加州圣贝纳迪诺县 Barstow 大麻案：中资厂商仓库查获逾1.5万株，检方起诉13人含8名华人
美国加利福尼亚州圣贝纳迪诺县地区检察官办公室2025年7月2日对13人提起重罪指控，指控他们在一家中资台面制造商位于 Barstow 市的仓库内非法种植大麻、逃避大麻税。检方称，警方在该仓库10间房内查获大麻逾1.5万株；13名被告包括8名华人，以及 Barstow 前市长 Paul Anthony Courtney。
案件源于2022年7月7日的一次查抄。Barstow 警局接到该市一名建筑检查员的线索后，突查 Lenwood 路2989号的仓库群——这片占地75英亩的厂区属于总部设在中国的台面制造商 American Quartz Group。警方在现场查获1.5万多株大麻，并记录了在场的14人。经过多年调查，县检方于2025年7月2日正式起诉。
8名华人被告是 Ming Fang Wu（49岁）、Yong Chao Huang（59岁）、Wo Shun Yang（53岁）、Cui Ping Zhang（66岁）、En Dan Li（27岁）、Ai Qin Lin（59岁）、Han Jun Chen（37岁）和 Hong Wei（65岁）。据法庭记录与检方说法，这8人至今没有出庭，法庭已对他们发出拘捕令，下落不明。主管副检察官 Cary Epstein 2025年8月22日表示：「我没有关于他们目前位置的具体信息。如果他们被捕，将被带到法庭提审，届时由法庭决定羁押状态。」案件在其余被告到案或被捕前保持开放。
其余被告已陆续出庭并作无罪答辩：Courtney 于2025年7月31日在 Victorville 高等法院答辩，来自 Canyon Lake 的 Woolsey 三兄弟 Jordan、Zachary、Jacob 于8月12日答辩，Natasha Lyn Stratton 于8月7日答辩；已出庭的被告均以自身具结获释。Woolsey 一方称，他们向 American Quartz 租下场地、曾向市政府申请大麻种植许可但尚未获批，事发当天只是去送物资。
据警方报告，现场多名华人工人表示，他们通过华人常用的招工应用「Platform 168」找到这份工作，半夜被人用车接走，在仓库干了约两周，主要做清洁、浇水、喂养植株和给工人做饭，从未拿到工钱。
Courtney 与仓库的关联是本案的另一焦点。根据 Epstein 提交的合理根据声明，仓库一名保安称查抄当天注意到 Courtney 每月都来，会穿过大门、从员工入口进入；一名 American Quartz 员工也称平均每月见他两次；调查人员在监控中看到一辆挂着定制车牌「#PACE1」的新款宾利从仓库卷帘门驶出，Courtney 确认那是他的车，车牌对应他自己的保洁服务公司 PACE Services。Courtney 否认参与非法种植，称自己任市长期间每月走访市内主要企业、American Quartz 是其中之一，对种植毫不知情，直到记者来电才知道自己被起诉。
加州税务与费用管理局的补充调查认定，被告与物业业主没有取得州大麻管制局的种植许可与执照、未办大麻税许可证，构成逃避大麻消费税，检方据此提出逃税指控。
据 Daily Caller News Foundation 2026年7月的调查报道，针对 Courtney 的指控已于2026年3月撤销，他对一项新增的轻微违规指控表示不抗辩。其余被告的案件仍在进行中，8名华人被告仍未到案。
关联：北加州非法大麻网络引关注：众议员 Gallagher 致信 FBI 局长要求彻查锡斯基尤县种植活动
San Bernardino County, California: 13 Charged, Including 8 Chinese Nationals, in 15,000-Plant Marijuana Grow at Chinese-Owned Barstow Warehouse
The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office in California filed felony charges on July 2, 2025, against 13 people accused of illegally growing marijuana and evading cannabis taxes inside a warehouse in the City of Barstow owned by a Chinese countertop manufacturer. Prosecutors said police seized more than 15,000 marijuana plants from 10 rooms at the site; the 13 defendants include eight Chinese nationals and former Barstow Mayor Paul Anthony Courtney.
The case began with a raid on July 7, 2022. Acting on a tip from a city building inspector, Barstow police searched the warehouse complex at 2989 Lenwood Road, part of a 75-acre property owned by American Quartz Group, a countertop maker headquartered in China. Officers seized more than 15,000 plants and documented 14 people at the site. After a multi-year investigation, the District Attorney filed charges on July 2, 2025.
The eight Chinese defendants are Ming Fang Wu, 49; Yong Chao Huang, 59; Wo Shun Yang, 53; Cui Ping Zhang, 66; En Dan Li, 27; Ai Qin Lin, 59; Han Jun Chen, 37; and Hong Wei, 65. According to court records and prosecutors, none of the eight has appeared in court; bench warrants have been issued for their arrest and their whereabouts are unknown. Supervising Deputy District Attorney Cary Epstein said on August 22, 2025: "I have no specific information about their current location. If they are arrested, they will be brought before the court for arraignment and the court will determine their custody status at the time." The case remains open until the defendants are arrested or appear voluntarily.
The remaining defendants have appeared and pleaded not guilty: Courtney on July 31, 2025, in Victorville Superior Court; brothers Jordan, Zachary and Jacob Woolsey of Canyon Lake on August 12; and Natasha Lyn Stratton on August 7. All who appeared were released on their own recognizance. The Woolseys said they rented the site from American Quartz and had applied for, but not yet received, a city cultivation permit, and were dropping off supplies on the day of the raid.
According to police reports, several Chinese workers at the site said they had found the jobs through Platform 168, an app widely used by Chinese speakers to find work and housing. They said they were picked up in the middle of the night, had worked at the warehouse for about two weeks cleaning, watering and feeding plants and cooking for other workers, and were never paid.
Courtney's connection to the warehouse is a second focus of the case. In a probable-cause declaration, Epstein wrote that a security guard said Courtney came to the site monthly, driving through the gate and entering through the employee entrance; an American Quartz employee said she saw him about twice a month; and investigators reviewing surveillance video noted a newer-model Bentley with a customized plate reading "#PACE1" leaving a bay door. Courtney confirmed the car is his and that the plate refers to his janitorial company, PACE Services. He denies any involvement in illegal cultivation, saying that as mayor he visited the city's major businesses monthly, that American Quartz was one of them, that he knew nothing of the grow, and that he learned of the charges only when a reporter called.
A supplemental investigation by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration concluded that the defendants and the property owner had obtained no cannabis cultivation license from the state Department of Cannabis Control and no cannabis tax permit, evading cannabis excise taxes — the basis for the tax-evasion counts.
According to a July 2026 investigation by the Daily Caller News Foundation, the charges against Courtney were dismissed in March 2026 after he pleaded no contest to an added minor violation. The cases against the remaining defendants continue, and the eight Chinese defendants remain at large.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：加州 Barstow 市航拍（资料图）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 4.0
