A traffic violation in San Anselmo early last week rapidly escalated into a countywide drug bust, leading to the arrest of an Inverness couple on a host of charges, the discovery of marijuana operations at two of their residences and the storming of their home on the Inverness Ridge on Wednesday evening by a SWAT team equipped with an armored vehicle.
The arrests began on Monday night at 11:53 p.m., when Teobaldo Schujman, 38, was stopped for a traffic violation on Butterfield Road, a residential street in San Anselmo. A police officer subsequently found a loaded firearm, metal knuckles and a bag of processed, packaged marijuana in his vehicle. Mr. Schujman, a onetime employee at Orion Marine, a maritime construction and naval research-and-development company in Sausalito’s shipyards, was booked for driving under the influence and for possessing a concealed firearm, metal knuckles and marijuana intended for sale.
His wife was arrested the following day but was released and no charges were pressed.
The couple’s Mill Valley and Sausalito residences were searched on Tuesday, and the $1.1 million Inverness home they moved into in early 2013 was the subject of a major search shortly after dusk on Wednesday. Several law enforcement vehicles, an ambulance and a fire truck were parked at the bottom of Drakes View Drive for at least an hour while a SWAT team entered the property with a “high risk” search warrant obtained that day, said Lt. Doug Pittman, the county sheriff’s public information officer. He said the size of the property could make for a longer search, but all the vehicles had left before 10:30 p.m.
Marijuana cultivations were discovered at the Sausalito and Inverness residences, the latter described by Lt. Norton as a notably “large” operation. Three firearms were also recovered from the Inverness home.
Passersby noted the curious gathering and locals enjoying a night in Point Reyes Station also witnessed the SWAT team—composed of Marin County Sheriff’s Special Response Team, Marin County Major Crimes Task Force and Central Marin Police Authority’s Special Response Team—as it passed through town, some counting as many as 40 officers gathered outside the substation.
Commuters on Lucas Valley and Point-Reyes Petaluma Roads observed a camouflage-colored armored vehicle slowly rumbling west as it trailed a sheriff’s escort, overhead lights flashing on the S.U.V. in the twilight. The 16,000-pound steel-plated rescue vehicle, purchased just last year, is the county’s BearCat G3. Lt. Pittman defended its use Wednesday because Mr. Schujman was known to be armed.
Some mistakenly connected these events with the discovery of two bodies in the Point Reyes National Seashore last week, but Lt. Pittman told the Light on Wednesday night that the two incidents were unrelated and dispelled any rumors about “our presence in the peaceful community of Inverness.”
Mr. Schujman has since been released from jail. Chief Deputy District Attorney Barry Borden said Wednesday afternoon that his office is still reviewing the case as they determine whether to prosecute him.