The Windsor & Essex County Crime Stoppers has removed its president Jon-Paul Fuller after he was charged during a police raid on a property housing a number of cannabis facilities.
Fuller and another man were charged with cannabis production and possession for the purpose of trafficking, after the police action on Wednesday morning.
On his LinkedIn page, Fuller is listed as having served with the organization for almost three years, first as treasurer before becoming president in June, 2016.
The group have brought back former president Charlie Hotham to serve until a new leader can be appointed.
Hotham said the Crime Stoppers board needed to remove Fuller quickly, as someone “who obviously felt they were above the law.”
“I was dumbfounded. I was shocked. It was disbelief, not just by me, it was disbelief by the entire board,” Hotham said.
Hotham said a police clearance check was done before Fuller was appointed as president but that “people sometimes go awry.”
Community Crime Stoppers organizations have sometimes taken a hardline approach to cannabis in their own areas, with the Northwestern Ontario and Northern Minnesota chapter calling cannabis “one of the biggest scourges that have been plaguing Canada and the United States for decades.”
“If we want to stop this disaster, all the citizens need to be alert and learn to know the signs of cannabis abuse. It’s up to everyone to help prevent the increase of marijuana abuse,” Crime Stoppers states. “Although thousands of consumers deny their addiction, it’s not difficult to identify the signs and avoiding an addiction might be the same as avoiding a crime in the future.”
A United Kingdom branch of the group warns that cannabis farms grow violence and organized crime in communities.
“Sometimes people working in the ‘farms’ have been victims of human trafficking who are working there against their will or vulnerable members of the public intimidated into working for a criminal gang,” the group wrote.