Edward Joseph Kim, Venice Marijuana Dispensary Owner, Arrested on Suspicion of Selling Weed After Pot Shop is Raided
Updated after the jump: Kim was arrested last month on suspicion of transportation-for-sale of marijuana.
Blockbuster marijuana at this Venice storefront.
A dispensary owner was arrested after the LAPD raided a Venice pot shop this week, according to the department.
Thirty-year-old Edward Joseph Kim of L.A. was booked on suspicion of narcotics for sales after cops descended on his Supplemental Organic Solutions at 328 Lincoln Blvd. about 6:45 p.m. Monday, LAPD Officer Karen Rayner told the Weekly.
So, eh, a dispensary owner in a medical marijuana state was collared for selling weed? What's the catch?
It's not clear. We were told that the operation was headed by the LAPD Pacific Division's narcotics unit. No one from that crew would talk to us.
Rayner said "even the legitimate dispensaries have to abide by certain parameters, so he was in violation."
Kim was booked on $25,000 and made bail at 3 this morning, according to the sheriff's department.
Interestingly, a man with the same name and birth date was arrested through the LAPD's Olympic Division in Koreatown Feb. 18 and booked at 1:42 on suspicion of a felony violation, according to sheriff's info. Bail was set at $20,000, and he was out by 11:21 p.m. the next evening.
At the Venice shop police also took a "large amount" of weed and cash, Rayner said.
Twitter user Venice 311 and the Los Angeles Times reported that an LAPD air unit was overhead during the raid, using its night sun to illuminate the dispensary as police went in.
A message on S.O.S.'s phone line says "we offer the highest grade med cannabis that the West Coast has to offer."
Added: The City Attorney's office tells us that S.O.S. was fairly legit on paper -- eligible to apply for a lottery that would ultimately determine which 100 dispensaries would be allowed to continue operating in L.A.
Update: The District Attorney's office tells us Kim's February arrest was based on suspicion of transportation-for-sale of marijuana. However the D.A. declined to prosecute March 18, citing "insufficient evidence."
First posted at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22.
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