Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion has two upcoming appearances scheduled to contest tickets and attend a probable cause hearing
TRENTON - The battle between New Jersey's marijuana advocate Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion and the City of Trenton is going to court next week.
First, Forchion and city attorneys will appear for a probable cause hearing.
Two weeks later, they will meet again over the 50 tickets Forchion says he's been issued by police this year alone for various violations.
The legal battle goes back to a series of incidents starting in February, when police were called to the street outside Forchion's East State Street restaurant and "pot temple" for a 30-person street fight.
The call prompted police to start ordering Forchion to shut down his restaurant at 11 p.m., citing a city ordinance that mandates businesses must be closed at that time.
When Forchion didn't comply, they started issuing tickets - regularly, he says.
The tensions came to a head in April when police raided Forchion's business and neighboring "pot temple" and confiscated some of his items including his DVRs and computer hard drives, as well as quantities of marijuana.
The charges from the raid, conducted by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, and Trenton police, allege he was dealing from the restaurant.
Forchion and his attorney, Edward Heyburn are preparing to fight to get his equipment back at a probable cause hearing next week.
Heyburn filed a motion in June to return the DVR's and computer hard drives. He said Thursday that they believe the equipment could hold evidence that police were lying about the February street fight.
According to Forchion, there were not 30 people involved and it wasn't connected with his business.
The next appearance is scheduled for August 25, when Heyburn and Forchion will go to court again to contest the 50 tickets Forchion has received since for not closing his business by 11 p.m.
Heyburn said he is compiling a list of the multiple other businesses in the city - including fast food restaurants - that don't close their doors by 11 p.m.
"I'm filing a motion to dismiss (the tickets) based on selective enforcement," Heyburn said, adding that if the city plans to shut Forchion's business in accordance with the city ordinance, then they must also close other restaurants within city limits.
A representative for the city declined to comment on the pending cases Thursday.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman