HAWTHORNE, Nevada - A Sacramento real estate investor charged with marijuana cultivation and trafficking at a motel he owns in Mineral County, Nevada, was arrested following a brief court hearing on a separate stalking charge.
Raghvendra "Raj" Singh, 52, was arraigned Wednesday afternoon on the drug charges in Hawthorne Township Justice Court.
Justice of the Peace Jay Gunter allowed Singh to remain free on the $50,000 bail he posted in Sacramento following the September raid at the Road Runner Motel in Schurz, about 34 miles north of Hawthorne.
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But immediately following the hearing, Mineral County Sheriff Stewart Handte handcuffed Singh and drove him to the county jail a few blocks away to be booked on the misdemeanor stalking charge.
Handte said Singh had flooded his office with email following the motel raid and refused to stop even after being cautioned by the sheriff.
"He was adequately warned," Handte said afterward. "And I told him do not communicate with me anymore because he was represented by counsel."
Singh appeared shocked by the arrest and his attorney, Steve Evenson, was outraged. Evenson himself was threatened with arrest when he tried to intervene.
"You just saw a sheriff who lost an election last night exercising his power, I guess," Evenson said after Singh was driven away.
Handte, who lost a bid to retain his seat Tuesday by 75 votes, said Singh's arrest had nothing to do with the election outcome.
"As long as I'm sitting sheriff of this county, I'm not going to stand for it," Handte said. "He was adequately warned. I told him and he refused to comply, ergo the arrest."
After Singh was taken into custody, Evenson rushed back into the courtroom to obtain an order from the judge allowing Singh to be released on his own recognizance on the stalking charge.
No date has been set for continued proceedings in the motel marijuana case.
Singh faces separate investigations in California for fraud, forgery and marijuana cultivation on rural property he owns in El Dorado County.
