Marijuana-Business Worker Beaten, Robbed Of $9K Proceeds

SAN DIEGO, CA – A man who works collecting cash from marijuana businesses was beaten and robbed of roughly $9,000 in San Diego's Grantville neighborhood by two assailants who remain at large Wednesday, police reported.

The victim, whose name was withheld, was targeted about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday in the 6500 block of Reflection Drive while walking to his residence carrying a backpack filled with money, San Diego police robbery Lt. Eric Hays said.

Law enforcement have voiced concern that marijuana businesses, which deal mostly in cash because of federal regulations that scare off federally insured banks, would become robbery targets.

"The victim works for a marijuana distributor based in Oakland and collects cash from various dispensaries in San Diego County," Hays said. "The victim had recently picked up approximately $9,000 in cash from three different marijuana dispensaries, including Apothekare, which is a legally permitted dispensary in the city of San Diego."

As the victim walked to his residence, two men attacked him and stole his cash-laden tote, Hays said. The victim sustained a cut on his nose during the altercation.

One of the suspects was described as a roughly 5-foot-10-inch white man about 25 years old with a husky build. He wore dark pants, a dark sweatshirt and a baseball hat. The second suspect was described as a thin, roughly 5-foot-8-inch tall white man, about 23 years old, wearing jeans and a dark sweatshirt.

The men fled in a white, two-door Honda Civic with California license plate 7ECJ311.

Anyone with information about the robbery was asked to call the San Diego Police Department's robbery unit at (619) 531-2299 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

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--City News Service/Shutterstock image