It is amazing to me that an out and out battle has not erupted, in parts of Humboldt, involving substantial loss of life on both sides, and resulting in military involvement. Surely the story of the Alderpoint 8 is a perfect example of how something like this could begin!

As for Mr Rodriguez’s family, well, it is sad that you lost your son, nephew, cousin, or friend. I am sympathetic, and Mr Rodriguez certainly has a right to process of law. That said, this person surely knew what he was doing, and probably had an idea of what could happen.

From my point of view, it is amazing how much cannabis has been produced, and how many people have met similar fates. For the general public, I would say that if you are dealing with a person who produces, traffics, uses and deals in illegal high value substances, you should be very cautious indeed. One thing for sure, “You can turn your back on a person, but you should never turn your back on a drug” Hunter S. Thompson

If you expect a timely clean-up from law enforcement, you may be disappointed, but it seems non-productive to blame the Sheriff for circumstances that he could clearly not control, and that practically no outside person would understand. This is the primary message of “Murder Mountain”.

T
Guest
T
5 years ago

Whoa bro, turn off your television for a few,,,,years. Go outside, talk to somebody, poor fella. It is a lot different out here, in reality.

NoShitSherlock
Guest
NoShitSherlock
5 years ago
Reply to  T

B. A. is 100% right and if you have not lived it, you most likely will never get it.

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  NoShitSherlock

Tens of thousands of people grow weed in the triangle. Only a few get killed every year. BA’s being Bella hyperbolic. Just don’t hang out with drunk tweekers.

HCSO for hire
Guest
HCSO for hire
5 years ago

No doubt! The sheriff’s office let outlaws who were/are their buddies run wild. For a looooong time now.

Sorry to the Rodriguez family, there are bad apples in every bunch and we have ours too. Unfortunately many of them are in the hcso.
Hate to say ut but you joined the club, i have numerous friends who were murdered and case went cold within a week. Neither were pot related. One was found dead with a friend off 101 after hitchhiking. One was murdered in her home in redway. One was murdered by a logger falling a tree on him. Look up the book “a good forest for dying”.
Those who grew up in certain backwoods areas knows theres a family of serial killers here that are in the same good ole boy network as the sheriffs.
Which is what murder mountain was originally named for, a pair of serial killers who hid out there in the 70’s or 80’s.
Remember serial killer in 90’s? Local boy truck driver dumping dismembered womens bodies in the bay? When he turned himself in they wouldn’t arrest him cuz hes one if their own. He had to go home and get a severed breast of a woman he killed that he kept in freezer, when he took that in they had to arrest him.
Its like that with hcso. If youve got money they will be your henchmen (MAXXAM) or if youre in their club, they help.
Otherwise you gotta take ut into your own hands. The only reason garretts body was found was because locals turned outlaws forced the dumbass to tell them where body was.

Sunshine
Guest
Sunshine
5 years ago

Wow, catch up with the times. Weed is legal now and it is not a crime to grow or sell with the proper permits! When a body is found there should be a major investigation regardless of how it is found!! The HCSO has failed in this case and it’s obvious. The HCSO has been picking and choosing its crimes to pursue and it typically involves confiscating money and property. How about the news agencies start following the money. Lets have an investigation of where all the money goes that is taken from the community and how is it being used?

Charlie
Guest
Charlie
5 years ago

It’s not the weed, it’s the money to be made from it precisely because it was illegal. The folks that started this ball rolling years ago certainly had no idea it would morph into this. It was our hippie sacrament and we could grow a little cash in the back 40. The first big businesses to move in and start taking it over were just criminals with far less innocence and ethics.

My wife and I were talking this AM about the pot industry and how some people wish it was still illegal. Well in about 45 years 4 people that lived or had lived in our community, one that may have had 250 people at its max, have been murdered. In each case pot or the money derived from it was the reason. I can name others from other communities and those are just the instances where the body was found.

The adjustment period is ugly and hard on a lot of people but the alternative looks uglier still. How many dead is prosperity worth?

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago
Reply to  Charlie

It is not all about the prosperity. It is also about truth, standing up to corporations, their lobbyist and a belief that millions in the future will have a natural healing alternative. Only comment about your “how many dead” comment friend is they are not reporting positive stories and we have a lot. Humboldt dominated the Emerald Cup not one word has been said about this fact. Locals need to communicate more face to face like we used to and let the herd believe what they wish again like we used to!

Central HumCo
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

We approach our problems today as if they were political problems, open to political solutions. We talk about them, we hold debates about them, they pass tax ordinances, resolutions and declarations about them.

When nothing changes, we seek to solve our problems through economic means. We throw money at them, or withhold money from them.

When that fails we say, “Aha! This is a problem to give to the military. We’ll solve it with force.” So we shoot bullets at it and drop bombs on it. That never works, either, if a long-term solution is what anyone is looking for. But do you think we would learn?

No. We just start the cycle all over again. So in comes a Task Force. or a Committee, or a Commission, and return to the negotiating table. There, we negotiate reparations and financial aid to heal the open wounds and quell the teeming masses. When that proves to be only a stopgap, we’re at it again. Bring out the guns. Bring in the body bags.

The reason we keep running like a mouse on a wheel is that no one dares to look at the ‘cause’ of the ongoing condition we seem fated to endure.

Either we truly don’t know, or we’re afraid to admit, that our biggest problem today is not a political problem, it’s not an economic problem, and it’s not a military problem.

The problem facing humanity today is a spiritual problem. It has to do with humanity’s ‘beliefs.’

Before, there were classrooms, meetings, or group facilitators, there were people sitting around talking, debating.

“We can take courage from the fact that this is a process we all know how to do. We can also take courage in the fact that many people are longing to converse again . . . we are awakening an ancient practice, a way of being gathered that all humans intimately understand.” Misses Wheatley

Dmarie
Guest
Dmarie
5 years ago

Hey Blackberry A.! What the hell! Sounds like YOU consider murder a minor matter., i.e.”Run to the police over minor matters.” Then you finish by saying…”This is the primary message of Murder Mountain.”
DON’T speak for the mountain, the mountain can speak for itself!

yesbutno
Guest
yesbutno
5 years ago

go outside toss a Frisbee around for awhile

Elric of Melniboné
Guest
Elric of Melniboné
5 years ago

OMG, YOU ARE A FUCKING EXPERT!

Dem
Guest
Dem
5 years ago

Instead of passing judgement on the deceased, why not have some compassion, you judgemental, oh so perfect people? I can’t believe the callous, ignorant comments you people are making. This family of this man doesn’t need nor deserve to read the ignorant comments. She is right. The HCSO dropped the ball on this case. No matter what Garrett’s choices were, NO ONE had the right to take his life!

Over humboldt and was born here
Guest
Over humboldt and was born here
5 years ago

Rest In Peace garret . Justice will be served . Used to be proud to be from Humboldt . F*** all you people who have an attitude with no achievement .. good luck to the cultivators who have gone compliant , hopefully we can run the trash out of Humboldt who don’t deserve the money in the industry . Barely anyone impressed me with their work ethic anymore . Bring back real jobs to Humboldt and bring back good people

THC
Guest
THC
5 years ago

The Series highlights the gross incompetence of our police force in so many ways. From obvious drug deals being videotaped in broad daylight on public streets, to intoxicated individuals that can’t even walk straight being interviewed. The murder investigations being obviously fumbled, the legal permitted grows being busted with people held at gunpoint for hours. Still one of my main takeaways from the series, and something I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about is, methamphetamine is bad M’Kay…

And both with red blood
Guest
And both with red blood
5 years ago

And what is the difference between Lawson and Garrett? Oh YA……………………Race!

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago

I don’t think Josiah’s friends could have gotten away with AP8 cowboy lynch mob shit in Arcata, for multiple reasons.

T
Guest
T
5 years ago

The only similarity is that they are both dead, for no good reason.
The only race is to the bottom and you just won! These cases are not related.

Disgusting supervisors.
Guest
Disgusting supervisors.
5 years ago

Blackberry amnesia that’s what they (sheriff’s department) suck there living off of our tax money for.thats there job that they blatenly are shunning.thats why they Just begged the public for measure o (more) then they have nothing but excuses for us when the worst capital crime in the land (murder) is committed repeatedly in there jurisdiction.but when the good honest locals/folks put a few plants that the voters of California voted to be legal out there ready to run in high numbers to extort them out of there lives.just because a few slimy politicians hatched this rip off scheme doesn’t make it any less of a Koo against the voters and citizens of California.And the fact remains that they still will not do there jobs while they suck off our taxes like ticks !!!!!

Anon
Guest
Anon
5 years ago

Det. Todd Fulton saying “[the] nephew was a drug dealer, and these are the consequences of that life.”

Sounds like grounds for a civil lawsuit to me.

My jaw drops at the hubris, ineptitude and callous disregard of our local sheriff’s department. (And police departments nationwide for that matter. THEY decide which cases get legit attention to detail , the rest grow cold .)

There is only rare true justice. Sad.

Bunny Wilder
Guest
Bunny Wilder
5 years ago

Right on Dem.

Blackberry, boy you have all the answers don’t ya? There is so much I could comment about on your extremely lengthy high and mighty post but it’s too much. Too many words. So much judgement. Where would I start? I could start by saying I believe the blood is on the hands of the Feds who continuously have lied about cannabis making it valuable. Making it super valuable. It’s a weed. Not valuable unless it was illegal. All of everything could have been avoided if the government told the truth. Simple as that.

Blackberry Amnesia
Guest
Blackberry Amnesia
5 years ago
Reply to  Bunny Wilder

Sorry, Bunny! I don’t think that Six will actually turn out to be Nine, and, for the folks living permanently in the past, well, Garberville, that most pathetic of towns, might just be the best place for you!

Remember, you may have been born at Jerold Phelps, but I don’t think it will be around long enough for you to draw your last breath, down in the SNF!

Have a swell day, Bunny! See you soon!

yesbutno
Guest
yesbutno
5 years ago

if you hold the netflix b.s clasped like bible you should watch what you say about the people and there towns-cause you know you can be killed and nothing will be done about it….so tread lightly

Central HumCo
Guest
5 years ago

~yeah. Quit ratting on Garberville. I fell in love with Garberville and her people the first time i stopped in for petrol in the early 80’s. I don’t feel any different about the ville today.

Chatty Cathy
Guest
Chatty Cathy
5 years ago

It’s funny how everyone rushes to the aid of the OG SoCal transplant, who met an unfortunate end rolling the dice.
Would we all be so empathetic of the story if had he been seen falling trees, damning the creek, pushing dirt, spraying Nukem….
That’s what I thought
He was a green rusher, fueled by the thought of easy money and winters in Belize.
No different than selling dime bags or 8 balls on 19th Avenue in the city.
His family needs to grow the fu() up.
It’s that kids fault no one else’s, live by the sword, die by the sword

Sunshine
Guest
Sunshine
5 years ago
Reply to  Chatty Cathy

You need to grow up and get a heart! Garrett did not deserve to die and anyone who says that is seriously sick in the head!! With your logic and all the mistakes people make, there should be millions dying by the sword on a regular basis, lol. You are ridiculous!!

THC
Guest
THC
5 years ago
Reply to  Sunshine

Of course he did not deserve to die. People that swim with sharks don’t deserve to be eaten, but it’s a possibility and the more you swim with them, the greater the chances of you getting eaten are…

Billy Casomorphin
Guest
Billy Casomorphin
5 years ago
Reply to  THC

I heartily endorse this comment by THC! This is the most intelligent, logical and concise comment on RHBB for several days! Thanks, THC, for your share!

yesbutno
Guest
yesbutno
5 years ago
Reply to  THC

apples and oranges when you go swimming you dont give a shark money for a business proposition they say its going to be fine swim all you want then when you feel its time to get out of the water they turn around and eat you.

Gazoo
Guest
Gazoo
5 years ago
Reply to  Chatty Cathy

I sure hope nothing bad happens to you or your family, with those comments I doubt highly that anyone would step in to help you, (edit).

Tailgate
Guest
Tailgate
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

I keep you on your toes, don’t I?

yesbutno
Guest
yesbutno
5 years ago
Reply to  Chatty Cathy

baby elephants get mad and stamped with hurtful words

Marilyn
Guest
Marilyn
4 years ago
Reply to  Chatty Cathy

It doesn’t matter. Law enforcement had information and evidence and time and time again, did not act! Something’s off with the police.

Disgusting supervisors.
Guest
Disgusting supervisors.
5 years ago

Chatty Cathy would have our country’s citizens stripped of all there rights as america citizens.its happening anyway as they enslave us with permit fees and fines for everything under the sun.might as well burn the Constitution and put everyone in chains to be whipped.thats where were headed when government local or higher has law enforcement extorting on a mass scale and doing so with blatant disregard for the basic rules of the land(Constitution)and with blatant disregard for human life

Bunny Wilder
Guest
Bunny Wilder
5 years ago

Chatty…..I’m surprised Kym hasn’t taken your stupid comment down. Easy money? HA. You obviously don’t know a thing about growing. And You’re using the words green rusher wrong. Guess what? Nice people and good people grow cannabis too. And if you don’t believe that it just proves you are ignorant on this subject.

Farce
Guest
Farce
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Thank you, Kym. I don’t like her comment either. But your inclusion and allowance here makes this the best community billboard we have in these very polarized times. I actually enjoy reading comments from people I don’t agree with and in some cases it has made me think about my own logic!

Gazoo
Guest
Gazoo
5 years ago

Justice for garret! A life is a life it doesn’t matter your income no one deserves to die at the hands of another human, my kids doing hard time for killing a man. Justice was served. Let’s bring mr Indiana back to Humco and get justice served.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
5 years ago

And how many times did his family/father come up to Humboldt to search for their missing son? I would have been in that sheriffs office daily fighting for help to find my missing son. Unlike the woman who had her daughter go missing, she was here searching, using every last penny she had to find her and she lived in Australia. Two opposite approaches to justice.

Gazoo
Guest
Gazoo
5 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

Garrets mom was very involved, I know because I helped her with different things I’d like to keep quiet about. To say his family wasn’t involved is straight up bullshit ( sorry for my language Garret’s mom). Even his long time friends were involved. So if you don’t know what you are talking about please be silent. We know more than the police sheriffs and other Leo #justiceforgarret #neverforgotten

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago
Reply to  Gazoo

I refuse to watch thanks for letting people know. They all talk about the father and I had wondered why not the mom and did not feel it was my place to say anything? Was she not in the film I never thought to ask someone who watched.

Gazoo
Guest
Gazoo
5 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

I havnt watched it either ( not interested in the media’s input) I’m pretty sure the aunt took the reins as it was exhausting on everyone, mom wanted closure and to bring her son home. And that’s what was done. Karma is still in play, just taking longer than I had hoped

SearchingforBobby
Guest
SearchingforBobby
5 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

Well when Bobby disappeared we were told not to come up there. It was unsafe for us to walk around the neighborhood. Doesn’t mean we weren’t asking for help locating him. It’s difficult without money to get investigators. It’s nearly impossible to get help from media to look for a middle aged man who disappeared in Humboldt. Everyone automatically assumes drugs. I don’t care the background of a person. Whether they used drugs or had a past. No one has the right to take the life of another. Everyone means something to someone.

shak
Guest
shak
5 years ago

Well said SearchingforBobby.
I hope the case has collected evidence that can’t be shared publicly or even privately, & that indictments are waiting to be unsealed. I hope that closure will finally be achieved, and I pray for calm to flood over his loved ones during this turbulent time.

Enough already
Guest
Enough already
5 years ago

lots of blame game going on, but what it really comes down to is the community must accept the largest percentage of the blame. We accept the “outlaw life style”, we warn of harm to “snitches”, we complain about lack of law enforcement while complaining about them enforcing laws that “we the people” have made law. We want law enforcement that reflects our community but then complain about them picking and choosing what laws to enforce. If your society lives in the shawdows, there is no support of laws and your law enforcement will reflect it. You can’t honestly say that you believe Garrett deserved to die at the hands of another, or that his family doesn’t deserve justice, but you have to ask yourself how could this ugly incident had been avoided. It was a crime committed and hidden because of the “outlaw life style” this society embraces. There were lots of mistakes made by all, but blaming each other does not change the history. We need to work together rather than blaming each other…we should recognize that from watching our current government.

local observer
Guest
local observer
5 years ago
Reply to  Enough already

I still blame meth, as it is always the underlining factor in everything evil in our community. if Garrett’s business partner wasn’t a tweaker he would most likely be alive. meth is the root of all of our local problems.

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  Enough already

I blame the killer. The community didn’t shoot this young man.

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago
Reply to  Enough already

We the community do not have anything to do with whom an individual chooses to associate themselves with that is on the individual. Let that be clear! Tired of y’all blaming good people the good people try more than law does that I know. It’s in the damn film what lengths the good people of my community will take. I mean no disrespect to the deceased or family just responding to a local that has things a bit twisted.

Confused
Guest
Confused
5 years ago
Reply to  Enough already

Finally, some one put it out there in words that describe the real problem. ( Selective acceptance ) on both sides of the law…. and we should be asking whose law !
Come on we have to work together to fix this issue. Sounds like we are all wearing our shoes on the wrong feet and accepting the pain in our feet through ignorance, for lack of a better word. We have one side saying that if law enforcement shows up on our land I will deal with them. Then when something goes awry they want their to do their own justice. Some things we cant have both ways. If you saw something and know the truth say something.
I dont understand how some people sleep at night…. that shit has to hurt like no other hurt I can imagine.

Big Bang
Guest
5 years ago

When a 10 lb sack of potatoes goes for 35,000 bucks, those asshat’s will be killing each other for a fat sack of spuds. Any grow bigger than personal use (even by the wake & bake crowd) has always been a dodgy sketchfest. Me wonders why in the hell would anyone want to “work” at a grow operation in the first place? Weird vibes, scary people, constant fear of leo’s or ripoffs, etc. While murder is strictly defined in the eyes of the judicial system, the dirtbags that live on the lawless side of the fence just don’t fucking care. When the term “legal” (first in the guise of “medicine” and when that passed muster, “recreational”) was coined concerning weed, I, and every reasonably sane person saw the shitstorm that was about to hit the shore. Meth has become the fan to the fire, but a shit ton of money in weed out in the woods was the spark. “The time has come”, the walrus said…

Small Fry
Guest
Small Fry
5 years ago
Reply to  Big Bang

Just so you know.. pointing out the obvious.. potatoes are NOT cannabis. Potatoes are sold with thier water weight. A lot of work goes into producing 10# of cannabis. And seriously rip offs and dodgy details happen in all industry. Not to long ago an entire shipment of pollinators bees were hijacked in an elaborate scheme.. Avacado’s have been a target lately.. scandal is not just awarded to the Canno industry… and long gone are the days of $3500 a #…

Gazoo
Guest
Gazoo
5 years ago

Garret wasn’t a local, garret was eliminated from the payroll. End of story
Quintin killed garret to better his pay.

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago
Reply to  Gazoo

Not true or Q would of been found lying next to Garret. This does nothing for anyone so please refrain from these comments!

Gazoo
Guest
Gazoo
5 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

U know nothing

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
5 years ago
Reply to  Gazoo

Correct nothing not a damn thing!

Disgusting supervisors.
Guest
Disgusting supervisors.
5 years ago

There’s shady theifs in every buissness,and not just in Humboldt ,everywhere.slimeballs trying to weasel in every buissness.nickel and dime slime all over down in the city’s.our government local and state!!!!! Lol !!!! You people are sheltered

Small Fry
Guest
Small Fry
5 years ago

I agree with this editorial. I mean the HSCO has NO PROBLEM going out and raiding gardens all based on ‘hearsay’, or a complaining neighbors… But, a murdered pot grower.. look the other way! Maybe if they were not so busy busting and terrorizing the community over small violations.. they would have more time and resources to solve the crimes they need to be solving.. It’s like… some neighbor, calls in a complaint over ‘litter’ ‘150 ft from a creek.. go get him boys… A neighbor calls and says there has been a murder, and we know where the body is… ‘Oh he’s a pot grower.. sorry, wrong number..’CLICK’…. absolutely shameful!

Small Fry
Guest
Small Fry
5 years ago

I do not want to offend the families.. but legalization will not stop crimes such as these.. for example.. In So Cal, a wealth owner of a legal dispensary was befriend by a man who essentially murdered him, and robed him. So sad. I mean maybe if people had access to banks, it could help… and in Santa Rosa, I just read an article about murder over cannabis.. It happens in all communities. But it is not entirely tied just to the ‘cannabis industry’ either.. there is a lot of crime in the big cities. I mean in San Fran. The first murder of the year was a woman filming a domestic dispute in the Tenderloin. But I think what sets this case aside, is the fact that the HCSO failed miserably at thier jobs.. and it is not the first..
Personally, I am not entirely against having a police force, and the HCSO, has actually been really good at communicating with Kmud, and the public on some levels, and I appreciate that! They have a pretty hard job, and deal with the worst on a day to day basis.. and many communities have police forces that are far worse.. But I think it is important to put on the pressure, especially in cases like this. This family and others deserve better.. and I believe the HCSO knows this!

Guest 62
Guest
Guest 62
5 years ago

All the negative comments on here about Garret are from the ignorant idiots that are anti cannabis and anti happiness miserable human beings . He did not deserve to be murdered as no one does . Anyone who says different is not worth listening too . If someone decides to be a banker they don’t deserve to robbed at gun point or blamed for being robbed . Thieves steal and kill for anything that has value . It’s the murderers fault and the murderer deserves to pay the price and be charged . Garret’s spirit will change this area and already has . There will be justice . Prayers to Garret and his family .

Humboldt deserves better
Guest
Humboldt deserves better
5 years ago

So sad to hear about this. But I’m not surprised. There is tons of incompetence going on with law enforcement agencies in this county. Just look at the Eureka Police Department.

There are lots of excellent individual police officers and sheriffs working in Humboldt who care about their jobs and are really trying. However, the departments themselves are often stagnated with inefficiency. They take way too long to get things done and in the meantime a variety of community problems (such as this one) are not properly dealt with.

Freedumb
Guest
Freedumb
5 years ago

These cops are such hypocrites. And so are all these bootlicking “devil’s lettuce”trolls. How pathetic that in “the land of the free” we have so many wanting to be told what plants are legal/illegal. What a joke. The hcso has no problem acting on heresay if theres money or property to be stolen, i mean “confiscated” . as for the fact that the murder victim made poor decisions, that is a none issue. There’s tons of poor decisions that lead to people’s deaths but that should not be a factor in a non corrupt police(if such a thing exists). The hcso is a good ol boy network like many other police gangs out there. I suppose that hcso coroner’s thief of an office deserves no protection under law sonce they made “poor decisions” of stealing from the county and the deceased. Also, the rohnert cop bastards that committed armed highway robbery do not deserve investigation if one of them were to be shot tomorrow because they made “poor decisions” in acting like bandit thugs with a badge and a gun. Anyway this “law for thee not for me” cop mentality is just as criminal as anything this rodriguez guy ever did. But i guess we are supposed to just take it and be thankful. Land of the free from thought home of the bootlickers sad state of affairs we all find ourselves in.

Is the world a better place with us?
Guest
Is the world a better place with us?
5 years ago

We live in a violent community. We live in a violent country. What is it about violence that has become the act of resolution? In the past thirty years the rate of taking lives has escalated. We blame guns. We blame immigrants. We blame the media. Yet from our beginnings we have been a Gov’t of violence. We can’t go 30 years without getting into a war or conflict somewhere in the world. We have built and entire industry of corporations who’s soul missions is to make weapons of destruction. And we are told our military is protecting our freedoms. From whom. Since Korea to today what county has threatened our freedoms. Vietnam never had one huge aircraft carrier, or tank or bomber. We have sacrificed our young people for what? Today not one conflict puts our country in peril of losing our freedoms. We are doing it to ourselves. Is making an almighty dollar the reason? Countries hate us and their citizens love us. Isn’t that strange??? We have killed more innocent people than those countries military have killed us. Doesn’t that say something about us?? Violence beget violence. I wonder if non violence begets nonviolence?? So many American lives lost!! Do we really need to clean up other countries’s back yards when we can’t even clean up our own back yard? What other country has our history of violence?

Hippie4justice
Guest
Hippie4justice
5 years ago

Is it a generational thing? I came of age in the sixties. The time of hippies, flower power, Woodstock, make love not war. It seemed everyone I graduated with smoked pot. If someone bought a “brick” and broke it down into “lids”, we never thought of them as our drug dealer but rather someone helping their friends. We thought nothing of someone growing.

I was an honors student, respectful and obedient child. Smoking pot was just something my generation did, at least where I lived. And pot was not legal in any state.

Never once did it enter my mind that someone would be of the opinion that my friends and I could be murdered with impunity because we we drug users, drug dealers etc. It never entered my mind that people would say we were putting ourselves in the line of fire, didn’t deserve justice because we were breaking the law.

I also went to a slumber party while still in high school where my friends and I drank liquor even though we hadn’t reached the legal drinking age of 21.
If someone had gunned us down, I would have expect them to be prosecuted even thoug we were breaking the law by drinking.

So like I said maybe it’s a generational thing. But I’m glad I wasn’t part of a generation that is as judgmental, uncaring and unsympathetic as many of the posters here are. I’m glad I was allowed to grow up, mature and become a responsible adult. It pains me that so many of you here don’t feel that Garret didn’t deserve to do that.

Swine
Guest
Swine
5 years ago
Reply to  Hippie4justice

You grew up in a timw of greater mental and spiritual reparation

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  Swine

A time when the top marginal tax bracket was taxed at 90% and kids learned trigonometry because they were going to be fighting Russians in orbit.

becca jones
Guest
5 years ago

First of all I am so sorry for your loss. I happen to know what its like to have a family member murdered and all the police want to do is help the suspect. I hate to say this but I am almost certain the police there are getting paid lots of money by the suspect or someone else he knows is paying them with the illegal drugs grown there. Gosh i hope it all works out for you and your family\ They will all have to answer to Gods Wrath………

Mark
Guest
Mark
5 years ago

“Prison is for rapists, thieves, and murderers. If you lock someone up for smoking a plant that makes them happy, then you’re the fucking criminal.”

Joe Rogan

Bush
Guest
Bush
5 years ago

Just watched murder mountain…hope you catch this guy..can’t believe the attitude of the police

Mary WagnerD
Member
Mary Wagner
1 year ago

Maybe suing the “murderer” civilly is the way to go. Witnesses would be subpoenaed and would have to testify. Doing it this way could lead into a possible criminal trial.

Mary WagnerD
Member
Mary Wagner
1 year ago
Reply to  Mary Wagner

I have no dogs in this argument, I just happened to see the Netflix doc. Many people sue civilly when the person can be found guilty “beyond reasonable doubt”. Of course, it’s a monetary trial, but considering the comments I’ve read here and other places, this might hurt this individual more than being criminally charged. This incident happened because of money.