Genie Ripped Off Again

GENIE RIPPED OFF AGAIN

In her second dope-related bust in two weeks, Rainbow Peoples Party member Genie Plamondon was arrested by Kent County Sheriff's deputies the night of Saturday, August 14 just as she was about to visit her partner, Pun Plamondon, at the Kent County Jail in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Held in maximum security until being transported in chains to the Washtenaw Co. jail in Ann Arbor early Sunday morning, Genie was arraigned in front of Judge Patrick Conlin at the Chelsea courthouse Monday morning and released on a $500 cash bond shortly thereafter.

The charge against Genie this time was "possession of narcotics" -- to whit, the single joint that local police say they found on Genie during a "weapons search" when she was popped in front of the Rainbow House three weeks ago for allegedly "conspiring to possess marijuana and hashish" in Kent County.

Members of the Rainbow Peoples' Party first learned of the bust shortly after it occurred (at about 8 pm) Saturday when they received a call from fellow RPP member Bill Goodson who had gone with Genie to Grand Rapids. The visit that was thwarted by the police nab scene was to be the first time that Genie had seen Pun in two weeks. (Pun's being held four floors underground at the Kent County Jail while awaiting trial for alleged possession of two phony draft cards.)

When Genie arrived at the Jail she stepped to the desk to register, at which point Deputies instructed her to step into a side room. Genie was instructed that Kent County police had received a telegram authorizing them to hold her on a possessions warrant issued in Washtenaw County. Refusing to let Genie see Pun, deputies placed her in a "maximum security" cell in which she was in full view under the 24 hour glare of bright light bulbs, until her transfer at 2 am Sunday morning.

Investigation by the RPP had revealed that the warrant used to arrest her 150 miles from home was issued shortly after the bizarro "conspiracy" bust and had been in effect at least ten days, during which Genie had been at her home on Hill Street or out in the Ann Arbor community, totally accessible to the local police who held the despicable document.

For the ride back to Ann Arbor Genie was treated to the back seat of the shiny black Buick Elektra that is the personal property of Washtenaw County Sheriff Douglas Harvey.

"The detectives told me it was 'Number One's car', " Genie recounted, "and they asked me if I knew who 'Number One' was." Genie's feet were shackled together and her arms chained to her side throughout the ride, including during a stop for coffee when the chains made it impossible for Genie to hold her cup.

At Washtenaw County Jail, Plamondon was placed in a dormitory cell with four black sisters, one of whom had been there since June because she couldn't post a $5,000 bond.

People's lawyer Denny Hayes represented Genie at the Chelsea arraignment Monday morning, where she appeared chained at the arms again. "The cops really were pissed when Judge Conlin gave Genie such a low bond," Hayes said.

A bondsman posted the $500 shortly after Genie was returned to the Washtenaw County Jail. The bond previous was paid out of the money collected for Genie in an un-precedented-this-year move by the Park Program Committee of the Ann Arbor Tribal Council at the Sunday park concert bucket drive (which went to something other than expenses for the Park Program itself).

Genie is free again!