Mother Faces Eviction After Son Arrested in Hash Oil Bust

An East County man has been charged with manufacturing hash oil inside a mobile home, and now his mother is being evicted for his alleged actions.

At a 2 a.m. drug bust on Aug. 30, San Diego County Sheriff’s officials say deputies found more than 100 bottles of butane, as well as hash oil, inside an El Cajon home at Rancho Laguna Estates.

The suspect, 22-year-old Michael Kenney, had enough combustible material to engulf the sprawling mobile home park with flames in minutes, according to the property manager’s lawyer.

Soon enough, a full Hazmat team was called in to deal with the chemicals, and Kenney was charged with manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of marijuana for sale and possession of concentrated cannabis.

The property owner wants to be known as a landlord who aggressively fights crime, and his attorney said someone must be held accountable for what could have been a very dangerous, if not deadly, situation.

So the landlord decided to evict Kenney’s mother, who owns the mobile home where the illicit items were discovered. Because she gave the keys to her son, she is responsible for his actions, according to the attorney.

Not everyone agrees. Jeremy Arnold, a resident of Rancho Laguna Estates, said if the mother did not know about her son’s actions, she should not be punished. “I just think that's an awful harsh situation,” he said.

Friends of the mother have sent character reference letters to the property manager’s attorney, calling the woman “a person with very good moral character and integrity.” The letters suggest she had left the state to care for her ailing father.

But the property owner said he’s determined to get rid of tenants even remotely connected to illegal activity.

Though the owner’s attorney said they are getting little information about this case from the sheriff’s department, they will work to serve that eviction notice to the mother.
 

Contact Us