No charges for Oakland police officer linked to Antioch grow house

ANTIOCH, Calif. - No charges are being filed against an Oakland police officer, whose property was among several houses raided by state agents during an illegal marijuana grow house sting in Antioch. 

A total of 80 pounds of cannabis flowers stored in trash bags were seized from Officer Samson Liu's property on Sierra Trail Way on April 30, which is valued at $132,000, according to the California Department of Cannabis Control. The agency also shared video clips of their operation. 

On Thursday, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office told KTVU that prosecutors received the misdemeanor case in June and decided not to file charges due "to the lack of sufficient evidence needed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt."

The DA did not identify the homeowner of that address by name. State agents said they believe that Liu was renting out the home to someone else, but they did not know the specifics. The 4-bedroom home is up for sale at a listing price of $749,000. 

KTVU reached out to Liu on Thursday by phone and email and did not hear back. KTVU also reached out to his attorney, Julia Fox who was unavailable, and the Oakland Police Officers union, who declined to speak.

Last week, Oakland police confirmed that Liu was placed on paid administrative leave following the operation.

Neighbors said they were taken aback when agents raided their quiet, residential street and confiscated bags and plants. 

"We were shocked," said Mark Holcomb, a neighbor who says he has lived in the area for about four years and seldom saw people at those houses.  "It happened at 7 o'clock in the morning. Just didn't expect it here." 

Other neighbors said they would smell marijuana at times.

The illegal grow operation was first reported by CNN. 

Laundry and boxes are seen in a home on Sierra Trail Way owned by Oakland police officer Samson Liu on April 30, 2024. Photo: Dept. of Cannabis Control 

The Department of Cannabis Control raided another home in Antioch that day, also on Sierra Trail Way, where video they shared showed mature plants, faulty electrical wiring and tubs of chemicals strewn about the home. That home is also up for sale. 

According to the state, Antioch has become a hub of illegal grow houses since 2021.

Since 2021, the agency has served 87 search warrants in Contra Costa County; 52 of those in Antioch.

Since 2023, the Contra Costa County DA has charged 15 cases sent to them by the Department of Cannabis Control; seven of them were from Antioch. 

Antioch is by far the city in the Bay Area with the most illegal grow houses, according to the Department of Cannabis Control. 

In California, only Los Angeles surpasses Antioch in the number of marijuana raids, with a total of 89. 

The Department of Cannabis Control enter a home in Antioch on Sierra Trail Way on April 30. Photo: DCC 

"The housing market [in Antioch is] pretty good," Department of Cannabis Control Cmdr. Kevin McInerney told KTVU on Thursday. "The houses are generally worth in the million dollar range where they're purchased. Also, it's easier to conceal in suburban America, whereas long as nobody smells it, nobody sees it, nobody knows what's going on and leaves their neighbors alone." 

While recreational use of cannabis is legal in California, illegal grows often come with environmental hazards, like toxic pesticides, and illegal firearms, McInerney emphasized. 

State agents also look to find other crimes associated with the houses, such as money laundering, tax evasion and firearm possession to add to the marijuana charges, he said. 

The key players in these marijuana rings and illegal grow houses in California are often members of organized crime organizations overseas, McInerney said. 

Morgan Fox, political director for the national nonprofit, NORML, which aims to reform marijuana laws, said the only reasons these types of law enforcement operations exist is because cannabis is still illegal in more than half the states in this country.

And even in California, where cannabis is legal, Fox said the "licensed industry is heavily overregulated and overtaxed." 

Fox said these factors create an incentive for people to "try to undercut the legal and regulated market." 

"As long as prohibition continues to be the law of the land at the federal level and is in place in the majority of states now," Fox said, "there's going to be a continued market for illicitly produced cannabis."

In Fox's opinion, if the public wants to stop spending "lots of resources and potentially endangering law enforcement by doing enforcement raids, we can make the conditions better for the regulated industry." 
 

Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez