Firearms, a Secret Tunnel, $200K, and Over a 1000 Pounds of Processed Marijuana Found When SoHum Man’s Home Raided, Alleges Feds

Photo shown to the judge by federal attorneys allegedly depicts marijuana found at Kamaal Owen’s residence.

Documents filed last week in federal court allege that agents discovered cash, cannabis, other illegal substances, a secret tunnel, firearms, and a recently emptied safe when they served a search warrant east of Garberville earlier this month.

On October 11, federal agents arrested Southern Humboldt resident, Kamaal Owen, on a warrant issued out of Wisconsin alleging he is a “major supplier” to “a nationwide marijuana operation that spans from California to Maryland.”

The document alleges Owen “owns and operates a marijuana grow site located in Garberville, California and is believed to be a major supplier of marijuana to a target drug trafficking organization (“DTO”). Specifically, it is believed that Mr. Owen conspired with other members of the DTO to sell marijuana grown at his site to the DTO. That marijuana was then transported across the country and distributed in cities and states such as Milwaukee, North Carolina, Pittsburg, Virginia, Maryland, and the greater Washington D.C. area.”

Cash, cannabis and firearms were found at the property, argued federal attorneys.

In addition, the document alleges that during a search warrant served at Owen’s property approximately three miles east of Garberville on Alderpoint Road, “law enforcement found approximately $200,000 in cash spread throughout the property and thirteen (13) rifles, two (2) shotguns, and (3) pistols on the property.” Also, the document goes on to state that law enforcement found 1080 pounds of processed and packaged marijuana, a quarter of an ounce of cocaine, and an disclosed amount of MDMA powder, MDMA pills, and psilocybin mushrooms.

Mounted gun safe.

Furthermore, the document argues that a family member of Owen used a tunnel dug from his child’s bedroom to empty a hidden safe as federal agents poured onto the property to serve the search warrant.

Tunnel and tunnel room that federal attorneys allege were found on Mr. Owen’s property.

Though government attorneys argued that Owen should not be allowed to post bail as he would likely returning “home to where no condition or set of conditions would prevent him from reestablishing himself as a supplier of drugs to another drug trafficking organization and amassing large sums of money that would assist him if he decided to flee,” the defendant’s attorney successfully argued that he was entitled to post bail and go free on bond.

Greenhouse “hoopers” containing marijuana that Kamaal Owen argues was grown legally.

They argued he was a legal cannabis grower legally cultivating marijuana, a lifelong member of his community, and that there was “no evidence that any of those firearms were illegal to possess nor that those firearms were ever.. used in any illegal manner. Also, since Mr. Owen was lawfully cultivating cannabis at the location where the firearms were located, those firearms were not used to protect any unlawful activities. Consequently, the simple possession of those firearms should not support any request by the government that Mr. Owen should be detained simply because he legally possessed those firearms.”

Owen was released on a $1.5 million bond and the case was set for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Please remember, the information offered by the government has not been proven in a court of law and Mr. Owen should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.