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POLICE ARREST HEMPERY OWNER

Woman Faces Numerous Felony Charges, Including Possession

HAYWARD -- Cheryl Adams, owner of the Hayward Hempery and its landmark medical marijuana dispensary, was arrested Saturday night in south Hayward on a $40,000 warrant.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Dennis McLaughlin issued the warrant in early March after Adams, 31, skipped out on a Fremont court preceding in a felony drug possession case against her.

Hayward police arrested her on the warrant just before 11 p.m.  Saturday on Barcelona Avenue in south Hayward, said police spokesman Lt.  Reid Lindblom.  She's in custody at Santa Rita county jail in Dublin.

The decade-old Hempery, at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and B Street, has housed one of the county's oldest and perhaps best-known medical marijuana dispensaries.  It was started by former Hayward resident and medical marijuana activist Bob Wilson, who has since moved out of the area.

Adams was arrested in December after police stopped her in front of the Newark hotel where she was living.  Police allege she was driving with 5.32 pounds of marijuana in 29 separate small plastic bags.

In an earlier interview, Ad-ams said she brought the pro-duct home from work because her safe on the premises wasn't working and her facility recently had been burglarized.

Adams faces felony counts of possession of marijuana for sale, transportation of drugs and possession of a cannabis concentrate, or hash.

She appeared before a judge Monday at the Fremont Hall of Justice, where she asked for a public defender, said Dep.  District Attorney Steve Corral.  She has asked for a public defender before but didn't qualify because of her income or assets, Corral said.

Adams is scheduled to appear in court again today after she is interviewed to determine if she now qualifies for a public defender, Corral said.  Future court dates and the issue of bail won't be addressed until she has an attorney.

In the meantime, Ron Ikebe, a Mountain View Realtor who owns The Hempery building, is in the process of evicting Ad-ams.  He already has received a writ of possession from the court and is in the process of obtaining the service of the sheriff's office to officially evict her, he said.

Adams was evicted once before, in January, but an anonymous Hayward resident loaned her about $11,000 to help her back in the building.  That man, a 30-year-old Tennyson High School graduate, said he entered into a partnership with Adams, but she later changed the locks without telling him and he wasn't able to get in or reach her.

This time, Ikebe said, he's not letting her back into the building, which is in escrow.

The Hempery also came close to closing in November amid the Hayward City Council's debate on what to do about the three downtown dispensaries, which have been operating against the city's zoning law.

The council decided to "grandfather in" the other two dispensaries, but not the Hempery's Hayward Patient Group.

But Adams challenged the council's decision, citing fairness issues.

The council ended up grandfathering in her facility for three years, under certain conditions.

Hayward Patients' Resource Center ( HPRC ), the newest of the three, was grandfathered in for one year.

As part of the deal, however, HPRC can stay for three years if one of the other dispensaries closes.  HPRC owner Jane Weirick declined to comment on the issue while Adam's eviction is still pending.