Deputies Raid Restaurant Believed To Be Selling Medical Marijuana

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - A Sacramento restaurant was raided Wednesday by Sacramento County sheriff's deputies. They say it was a front for a medicinal marijuana dispensary.

Believe it or not from sheriff's deputies who've eaten here, this place has the reputation of having great food, but even members of law enforcement didn't suspect the other business being operated here.

It's got sandwiches, soups, beverages, and everything else you might expect at a normal restaurant.

One thing you wouldn't expect - several pounds of pot.

The sheriff's department says the "Farmer's Daughter" restaurant on the corner of El Camino Avenue and Yorktown Avenue was not a normal mom and pop sandwich shop at all.

Instead, it was a front for a full-fledged medicinal marijuana dispensary.

"There's really nothing until you get into the rear portion of the business that would indicate they operate a dispensary out of here," said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

That means unsuspecting customers coming to the restaurant on their lunch break had no idea what was really going on, potentially putting themselves in danger.

The sheriff's department says weed and the restaurants food were stored in the same refrigerator, leaving customers open to unintentionally ingesting marijuana.

But, that's not the only danger.

"If word gets out and people know you have product, illegal product, marijuana, cash, then this makes it a potential target for robbers," said Ramos.

Deputies say they confiscated a total of 80 pounds of processed marijuana, some plants and edible cannabis products like ice cream from the "Farmer's Daughter" restaurant and a residence, in connection to the restaurant, in the 1800 block of Elkhorn Boulevard.

"This is a very organic restaurant so you can really see how the natural part fits in with the natural part," said Sandra Yuhse, medicinal marijuana supporter.

Medicinal marijuana supporters protested the raid.

Deputies arrested owners Shelby Lucero, 50, and Robert Sand, 64, at their home in Rio Linda.

"She's a very wealthy woman in the mind and her knowledge of cannabis," said Yuhse.

One of the detectives told CBS13 that they have busted restaurants/dispensaries before but they would not confirm if any others besides this one still exist.

As for the future of this business, that's unclear right now.