Raj Singh has promised to surrender to Mineral County authorities on Nov. 5 after an extradition hearing was held in California on a felony fugitive warrant.
Raghvendra “Raj” Singh, appeared with his lawyer at Superior Court in Sacramento for the extradition hearing following the drug raid on his property in Schurz.
The raid on Sept. 2 yielded over 144 pounds of processed marijuana at the Road Runner Motel on the reservation. Along with the processed pot, hash oil, cell phones and guns were also recovered.
The growth of marijuana within the county is illegal. Singh has stated to Sheriff Stewart Handte that the cultivation was “for medicinal purposes”.
Challenging the authority of the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office warrant on tribal land, Singh would file a claim in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento stating that the motel is within tribal lands of the Walker River Paiute Tribe and therefore not in the jurisdiction of Handte or Mineral County District Attorney Sean Rowe. The initial warrant was processed and granted to Walker River Tribal Police, but was later handed off to Mineral County Sheriff’s Office. Both Walker River Tribal Police and deputies of Mineral County were on hand for the raid with the assistance of Nevada Highway Patrol. U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory Hollows threw Singh’s claim out of court, calling it “frivolous.”
This will not be the first time that Singh has been in trouble with law enforcement agents. Two other properties in California were also raided for marijuana cultivation operations.
As of Nov. 5, the California resident has a standing date in Mineral County.
